St. Kitts & Nevis

Saint Kitts and Nevis are two volcanic islands in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean Sea. They are known for a tropical climate softened by constant sea breezes, mountains of volcanic origin and white beaches. On Saint Kitts stands the Brimstone Hill fortress, a national park and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1999: it tells the colonial history of the islands. Nevis, the smaller island, is known for Nevis Peak and the old town of Charlestown. The official language is English, the currency the East Caribbean dollar.

What to see and how far it is from our places

• Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park (UNESCO). A hilltop fortress on the west coast of Saint Kitts. A national park since 1985, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1999. The walls and fortifications show how the colonial defence of the island was arranged. Frigate Bay — 19 km, Nevis — 35 km.
• Nevis Peak. A stratovolcano 985 metres high in the centre of the island of Nevis. It is part of the volcanic arc of the Lesser Antilles, which stretches from Saba to Grenada. Nevis — within the town, Frigate Bay — 17 km.
• Frigate Bay. Two bays to the south-east of Basseterre. The south beach is quiet and popular with locals, the north shore, facing the Atlantic, is heavily built up. Frigate Bay — within the town, Nevis — 17 km.
• Pinney's Beach. A long sandy beach on the western, Caribbean shore of the island of Nevis. It begins just beyond the capital, Charlestown, and stretches about three miles to the north, to the northern point of Cades Bay, where the ferry pier is. Nevis — 5 km, Frigate Bay — 13 km.
• Charlestown. The capital of the island of Nevis, on the leeward side of the island, at the southern end of Pinney's Beach. The long sandy beach begins here, one of the main landmarks of the west coast of Nevis. Nevis — 5 km, Frigate Bay — 15 km.
• Basseterre. The capital of Saint Kitts and Nevis. In the centre of the town is Independence Square with a fountain built in 1883. The town is close to Frigate Bay. Frigate Bay — 6 km, Nevis — 23 km.
• Romney Manor. A historic estate house with a botanical garden and the Caribelle batik workshop on the island of Saint Kitts. The garden and the craft make it one of the places where the local culture can be seen. Frigate Bay — 14 km, Nevis — 30 km.
• Mount Liamuiga. A stratovolcano 1,156 metres high, forming the north-western part of the island of Saint Kitts. It is the highest point of the country and one of the symbols of its volcanic landscape. Frigate Bay — 17 km, Nevis — 34 km.
• Sandy Point. The second-largest town on the island of Saint Kitts, on the north-west coast. It is the capital of the parish of Saint Anne Sandy Point. The settlement was founded in the 1620s and was the island's trading centre; by a 2011 estimate, 2,626 people lived here. Frigate Bay — 18 km, Nevis — 35 km.
• Fort Charles. A historic British colonial fortress on the island of Saint Kitts, founded in 1670. It is also called Fort Cleverly Point. It was named after King Charles II, who allocated £500 to help the British sugar plantations. Frigate Bay — 19 km, Nevis — 35 km.

• Full ownership of land and houses is open to foreigners. There is one condition: a licence to hold land (Alien Land Holding Licence). This is from the pages of law firms and the Chambers guide; we have not opened the law on the licence itself.
• Other restrictions for non-citizens are not named by these sources.
• Buying through a local company does not remove the need for the licence: if the company is managed by non-citizens, it also needs a licence, even with a local director.
• The Cabinet may exempt from the licence fee. Whether this applies to citizenship projects, we will confirm on request.
• Differences between the islands. The ownership rules are common to Saint Kitts and Nevis; the terms for short-term lets on Nevis should be checked separately. We do not yet have separate data on Frigate Bay and Nevis.

Buying:

An example at our rate: a plot valued at $500,000. The licence is 10%, that is $50,000. Lawyers and registration are added; we will give their size on request. For a condominium, the method of calculating the licence we will confirm separately. Separately: a bank lending to a foreigner pays a fee of 2.5% of the loan (5% in special zones); how this affects the terms for the borrower, we will provide on request.

Holding:

• Property tax is paid annually by 30 June, on the market value as assessed by the tax authority.
• Saint Kitts, homes: 0.2% on both building and land. Nevis: 0.156% on the building, 0.75% on the land. Commercial properties: 0.3% (the table has one more column without a label, which we do not use).
• New homes are exempt from the tax for the first year.

Selling:

• The seller's stamp duty. Here the sources differ. The text of the law in the 2009 version: 12%, for a condominium 5%. The recent Chambers chapter for 2025: 10% of the price or valuation. In special development zones the duty is higher: 14% by the text of the law, and 18.5% on the South East Peninsula. We give both figures and do not choose between them.
• Tax on gain. On our reading of the income tax law (section 3, paragraph 3), private individuals have been exempt since 1980, so for a private individual the tax is 0. A consultants' blog writes of a charge of up to 20% on a sale within twelve months; the law attributes such a rate to those who are not exempt. We do not yet have a clarification from the tax authority.
• The seller's agent's commission is not included in the calculation; we will give its size on request.

• Long-term. We will provide the terms on a separate request.
• Short-term. Foreigners let homes to tourists throughout the federation; the property is, as a rule, registered with the tourism authority. This is from a law firm's page. For Nevis, the terms are checked separately.
• Tax on rent for a private individual. No income tax is charged (on the same reading of the law).
• Withholding at source. When a resident of the country pays rent to a non-resident, they withhold tax. Here there is a discrepancy: the text of the law (2016 amendment) gives 15%, the Chambers guide 10%. It is paid by the resident tenant, not the owner. Whether it is a final tax, the law does not say.

This is the tax in Saint Kitts and Nevis. Tax in the country where the investor lives is calculated separately.

• Citizenship through investment accepts property only in approved projects: hotel shares and fractional ownership from $325k, a private house from $600k, a condominium from $325k. The holding period is 7 years, and the property cannot be sold to subsequent applicants. Ordinary shops and offices are not named as a route in these sources.
• The source is a citizenship consultant's page, "from" prices as of July 2025. The programme's official pages are currently not opening, so we will provide the terms and a check with the developer on request.
• Residence without citizenship. There is no separate programme in our records; we will confirm on request.

Who it is open to (by the applicant's first citizenship). What the programme itself says about applicants with different passports; "not named" does not mean "open".

• Citizenship by investment (citizenship; accepts applications): Russia, Belarus — not accepted; Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan — not in the published list of excluded countries.

Under the law of their own country, the first citizenship is lost in that case: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan.

We do not have a housing price index for the country: the Bank for International Settlements does not publish one. So we do not give the four rows (in local currency and in dollars, without and with inflation adjustment) or the table by year. Prices by district and project we will provide on request.

The catalogue of districts for Frigate Bay and Nevis is currently being filled in. Prices read from the pages we will provide on request.

• What a foreigner can buy. Land and commercial property in their own name, with a licence to hold land: 10% of the price or of the assessed value. Other restrictions are not named by the sources. This is from the pages of law firms and Chambers.
• What is the same as for homes. The 10% licence, the 1% mortgage fee and the stamp duty on the transfer of land are not divided in the law between homes and commercial property.
• What is different. Property tax for commercial properties is higher: 0.3% against 0.2% for homes on Saint Kitts. It is calculated on the tax authority's valuation and paid by 30 June.
• A separate rate of stamp duty for a commercial property is not named by the source.
• Hotel shares. In approved citizenship projects, shares and fractional ownership are sold: KOI Resorts (Half Moon Bay) from $325k, Park Hyatt (Christophe Harbour) from $400k, Four Seasons on Nevis from $475k for one tenth. The holding period is 7 years. The "from" prices are undated; they are checked with the developer.
• Yield, rent by segment, VAT and usual contract terms. We will provide data on these points on request.

Developers in the directory: Christophe Harbour Development Company, Four Seasons Resort Estates (FSRE) Holdings Ltd. KOI Resorts and Park Hyatt are also named in the citizenship projects.

Where to look: Frigate Bay Development Corporation (land sales, through SKIPA Invest St Kitts), Nevis Houses (Sugar Mill Real Estate).