Move to St Lucia?
 

Hi, I'm tentatively looking into the possibility of moving from the UK to St Lucia. I once got offered a job in a hotel there, but I'm not sure if I would be allowed to live/work there. I don't have any family connections that I know of.

I guess I'd have to start on some sort of temporary rolling visa? Is it possible?

Re: Move to St Lucia?
 

It's only really feasible to come here on a work permit, unless you own property, in which case you can get a six-monthly permit to reside in it here.

You can come here on vacation and you get a six week stamp in your passport at entry and then you would have to go to Immigration and get extensions which you have to pay for each and every time until one day they might say THAT's IT!

After you have been here a number of years you can get a long-term resident's permit and only then.

If you are married to a citizen you are invited to apply for citizenship once the Ministry of Home Affairs basically is satisfied that your marriage is legit - more passage of time.

Re: Move to St Lucia?
 

Thanks for the reply.

Well I don't own property and I'm not married. Do you have any idea how long/how much these extensions are and how easy/difficult they are to get?

Do you know just how many years the until the long-term resident's permit?

Thanks

Re: Move to St Lucia?
 

Check this for information regarding visas and extensions:

http://www.investstlucia.com/general...ew/immigration

Visa is not needed for UK visitors.

It seems that you can apply for permanent residence after just two years :).

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...,d.eW0&cad=rja

Note that application can be after two years but the processing and then grant can take a while. Even citizenship for spouses of citizens can take a year. Perhaps somebody else can advise what happens to your status in the interim.

Re: Move to St Lucia?
 

Thanks pistolpete. That's very helpful. I notice from a couple of other posts that you were slightly disillusioned (probably as disillusioned as I am with the London grind), and that you were leaving. Anything I should be aware of?

Re: Move to St Lucia?
 

I'll PM you.

Re: Move to St Lucia?
 

Hi can I add, I lived in St Lucia with my St Lucian husband for 2 years and was still waiting for a citizen visa when I decided to move back to UK. Not being allowed to work until I had citizenship was tough even though I ended up working anyway. I know of a few people being stuck in illegal employment because they need to live and pay bills while waiting for citizenship, employers were taking advantage and paying pittance knowing they were unable to find alternative employment.

I was told 3 years was the normal wait for citizenship.

My husband is still living in St Lucia due to us being refused a UK settlement visa, even though he lived in UK for 7 years and was in British Army.

I hate visas!!

Re: Move to St Lucia?
 

It was my understanding, when considering applying for citizenship, that having applied, there was some sort of interim arrangement where you can work if offered a job, subject to having all the application papers in and in good order and a satisfactory police report already in hand. We were told this by the then Immigration supervisor in the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Whatever, if you are married to a St Lucian, there is nothing to stop you setting up a business, consulting or otherwise, where the St Lucian spouse has you as an employee in a company you set up jointly. I accept that this can be rather expensive if requiring a non-Caricom work permit.

It is truly unfortunate that one has to go illegal to avoid the hardship that interminable waiting for citizenship can involve.

It's also unfortunate that in a world where there is so much information available on the internet, there is precious little available for the islands of the Caribbean so that you would know where you stand ahead of time.

I'm looking at alternatives in other jurisdictions right now and it is staggering what there is available in terms of residence and tax advice.