Embassy/Consulate Addresses | Foreign Relations | Travel Advisories | Travel Tips | Customs/Duties



EMBASSY/CONSULATE ADDRESSES

Diplomatic Representation in US:
Ambassador: Ambassador to the United States and Permanent Representative to the OAS--Jacinth L. Henry-Martin
Embassy: 3216 New Mexico Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20016
Telephone: [1] (202) 686-2636
Fax: [1] (202) 686-5740

US Diplomatic Representation:
Ambassador: Larry L. Palmer
Embassy: In Barbados is located in the Wildey Business Park, Wildey, St. Michael
Telphone: 246-436-4950
Fax: 246-429-5246


Embassy and Consulate Web Sites for the St. Kitts & Nevis
Embassy of St. Kitts & Nevisin Washington DC, U.S.A.



FOREIGN RELATIONS

U.S.-SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS RELATIONS

The United States established diplomatic relations with Saint Kitts and Nevis in 1983 following its independence from the United Kingdom. Relations between the United States and Saint Kitts and Nevis are friendly. The United States seeks to help Saint Kitts and Nevis develop economically and to help strengthen its moderate, democratic, parliamentary form of government.

Saint Kitts and Nevis is strategically placed in the Leeward Islands, near maritime transport lanes of major importance to the United States. Saint Kitts and Nevis' location close to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands makes the two-island federation attractive to narcotics traffickers. To counter this threat, the Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis cooperates with the United States in the fight against illegal narcotics. The United States and Saint Kitts and Nevis have signed a maritime law enforcement treaty, later amended with an overflight/order-to-land amendment; an updated extradition treaty; and a mutual legal assistance treaty. The United States and St. Kitts and Nevis also cooperate through partnerships including the Partnership Framework for HIV and AIDS, the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas, and the Caribbean Youth Empowerment Program.

The United States maintains no official presence in Saint Kitts and Nevis. The Ambassador and Embassy officers are resident in Barbados and travel frequently to Saint Kitts and Nevis. A U.S. consular agent residing in nearby Antigua assists U.S. citizens in Saint Kitts and Nevis.

U.S. Assistance to Saint Kitts and Nevis

U.S. assistance to Saint Kitts and Nevis is primarily channeled through multilateral agencies such as the World Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank, and through the U.S. Agency for International Development office in Bridgetown, Barbados. Saint Kitts and Nevis also benefits from U.S. military exercises and humanitarian civic action construction projects, including through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative.

Bilateral Economic Relations

Saint Kitts and Nevis is a beneficiary of the U.S. Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), which grants duty-free entry into the United States for many goods. The CBI aims to facilitate the economic development and export diversification of the Caribbean Basin economies. Saint Kitts and Nevis is a member of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM). At the 2012 meeting of the U.S.-CARICOM Trade and Investment Council, the parties approved an action agenda outlining priorities for strengthening and deepening the trading relationship.

Saint Kitts and Nevis's Membership in International Organizations

Saint Kitts and Nevis and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations, Organization of American States, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization.

Bilateral Representation

The U.S. Ambassador to Saint Kitts and Nevis is Larry L. Palmer, resident in Barbados. Other principal embassy officials are listed in the Department's Key Officers List.

Saint Kitts and Nevis maintains an embassy in the United States at 3216 New Mexico Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20016 (tel. 202-686-2636).

More information about Saint Kitts and Nevis is available from the Department of State and other sources, some of which are listed here:

Department of State Saint Kitts and Nevis Page
Department of State Key Officers List
CIA World Factbook Saint Kitts and Nevis Page
U.S. Embassy: Barbados and Eastern Caribbean
History of U.S. Relations With Saint Kitts and Nevis
Human Rights Reports
International Religious Freedom Reports
Narcotics Control Reports
Investment Climate Statements
U.S. Census Bureau Foreign Trade Statistics
Library of Congress Country Studies (see Caribbean Islands)
Travel and Business Information
Caribbean Basin Security Initiative




TRAVEL ADVISORIES

To obtain the latest Travel Advisory Information for St. Kitts and Nevis check the U.S. State Department Consular Information Sheet.


TRAVEL TIPS

Driving TBA
Currency (XCD) East Caribbean Dollar
Electrical 230 Volts
Telephones Country Code 1



Time: GMT - 4.

Electricity: 230 volts AC, 60Hz (110 volts available in some hotels).

Telephone: IDD is available. Country code: 1 869. Outgoing international code: 1 (Caribbean, Canada and USA); 011 (elsewhere).
Climate: Hot and tropical climate tempered by trade winds throughout most of the year. The driest period is from January to April and there is increased rainfall in summer and towards the end of the year. The volume of rain varies according to altitude; rain showers can occur throughout the year. The average annual rainfall is about 125cm (50 inches) to 200cm (80 inches) with a wetter season from May to October. Like the other Leeward Islands, St Kitts lies in the track of violent tropical hurricanes which are most likely to develop between August and October.

Required clothing: Tropical lightweights, with light rainwear advisable all year round.

Food & Drink: St Kitts & Nevis has built up a widely established reputation for fine food, a reputation which the local restauranteurs guard zealously. Restaurants specialise in West Indian, Creole, Continental, Indian, Chinese and French cuisine. Most restaurants in St Kitts offer a continental menu with island variations. Local dishes include roast suckling pig, spiny lobster, crab back and curries. Restaurants that cater more for locals also offer conch (curried, soused or in salad), turtle stews, rice and peas and goat’s water (mutton stew). Christophine, yams, breadfruit and papaya are also served. Nevis is less grand and Charlestown’s small restaurants cater more to Nevisians than visitors. Local specialities are native vegetable soup, lobster, mutton and beef. Fruit, including mangoes, papayas and bananas, is sold at the waterfront market.
The locally produced CSR (cane spirit) is excellent. A wide range of imported drinks is available.

Shopping: Local crafts include carvings, batik, wall hangings, leather art and coconut work. Local textiles and designs are also available. Stamp collectors should note the excellent Philatelic Bureaux in Basseterre and Charlestown. Duty-free shopping is relatively new to St Kitts and, as yet, only a few shops feature imported merchandise at substantial savings. Nevis’ hot pepper sauce, ranked among the Caribbean’s best, is a good take-home item and can be bought at the Main Street grocery in Charlestown. Friday and Saturday are the busy market days, and visitors should not miss the chance to witness this abundance of exotic food stalls, accompanied by lively local chatter. Shopping hours: Mon-Sat 0830-1200 and 1300-1600; some shops close early on Thursday.

Tipping: Ten per cent service charge is added to hotel bills. In restaurants, leave ten to 15 per cent and tip taxi drivers ten per cent of the fare.

Currency: Eastern Caribbean Dollar (EC$) = 100 cents. Notes are in denominations of EC$100, 50, 20, 10 and 5. Coins are in denominations of EC$1, and 25, 10, 5, 2 and 1 cents. US Dollars are also legal tender on the islands.

Currency exchange: Most major currencies can be exchanged at banks on the islands.

Credit & debit cards: All major cards are widely accepted. Check with your credit or debit card company for details of merchant acceptability and other services that may be available. ATMs are widely available.

Travellers cheques: To avoid additional exchange rate charges, travellers are advised to take travellers cheques in US Dollars.

 




CUSTOMS/DUTIES

Tobacco...200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 grams of tobacco

Liquor....1.136 litres of wine or spirits

Perfume....170ml of perfume

Import/export info

Import - currency

Local currency / eastern caribbean dollar / or foreign currency : unlimited amount provided a declaration is made upon arrival

Export - currency

Local currency /e.c.d./ or foreign currency :

Unlimited amount up to value imported

Note: there are no duty-free shops, selling a range of goods, including perfumes, textiles, clothing, porcelain, crystal and jewellery.



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