Jun 07 St. Kitts regains Visa Free travel to Canada!
Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, visited Winnipeg today for an announcement regarding visa-free travel.
Passport holders from 13 countries will now be able to travel to Canada by air without requiring a Temporary Residence Visa. However, this applies only to travellers from these countries who have either held a Canadian visa in the last 10 years or who currently hold a valid United States non-immigrant visa.
Eligible travellers include passport holders from:
- Philippines
- Morocco
- Panama
- Antigua and Barbuda
- St Kitts and Nevis
- St Lucia
- St Vincent and Grenadines
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Argentina
- Costa Rica
- Uruguay
- Seychelles
- Thailand
Fraser says Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has been working to make the pretravel screening process easier, faster, and more affordable. He says this decision will divert thousands of applications from Canada’s visa caseload, allowing IRCC to process visa applications more efficiently.
A similar pilot program was introduced in Brazil in 2017. The minister says that the program was successful in increasing visitors from Brazil by 40% and reducing the caseload in IRCC’s Sao Paulo office by 60%, freeing IRCC officers to work on more complex applications. Visa-free travel to Canada
There are more than 50 countries that can enter Canada without a visa, although most require an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) if they are arriving by air.
United States citizens do not require an eTA or a visa to enter Canada unless they are moving to Canada to work or study.
Nationals of countries that are not exempt from obtaining a visa, must apply for a Temporary Residence Visa (TRV), also known as a visitor visa.
A TRV allows an individual to visit Canada for a period of six months (although this may differ for some foreign nationals).
Arriving in Canada with a TRV does not give the holder permission to work or study in Canada and they may be asked to demonstrate that the purpose of their visit to Canada is only temporary (such as tourism or visiting family) at their port of entry.
IRCC is currently working through a backlog of TRV applications. The latest backlog data from IRCC shows that 50% of TRV applications are not being processed within service standards, which is 14 days.
Minister Fraser has said TRV applications were impacted by the recent strike by the Public Service Alliance of Canada. The 12-day strike lasted from April 19 until May 1 and Fraser told reporters that there were 100,000 applications not processed during that period that otherwise would have been. He also said that he expects IRCC will be able to catch up to pre-pandemic processing standards within the coming weeks, or a few months.
Source: https://www.cicnews.com/2023/06/breaking-canada-introducing-visa-free-travel-to-13-countries-0635331.html#gs.0ix7zk
Aug 05 A small Caribbean nation helped popularize 'citizenship by investment' - now it's counting on it to make up for lost tourism
St. Kitts and Nevis, like many of its Caribbean peers, is highly dependent on tourism revenue.
But with its borders still closed to foreigners, the small country's pioneering "citizenship by investment" program could prove even more important than it has been in the past three decades.
Usually, revenue from wealthy foreigners shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars for a second passport from the island accounts for 30% of the GDP gap in the government's budget, according to the CBI program head Les Khan. This year, he says, that could be much higher.
"Now that tourism is at a standstill," he said in an interview, "we expect that the CBI program will be a main driver for the next six months."
Around the world, secondary passports and alternative citizenships have been in high demand from geo-political unrest and the coronavirus, experts tell Business Insider. As more programs come online, Khan is feeling vindicated that the program he's led for three years now is being replicated so far and wide.
"Dominica, Antigua, Grenada, St. Lucia, Malta, Cyprus, Montenegro," he rattles off as examples. "You name it. All of these programs really originated from St. Kitts and Nevis."
Earlier this year, the country dropped its prices, offering a family of four passports for a $150,000 donation, down from $195,000. There are also other more expensive options to make a real-estate purchase that must be held for a set amount of years.
The discount should help keep demand steady, "but we're not in a race to the bottom," Khan said. "We're not trying to just be selling. It must be something that is solid and must be in line with our platinum brand."
It's not a brand that's been easy to build: "There is an idea that citizenship by investment is a conduit for money laundering and possibly tax evasion," says Kahn. "I can assure you that's not the case. Our due diligence is one of the strongest in the world."
But if travel restrictions - like those currently barring people from St. Kitts and Nevis, the United States, and plenty of others from countries around the world - continue, the other side of that brand could be lost, too. The next few months will decide if the country still has one of the most powerful passports in terms of visa-free entry in the region.
"We keep our fingers crossed," Khan said.
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/st-kitts-and-nevis-citizenship-by-investment-thrives-amid-coronavirus-2020-8
Jul 01 Five Caribbean destinations achieve marine protection goals ahead of schedule
ANTIGUA - Five Caribbean countries and territories were recognized for their early achievement of the ambitious marine protection target they committed to when joining the Caribbean Challenge Initiative (CCI).
The CCI 20-by-20 Conservation Goal challenges members to conserve and manage at least 20 percent of their marine and coastal environment by 2020.
The Dominican Republic led the list of early achievers with approximately 75 percent of its marine area under protection, followed by St. Kitts and Nevis (50 percent), the U.S. Virgin Islands (44 percent), Puerto Rico (27 percent), and Haiti (23 percent).
"It is a momentous occasion to reach a conservation goal that will benefit the ocean and communities in the Caribbean for generations to come," said St. Lucia-based CCI Envoy Karolin Troubetzkoy, who honored the early achievers at a ceremony in Antigua last week.
The CCI is an innovative platform uniting government, the private sector and partners - such as funding agencies and NGOs - in a collaborative movement to conserve and sustainably manage the Caribbean's marine and coastal environments.
Launched in 2008, the CCI aims to incentivize Caribbean governments to meet their marine conservation objectives and to support them by catalyzing new funding and accelerating meaningful action. It also works to create more prosperous and stable economies - achieved through sustainable development and growth - to help ensure a more secure future for the entire region.
In congratulating the CCI "Early Achievers", Troubetzkoy noted that "recognizing these nations' successes in marine and coastal conservation is an important message to the other CCI members that getting to the 20 percent target by 2020 is not an impossible goal." She hoped to be celebrating with the remaining CCI destinations next year.
In addition to the awardees, four other Caribbean countries and territories were celebrated for taking steps to propose marine areas that will more than double their current levels of protection. These included the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, Grenada and St. Lucia. The Bahamas recently announced that it will declare an additional eight-plus million acres of marine protection, which will more than double its area of protection and meet the CCI 20-by-20 target ahead of the 2020 deadline.
Source: https://www.traveldailynews.com/post/five-caribbean-destinations-achieve-marine-protection-goals-ahead-of-schedule
Dec 24 St. Kitts & Nevis Welcomes Inaugural Flight from Sun Country
Basseterre (22nd December ,2018) - Top officials from St. Kitts & Nevis welcomed the inaugural non-stop flight from Minneapolis to St. Kitts & Nevis by Sun Country Airlines (SY), which arrived at full capacity with a total of 126 passengers. The flight's arrival marks the first time the destination has been served from the upper Mid West region of the US.
"The upper Mid West is not only a hub for Sun Country, it is also a key source market in the United States that is home to a number of affluent residents," said the Hon. Lindsay F.P. Grant, Minister of Tourism, International Trade, Industry and Commerce. "Visitors from this very important and growing region will now find it much more convenient to reach our shores. This flight will help us continue growing our US arrivals from a number of new and existing geographic markets."
"We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the management team at Sun Country for the time and hard work they contributed to bring this service to fruition," said the Hon. Mark Brantley, Nevis Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Aviation "It is gratifying that Sun Country has recognized the potential of St. Kitts & Nevis as an upscale destination for leisure travel."
The grand celebration welcoming the flight began immediately upon its arrival. As passengers disembarked, they were treated to a performance by traditional masquerades right on the tarmac and each arriving individual was given a welcome gift.
Assembling to greet the flight was an impressive official delegation befitting the historic significance of the occasion, including: the Prime Minister of St. Kitts & Nevis the Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris, the Hon. Lindsay F.P. Grant, Minister of Tourism, International Trade, Industry and Commerce; and the Hon. Mark Brantley, Nevis Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Aviation.
The on-island delegation then proceeded to the KayanJet Lounge to continue the festivities, with Prime Minister Harris presenting special gifts to Sun Country commemorating the occasion of the airline's inaugural flight. Banners from destination provided a scenic backdrop throughout the remarks made by Prime Minister Harris and Minister Grant with a closing toast given by Minister Brantley.
The inaugural Sun Country flight SY 777 carried a total of 126 valued passengers into the destination, having operated the Boeing 737-700 aircraft utilized for the flight at full capacity. The flight will continue to operate for peak season non-stop on Saturdays to St. Kitts & Nevis' Robert L. Bradshaw international airport on St. Kitts (SKB) from the carrier's Minneapolis hub (MSP) through April 20, 2019, as follows:
Flight Depart Arrive
SY777 MSP 7:40am SKB 3:15pm
SY778 SKB 4:10pm MSP 8:30pm
Note: Flights are listed in local times and schedules are subject to change.
Source:
Nov 09 St. Kitts receives 'Commendable Destination Award'
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - As part of its achievements in the tourism sector for 2018, St. Kitts received the 'Highly Commended' award in the Destination category of the Routes Americas 2018 Marketing Awards, as adjudged by the airline network planning community serving the Americas region.
The recognition took place in February and Minister of Tourism the Honourable Lindsay Grant said St. Kitts and Nevis continues to be recognized internationally.
"Our strategic airlift marketing to grow air service into the Federation from key target gateways has been recognized for excellence," Grant said. "As the smallest country in the western hemisphere, it is significant that we were shortlisted from among destinations with much larger marketing budgets, including Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc.; Charleston (South Carolina) Area CVB; Hawaii Tourism Authority; Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority; and San Diego Tourism Authority," Minister Grant added.
The annual Routes Marketing Awards Ceremony recognizes excellence in airport and destination marketing. They are highly regarded as the most prestigious awards in the aviation industry, as they are voted for and judged by the airline network planning community. Airlines voted for the marketing services that support the successful launch of new routes or the development of existing ones, and were instructed to vote for the organizations whose marketing efforts during the last twelve (12) months made a real impact on their future network development plans.
According to www.routesonline.com, St. Kitts as a destination is described as "intoxicating natural beauty, sunny skies, warm waters, and white sandy beaches." These qualities, the website says, "combine to make St. Kitts one of the most seductive spots in the Caribbean."
Source: http://www.thestkittsnevisobserver.com/travel/st-kitts-receives-commendable-destination-award/
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