St Lucia Expat Guide
Thinking of moving to St Lucia ?
Maybe you are a returning St Lucian national ?
Here we will try and answer some of the questions you may have
HISTORY OF
BUYING PROPERTY IN THE CARIBBEAN
It is not difficult to see why purchasing
property in the
Caribbean has become so popular with British and Irish
buyers.
Each of the islands presents appealing lifestyle options with the
glorious sunshine, laidback attitude and the huge selection of events
and carnivals make them a wonderful place to visit and live.
Prices have been rising steadily since the first Europeans entered the
market over a decade ago, with capital growth of 10% per annum since
2000. A 2 bedroom apartment that would have cost
£70,000
just six years ago, is now worth £125,000.
Buying a property in the
Caribbean today
Prices vary from island to island, and in general, properties in St
Lucia are about 60% of the price you would expect to pay in Barbados,
but the gap is closing as more and more people dicover the wonders of
this tropical island haven. The Caribbean coast of St Lucia
remains by far the most popular choice, with much of the construction
work taking place in Rodney Bay and its environs. However,
the
Atlantic coast is gaining in popularity and many developers are
investigating this, as yet untapped, side of the island. Expect to pay
£178,000 for a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment in a gated
complex
in Rodney Bay, on the east coast, a luxury three bedroom fully
furnished and managed condo on a golf course with hotel and spa
facilities will cost £650,000.
Purchase procedure for buying property in the Caribbean The Caribbean
legal system is very different from the British and Irish. However,
provided that the appropriate procedures are followed and precautions
are taken, buying a property in the Caribbean is quite safe. Buying
property in St Lucia is very straightforward. First of all
choose
a reputable estate agent, one used to dealing with international
property and one which can provide comprehensive and understandable
information about the property you are thinking of buying. This is at
the heart of Rodneybay.net
If you decide to purchase, you will sign a simple reservation contract
in the Caribbean, which reserves your property for you. A reservation
contract takes the property off the market for around two to four
weeks, during which time your lawyer can make all the necessary checks
on the property. You pay a reservation deposit of, typically,
£2,000/€3,000. During this period, your lawyer needs
to make
the necessary checks on the property but s/he also needs to deal with
the key issue of who should become the legal owner of the property.
After all the necessary checks have been carried out and providing you
are satisfied, you then sign the preliminary contract and, usually, pay
over a deposit of 10% of the price (on a resale property) or a
down-payment of, perhaps, 30% (on a new or 'off plan' property). In the
case of a new property, bought 'off plan', there then usually follows a
series of stage payments as the construction process progresses. Once
the property has been finished (or, in the case of a resale property,
as soon as everyone is ready to proceed), your lawyer will arrange for
payment of the taxes on your behalf and the final Contract of
Sale/Title Deed is signed.
This is the document transferring the right to ownership to you. The
notary will then arrange for this to be registered at the Land
Registry. In the case of a new property, a licence to occupy the
property as a dwelling is issued by the Caribbean authorities. The
whole process will, in the case of a resale property with no mortgage,
typically take about 16 weeks. In the case of a property under
construction, the pace is usually determined by the speed of
construction – typically, perhaps, 18 months.
Working in St Lucia and starting a business (Visa
Issues)
VISAS & PERMITS
There are specific visa requirements for each island in the
Caribbean. For all foreign visitors duration of stay of over
28
days requires a visa.
The approval or non approval of a work permit is determined by the
Minister of Labour. To receive an application form for a St.
Lucia Work Permit, you are required to pay a non refundable fee of one
hundred Eastern Caribbean dollars (EC$100.00) to the Accountant General
at the Government Treasury in Castries. This payment is acceptable upon
presentation of the necessary ‘A’ Form once
completed by
the Work Permit Officer and available at the Department of Labour
Relations in Castries.
The Treasury Receipt you will receive is required to obtain the Work
Permit Application form. Prior to submission of the Work
Permit
Application form, the following documents are required for submission
to the Work Permit Officer. These documents are:
A Police record from the country where you last resided;
Certified documentary proof of qualifications;
Trade Licence (where applicable);
Copies of advertisements for the post that you will be
applying for;
Evidence that income tax has been paid.
Once your application has been approved, you are required to pay a fee
for the Work Permit which is based on your nationality at present.
To begin the process, overseas applicants would need to have someone in
St Lucia to complete the ‘A’ Form and make the
EC$100.00
payment on your behalf. The ‘A’ Form cannot be
mailed to
you.
Opening a business in St Lucia
Firstly St Lucia has been listed as one of the top 30 destinations in the world for opening a business
according to the World bank doing business report
Doing Business 2007 also ranked 175 economies on the
ease of doing business. The
top 30 economies in the world, in order, are Singapore, New Zealand, the United
States, Canada, Hong Kong/China, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Australia, Norway,
Ireland, Japan, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Lithuania, Estonia,
Thailand, Puerto Rico, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Korea, Latvia,
Malaysia, Israel, St. Lucia, Chile, South Africa and Austria.
SAINT LUCIA AREAS OF INVESTMENT ACTIVITY RESERVED FOR NATIONALS
The following are areas of investment activity which Cabinet has decided to reserve for Nationals of St. Lucia.
1. Distribution-both retail and except where conducted ex-factory, wholesale.
2. Import for the purpose of trading.
3. The operation of agencies and distributorships
4. Operation of restaurants with the exception of top class specialty type.
5. Rental agencies for homes villas and apartments.
6. Real estate.
7. Construction (Excluding and ad hoc contracts) repair and maintenance of buildings and other facilities.
8. Landscaping.
9. Services which nationals
have the capability to provide including secretarial,
clerical,hairdressing services, laundry, nternal hire,
transportation, vehicle and other repairs.
10. Advertising except where local technology is not sufficiently advanced.
11. Entertainment on a protracted basis.
12. Operation of guest houses of less than 10 rooms or with an investment of less than EC$500,000.
13. Operation of a
manufacturing or processing plant in an area in which there is
alreadyadequate local productive capacity and in which the investment
in the plant is belowEC$250,000 and employment is offered to less than
ten (10) nationals.
14. Printing where local technology is not sufficiently advanced.
15. Production of the following
exclusively for the domestic market, a. Agricultural goods. b.
Handicraft c. Furniture d. Soft drinks - carbonated and
non carbonated e. Bread and Pasta
16. Quarrying
17. Games of chance and lotteries
18. Warehousing where capital investment is below $500,000;
19. Heavy equipment, hire and leasing.
20. Tyre retreading and repair.
21. Road maintenance and repair.
*Despite the
reservation on the above areas of business for nationals, a trade
license could nevertheless be awarded to non-national companies of
persons in cases where local investment has not been sufficiently
forthcoming or where the appropriate technology is not available locally.
Establishing A Company Incorporating a company must be done through a lawyer registered in St. Lucia. Here is a list of required documents: Declaration of Compliance; Memorandum of Association; Articles of Association.
For further information and latest rules please contact:
Ministry of Labour and Relations Tel: (758) 468-2202 or (758) 468-2205
or (758) 468-3181 or (758) 451-9830 Email: labrelations@candw.lc
Health
Care in St Lucia
Health care costs are high on the island and health insurance is
recommended, which should cover medical evacuation. A trip to
the
hospital can be quite expensive in St. Lucia, especially because many
serious cases have to be evacuated to neighbouring islands. There are
five hospitals located on the island. However, most visitors
take
advantage of in-house doctors that are located at many of the hotels
and resorts. Most hotels have a doctor in residence on the property,
and those that don't will have a doctor on call. A visit from a doctor
in residence will cost around $15(USD) and a visit from an on-call
doctor will generally cost more.
A new general hospital has recently (2009) been given the go ahead to
be built, this will replace the old national Victoria hospital.
EDUCATION IN ST LUCIA
Most of St.Lucia’s population are graduates from accredited
technical colleges and universities of the Caribbean, Canada, USA and
Europe. St. Lucia offers post secondary education at a
community
college (Sir Arthur Lewis Community College) and one university
(University of the West Indies through their Distance Education Centre)
providing a full range of diploma and under graduate programmes
including management, engineering, agriculture, health sciences,
technology, arts and science.
St Lucia is divided into eight districts, including 66 primary schools
and 19 secondary schools. Parents are required to produce a
report from their children's last school attended showing specific
grades and conduct, two passport size pictures, birth certificate as
well as a small registration fee.
Classroom capacity is 35 children per room
There are seven private primary schools and two private secondary
schools on the island.
Education is a major aspect of the government’s programme,
recognizing its importance to the progress of the state. Every school
is tasked with satisfying the intellectual and educational growth of
children and cater for their physical and emotional needs. Sports,
extracurricular, recreational and cultural activities are high on the
agenda. Given that tourism is the most important industry on the
island, the government has developed an educational curriculum
emphasising the significance of tourism, history, culture and
traditions. Through this programme
Want to know what you can bring into St Lucia with you ? Or if any duty is payable ?
Click here to be transferred to the Official St Lucia Customs and Excise site
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