Family Background
Nitin, originally from India, has been living in Singapore for the past 12 years, working for an American company. During this time, he married his long-term partner and welcomed a new-born son in 2021. Nitin travels on an Indian passport and holds a US Green Card, however, his wife and new-born child both travel on Australian passports.
Decision factors
When exploring his options, he had three major considerations.
- He does not travel on the same passport as his wife and child
- Tax implications of his US green card
- Lack of visa-free travel with his Indian passport.
Starting with the first consideration, having spent the past 12 years in Singapore and welcoming his firstborn in 2021, the topic of where they settle in the future has become an important factor. A move to India is unlikely, however, the cost of living in Singapore and long-term opportunities it can provide for his child, has been a concern. Having been recommended the Portugal Golden Visa by friends, which allow him and his family to obtain Portuguese residency, benefiting from the right to live, work, access education and healthcare in Portugal, and then apply for Portuguese citizenship in 5-years’ time, becoming a fully-fledged EU citizen. This was an extremely attractive option for his first consideration.
The next consideration is his US Green card. Working for an American company, travel to the US is an important factor of his job. Holding an Indian passport, which requires several visa applications to be able to travel, has made his US green card imperative for his job. The trade-off here, his worldwide income being liable for US tax. With a need to dispose of his US green card for tax purposes but obtain a passport which has visa-free travel, a solution would be a Caribbean citizenship by investment programme, enabling him to obtain a Caribbean passport in 4 months’ time.
After much deliberation, the short-term benefit of obtaining a Caribbean passport, outweighed the benefits of obtaining a Portugal Golden Visa. They are no position to leave Singapore in the medium term, however, it would take at least 6 years for him to obtain a Portuguese passport and then dispose of his US green card, as opposed to 4 month process to receive a Caribbean passport.
Professional Advice
The implementation process started with Nitin seeking professional advice to evaluate all of the Caribbean CBI programmes. His decision was to proceed with the St Lucia CBI, due to the governmental fees being the lowest, but also the processing time being the fastest.
The first step in the process was for the Caribbean legal team to open a bank account and obtain tax identification numbers in St Lucia. Once obtained, the law firm submitted his application to the authorities along with all required documentation, including his passport, police clearance certificates & medical certificate.
Once the application was submitted and reviewed by the St Lucian immigration department, he received an approval in 4 month’s time. One of the greatest benefits of this programme is that he did not have to make his investment for the passport until he had received his approval. Meaning there was no financial risk whilst waiting for an approval.
With a St Lucia passport, he is now able to reduce his worldwide tax liability and travel visa free to over 140+ countries.
