Homes That Qualify for St. Lucia Citizenship

St. Lucia runs its citizenship by investment program through the Citizenship by Investment Unit. On the real estate route the purchase has to be in a project the government has approved, and it has to meet the minimum.

The Unit sets the minimum at US$300,000 in an approved real estate project, for an applicant with any number of dependants. Since March 2026 there is a second route for completed homes: a developer can have a built real estate project approved, the minimum is US$500,000, and the home cannot be sold or transferred for at least five years after citizenship is granted.

The Unit’s investment options page does not state a holding period for the US$300,000 route, so I confirm it for the specific project before an offer is made.

I’m a licensed real estate agent. I’m not a lawyer, a tax adviser or a licensed citizenship agent. The citizenship application itself is prepared and filed by a licensed agent approved by the program, and I work alongside the agent and the lawyer you appoint.

The contribution route, which leaves no home at the end, is set out on the St. Lucia program page.

The qualifying amount is the property, not the total. The program publishes its own fees on top.

The Unit states that all fees are non-refundable: the processing fee is paid on submission and the administrative fee when citizenship is granted. The main applicant also has an interview and identity check, with no separate fee published.

These totals add the Unit’s published administrative, processing and due diligence fees to the US$300,000 minimum, and nothing else. They leave out the Alien Landholding Licence, the licensed agent’s and lawyer’s fees, purchase taxes and closing costs.

The line-by-line costs, including the statutory charges on a purchase, are on the citizenship costs and timelines page and in the Caribbean property cost table. I put a single all-in figure for your family and your chosen home in writing before anything is signed.

1. Settle the budget and the family. Decide who goes on the file and what kind of home you want: a managed unit or share, or a residence of your own.

2. Choose the home, then confirm it qualifies. Each home is checked against the approved list before an offer is made.

3. Appoint a licensed agent and a local lawyer. The agent prepares and files the family’s application; the lawyer handles the purchase.

4. Assemble the due diligence file. Identity, source of funds and source of wealth for every person on the application. Gaps here are the usual cause of delay.

5. Agree the purchase and file. The purchase is agreed and the agent submits the application with the fees due on submission.

6. Approval and completion. The remaining fees are paid, the purchase completes and the family’s citizenship is granted. Then the hold period runs.

The US State Department says that “U.S. law does not require a U.S. citizen to choose between U.S. citizenship and another (foreign) nationality.” US nationals, including dual nationals, must use a US passport to enter and leave the United States. Source: US Department of State, Dual Nationality, last checked 8 November 2026.

Not tax advice. The IRS says a US citizen is “subject to U.S. income tax, regardless of where they live or where they earn their income.” Rental income from the home, and any gain when you sell it, stay on your US return, and foreign bank accounts totalling more than US$10,000 at any time in the year need an FBAR filing. Source: IRS Tax Tip 2023-36, last checked 8 November 2026. Speak to a US tax adviser before you buy.