St. Kitts and Nevis proposes new citizenship pathway for descendants abroad
Key Points(5)
- Kitts and Nevis government is moving to expand citizenship eligibility for members of its diaspora, with proposed legislation that would create a new pathway for some second- and third-generation descendants born overseas.
- The Cabinet has approved the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which is scheduled to be introduced in the National Assembly on Friday, Sept.
- The bill would allow adults born abroad on or after Sept.
- 19, 1983, whose parent or grandparent became a citizen of St.
- Kitts and Nevis at independence, to apply to be registered as citizens.
The St. Kitts and Nevis government is moving to expand citizenship eligibility for members of its diaspora, with proposed legislation that would create a new pathway for some second- and third-generation descendants born overseas.
The Cabinet has approved the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which is scheduled to be introduced in the National Assembly on Friday, Sept. 18. The bill would allow adults born abroad on or after Sept. 19, 1983, whose parent or grandparent became a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis at independence, to apply to be registered as citizens.
The government said the proposed amendment is intended to address a 43-year gap in the country's citizenship laws affecting descendants of Kittitians and Nevisians living overseas.
Under the Constitution, a person born abroad can acquire citizenship by descent if a parent was born in St. Kitts and Nevis. However, that provision has left some subsequent generations born overseas without a route to citizenship based on their family connection to the federation.
People born before independence are generally in a different position and may already be citizens under constitutional provisions.
The government said members of the diaspora have raised the issue for decades through correspondence, overseas missions and diaspora and family associations. The matter was also raised in a petition presented to the National Assembly in 2025.
Acting Prime Minister Dr. Geoffrey Hanley said the proposed legislation establishes a defined application process rather than providing citizenship based broadly on ancestry.
“This Bill corrects a gap that has existed since 1983 and our diaspora have asked for this for a long time, and this Administration has listened,” Hanley said.
Under the proposal, eligible adults would have to provide documentation establishing the relevant family connection and undergo security screening.
The government illustrated the change with the example of a person born in Bermuda whose mother was also born there but whose grandfather was born in St. Kitts. Under the existing constitutional arrangement, the person would not inherit citizenship through the mother because she was not born in the federation. The proposed grandparent pathway would allow the person to apply using records establishing the grandfather's birth in St. Kitts.
The amendment would also provide a route for some adults who could have been registered as children of citizens while they were minors but whose applications were never made before they turned 18.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is set to receive its first reading when the National Assembly meets at 10 a.m. Friday.
If the legislation is passed, regulations will subsequently establish the application form, required documents and fees. The law would take effect on a date appointed by the responsible minister.
The government has advised potentially eligible members of the diaspora to begin gathering and certifying family records but not to submit applications until officials formally announce that the process has opened.
