San Juan, Oct 13 (EFE).– Saint Lucia’s citizenship-by-investment program will commence accepting applications in January 2016 in the hopes of improving the economy, the government said Tuesday.

Prime Minister Kenny Anthony said in a statement that although he wanted to defend and protect the country’s citizenship, it was time to look for other approaches to deal with challenges and this initiative was a viable alternative.

By accepting new citizens, Saint Lucia will not just be offering citizenship but also an identity, Anthony said.

In early August, lawmakers approved the bill to prepare the initiative and establish an entity to supervise its functioning.

In 1984, St. Kitts and Nevis became the first Caribbean territory to offer such a program, joined later by Dominica, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, and the Turks and Caicos.

An official in the St. Lucia Office of Prime Minister told EFE via phone that the House of Assembly and the Senate had approved a bill providing the framework to start developing the citizenship-by-investment program. EFE