St Vincent and the Grenadines parliament on Tuesday 30 August made amendments to the islands’ Aliens (Land-holding Regulation Act. The amendment now requires Commonwealth citizens to obtain a licence in order to purchase property.
The amendment will delete two of the classes of persons prescribed as belonging to St Vincent and the Grenadines under the act
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves told legislators that the amendment would delete Section 2 paragraph B which reads ‘For the purpose of this, act a person shall be regarded as belonging to St Vincent and the Grenadines. If he is a Commonwealth citizen who is domiciled in St Vincent and the Grenadines and has been ordinarily resident therein for not less than seven years.
Gonsalves says under the amended act such person will now have to apply for an Aliens Land Land-holding licence.
The amendment also states that a child or stepchild or adopted child of a Commonwealth citizen or spouse of a Commonwealth citizen would have to apply for an Aliens Land-Holding License, but the child, stepchild or adopted child of a Vincentian citizen would not have to apply.
Gonsalves said what is being done is to narrow the range of exemptions so that persons will have to have an Aliens Land-Holding Licence to hold property.
Gonsalves stated that in the case of OECS, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, BVI, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia once those countries have reciprocity with St Vincent and the person gets security clearance, they don’t have to have an Aliens Land-Holding Licence.
The provision in the order does not apply in respect of persons who have obtained citizenship under an economic citizenship program, because SVG doesn’t recognize that for the purposes of its Aliens Land-holding Licence.
“So this is it, we have considered that the category Commonwealth, a Commonwealth citizen who domiciled and resident in St Vincent for seven years that if that person wants to take advantage of the Aliens Land-Holding License exemption that they become a citizen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines”, Gonsalves told parliament.
According to the provision the act commences at the end of 90 days, beginning on the day on which the act is published in the Gazette.
St Vincent and the Grenadines in 2021 collected approximately 100 million in Aliens Land-Holding License fees.
