Immigration
Immigration Act with CARICOM entry and no CBI programme
The Immigration (Restriction) Act governs entry, residence and removal, administered by the Immigration Department. CARICOM nationals with a skills certificate may work without a permit and other CARICOM nationals receive a six-month stay. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is the only Eastern Caribbean state that has deliberately declined to operate a citizenship by investment programme, so residence and naturalisation are the only routes to status.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National immigration control with CARICOM skills recognition
- Deadline — CARICOM national: six-month definite entry on arrival
- Deadline — Work permit: obtained by the employer before employment begins
- Deadline — Naturalisation by residence: seven years of lawful residence
Governing law
- Immigration (Restriction) Act
- Citizenship Act
- Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals Act
- Aliens Act
In practice
The absence of a citizenship by investment programme is a deliberate policy position rather than an oversight, and it matters practically because advisers accustomed to the regional CBI market will find no equivalent route here. Foreign nationals seeking status must therefore use work permits and residence, and the seven-year naturalisation period runs only on lawful residence.