Kightly moves to Turf Moor on a three-year deal from Stoke City for an undisclosed fee following a successful loan spell at Burnley last term.
The 28-year-old rediscovered form of old thanks to the shrewd man-management skills of Sean Dyche as Burnley sealed automatic promotion from the Championship.
And Kightly – who has brought an end to his two-year stint at Stoke – did not have to think twice about a permanent return to Burnley.
He told the club's official website: "As soon as we secured promotion to the Premier League last season, I wanted to make sure that I signed.
"Coming in on loan is usually difficult but it only took a few weeks here to get settled and it is great to be a permanent Burnley player now as opposed to a loanee.
"It took a while to get it over the line but now it is all secured I'm really pleased."
Burnley open the Premier League season at home against Chelsea, with Manchester United the second team to travel to Turf Moor.
The size and stature of the club, coupled with Burnley's pragmatic financial approach, means Dyche's men will be firm favourites with many observers to make an immediate return to the Championship.
But Kightly has insisted: "It'll be a tough start to the campaign with Chelsea at home but you can look at that in two ways and we'll certainly start with a positive mind-set.
"People might write us off, but we're certainly not here to make up the numbers and hopefully we can surprise a few people again."
