What changed in St. Lucia

Saint Lucia reports your financial accounts under CRS regardless of which passport you hold

Tax residency

The genuine territorial tax regime in Saint Lucia is for resident companies, not individuals, under section 10A

Moving your company

Becoming tax resident means registering with the Inland Revenue Department for a Tax Identification Number

Local registrations

No capital gains tax was found, and no dedicated crypto regulatory framework exists the way some neighbours have built one

Crypto tax and legal status

Buying property outside the CBI real estate route needs an Alien Landholding Licence first

Local registrations

Saint Lucia was on the EU tax blacklist in 2017, and was fully cleared by February 2021 after genuine reform

Moving your company

The 1 percent company election is closed, and sites still selling it are describing a repealed regime

Moving your company

Economic substance rules since 2021 mean a Saint Lucia company doing the wrong kind of business needs real local presence

Moving your company

A company run from a Dutch kitchen table is usually a Dutch taxpayer too, Saint Lucia's own law works the same way in reverse

Permanent establishment risk

Local labour law protections exist but specific notice and severance terms were not confirmed this round

Employment law

International private health insurance is the practical norm, not an optional extra

Healthcare coverage

Public healthcare is genuinely not universal yet, and a visitor without NIC contributions has no reciprocal access

Healthcare coverage

The same no-agreement gap applies for German and Spanish social security, not only Dutch

Social security

Working remotely for a foreign employer with no Saint Lucia entity keeps you outside the NIC net

Social security

No social security totalization agreement with the Netherlands, your Dutch-side rules decide continuity alone

Social security

Local employment pulls you into the National Insurance Corporation scheme, covering pensions, sickness and more

Social security

A foreign pension is exempt if you were not resident here before you retired

Pension

No Netherlands tax treaty, and here that gap genuinely bites because Saint Lucia taxes residents worldwide

Personal income tax

VAT runs 12.5 percent standard, 10 percent for hotels, with a turnover exemption for small businesses

Personal income tax

The standard corporate rate is 30 percent, not the 33.3 percent that several tax-advisory sites currently repeat

Personal income tax

Personal tax runs 15, 20 and 30 percent since the 1 January 2023 reform, not whatever older bands a blog repeats

Personal income tax

Work physically performed in Saint Lucia is Saint Lucia-source income, whatever your residence status

Personal income tax

Holding a Saint Lucia passport changes nothing about Dutch tax residence by itself, only actually moving does

Tax residency

A genuine non-resident is taxed only on Saint Lucia-source income, with most passive income handled by final withholding

Tax residency

Resident but not yet ordinarily resident individuals only pay on foreign income actually brought into Saint Lucia

Tax residency

Once resident and ordinarily resident, Saint Lucia taxes worldwide income, this is not a territorial system for individuals

Tax residency

Residence turns on any one of three tests, a permanent home, 183 days, or a cross-year bridge

Tax residency

Serving the local market or taking local employment needs a standard, employer-sponsored work permit

Right to work

Working quietly for a foreign employer on plain visitor status is common practice but has no explicit statutory blessing

Right to work

Permanent residence outside Citizenship by Investment takes about five years, and still does not include the right to work

Residency routes

Live It marketing calling foreign income tax exempt is describing non-residence, not a special exemption written into the programme

Immigration and visa

The Live It programme lets a remote worker stay up to a year, applied for through Immigration or a licensed specialist

Immigration and visa

UK, US, Canadian and Australian visitors get only 6 weeks visa-free, less than half the EU window

Immigration and visa

90 days visa-free within any 180 days for most EU nationalities under the 2015 EU visa waiver

Immigration and visa

No minimum number of days in Saint Lucia was found as a condition of getting or keeping this citizenship

Permanent residency and citizenship

Unlike at least one neighbouring programme, a revoked citizen does get a right of appeal to the High Court

Permanent residency and citizenship

The Minister can revoke this citizenship on a broad disrepute ground, and there is no refund

Permanent residency and citizenship

The Act only makes an interview discretionary, current programme practice treats it as standard since September 2023

Permanent residency and citizenship

Application, due diligence and administration fees add real money on top of the headline investment figure

Permanent residency and citizenship

Saint Lucia can no longer be undercut on price, a shared regional floor took effect 1 July 2024

Permanent residency and citizenship

Four routes exist, and the National Economic Fund minimum more than doubled to US$240,000 on 1 July 2024

Permanent residency and citizenship

Dual citizenship is allowed for a registered CBI citizen, the restriction that exists only bites ordinary naturalisation

Permanent residency and citizenship

Children added as dependants usually lose their Dutch nationality too, which is the opposite of what most families assume

Permanent residency and citizenship

The three legal exceptions that save Dutch nationality almost never cover a bought passport

Permanent residency and citizenship

Buying this citizenship is a voluntary act that costs most Dutch nationals their Dutch nationality

Permanent residency and citizenship