CASTRIES, St. Lucia,  CMC- The St. Lucia government has brushed aside suggestions that it should consider providing economic citizenship to foreigners  as a means of luring investment to the island.

Prime Minister Stephenson King has made it clear that his government has no plans to introduce legislation providing residency status to foreigners who could invest more than US$350,000 on projects in the island.

He insists that while he has no idea what would have led to the debate here on possible economic citizenship, the issue has not come before his Cabinet.

However, information published on the web-site “Homeoverseas.com” and quoted in the local media suggest s that the government may be examining the possibility of providing rich investors with  a second passport.

Some Caribbean islands, notably, Dominica and St. Kitts and Nevis have offered economic citizenship to lure investors, but King says that is not an option for this government.

“We believe that St. Lucia is sufficiently attractive to investors not to warrant the need to dangle any carrots before those investors. We believe that we have a product that is high prices and we want to keep it that way.

“We really would not want to prostitute our country, but ensure that what we offer is a prized product that will attract investors who are credible, and want to make a contribution to the development of the country rather than merely offer citizenship to anybody who had the money to come to the country,” King added.

The Prime Minister noted that when it comes to investment the emphasis of his administration is to attract people of quality, adding that economic citizenship could create problems for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) since individuals who may be granted citizenship in one OECS country will be free to travel through the entire sub-region with attendant privileges and benefits.

“If we speak of an economic union there is need for us to harmonise all the institutions and pillars of democracy to ensure that what exist in one country, also exist in the other.

“We must operate as a unit and therefore I imagine that one of the loopholes in an arrangement where one individual acquiring citizenship from another OECS state, automatically creates the problem of that individual’s ability to move freely in the region,” he said.

National Security Minister Guy Mayers said that the government may be inclined to examine other mechanisms to facilitate non-nationals who have either built their retirement homes or have invested in tourism ventures on the island and becomes frustrated at having to apply regularly for an extension of their stay here.

Leader of the main opposition St. Lucia Labour Party (SLP) Dr. Kenny Anthony believes however that the island’s immigration laws are too liberal.

“There are weaknesses in the current system. There is no question that it has become an industry for non-nationals to identify a St. Lucia partner marry them and in a few months acquire a divorce.

“It’s a major problem that exist worldwide and its occurring with increasing regularity especially in countries such as ours. So it’s an issue that we have to examine and make necessary adjustments,” Anthony added.

Under the present laws, citizenship is granted to a person who has been resident here for seven years continuously, have at least one parent who is a native born St. Lucian or be married to a local.

Mayers said he was disappointed with the remarks made by the Opposition Leader, a former prime minister for nine years.

“He talks about persons getting married following by a quick divorce and remaining here. But it is the same Dr. Anthony, who as a lawyer, has written to the immigration department making demands on behalf of persons who are married to St. Lucians and feels that they are getting a hard time from the department in securing citizenship.

“So we are left to wonder what he is now saying. If he is complaining about the system and then writing on behalf of persons in another capacity, we need to find out which one is talking,” the Home Affairs Minister added.

He said that whatever system is put in place, persons will try to find loop-holes and that over the past three months , at least two individuals were arrested for attempting to obtain citizenship with false documents.

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