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Citizenship by Investment

Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship Investment Program

October 1, 2024

Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship Investment Program

There are 5 small island nations in the Caribbean region - former British colonies - that sell their citizenship in return for investment.

The small island nation of Antigua and Barbuda is one of five in the Caribbean region that sells its passports for investors' money. The country's government launched the program in 2014, building on an existing program in the neighboring country of St. Kitts and Nevis.

Despite its youth, Antigua's program is now in high demand. According to some sources, more than 2.5 thousand people have become “new Antiguans” during its operation, and the total volume of investments in the country's economy amounted to about $200 million. Among the investors in this country are the subjects of China and Saudi Arabia, there are also many applicants from Russia, the United States and India.

Among them Antigua and Barbuda is one of the tiniest (281 square kilometers), but it is quite well economically developed. A feature of the investment program of this country is a fixed amount of financial investment for a family of 4 people. In this regard, participation in the program is quite beneficial for young couples.

This peculiarity is clearly demonstrated by the proposed diagram:

Total cost of Caribbean passports for a family of 4 (thousand dollars)

Why is the Antigua program so popular?

There can be several answers to this question. But it is worth starting with a description of the natural conditions. Here reigns a warm maritime climate, when the whole year can be considered summer. Beautiful local beaches are invariably included in the list of the world's best “beach ten”, there are many cozy, surprisingly beautiful and comfortable harbors for rich yachts. Even the famous Admiral Nelson noted that the harbors of Antigua and Barbuda are among the safest in the entire Atlantic.

But today's wealthy investors will not be lured by nature alone. Of course, there are much more pragmatic reasons that attract their attention. The main ones are as follows.

  1. Antigua and Barbuda is a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. This means that the country's passport is not inferior to the British passport in many respects. For example, it allows you to visit about 150 countries of the world without a visa (in the extreme case, with the issuance of a visa upon arrival in the country). In particular, its holder is usually easily granted a visa to the United States, and for 10 years.
  2. This is one of the cheapest investment programs in the world. We will talk about it a little later, but now we will note one of its nuances. The conditions of the program are especially beneficial for investors with large families. The price of investments in Antigua changes insignificantly, regardless of the composition of the family.
  3. To obtain citizenship here, one does not need to pass any exams, nor does one need to reside in the country.
  4. The fact of obtaining a second passport remains confidential, and the program itself allows the investor to leave the citizenship of the native country.
  5. Antigua citizenship allows the resident to be under the protection of the English legal system, which is important for keeping finances and doing business.
  6. Antigua is a well-known offshore zone, with serious tax benefits.

Having familiarized ourselves with the advantages of the program, let's move on to its description.

What is the essence of the Antigua and Barbuda investment program?

According to it, a foreign investor gets the right to obtain citizenship of this country using one of four available options.

Percentage of investment options

The most popular way of investing is the first - cheap and easy. However, it is worth considering, with the first option, no one will return your investment to you.

In order to obtain citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda it is not necessary to pass a language proficiency test and permanently reside in the territory of the state.

If we turn to statistics, it shows that the choice of applicants in the past years was distributed as follows:

  1. the first option was used by 70% of investors - it is the most popular;
  2. the purchase of real estate preferred 19% of foreigners;
  3. the remainder went for business investments.

Although the purchase of real estate here is also not meaningless. Antigua and Barbuda has an excellent tourist infrastructure. Basically all the facilities are located in Antigua, and Barbuda is interesting natural attractions of the tropics. The islands are famous for international sailing competitions, many celebrities come here for vacation.

What are the advantages of the program?

Some other important nuances of the program

We have already mentioned that its strength is “family friendly”. In most similar developments, the amount of investment required increases noticeably if you compare the amounts per applicant and per family.

Here, however, that increase is quite small, and it only starts with the fourth dependent. In addition, the Antigua and Barbuda program has a loyal approach to the concept of “dependent”. Unemployed children under the age of 28 can be considered as such.

The country also treats the issued passport in a special way. For the first 5 years, it is considered a bit different from that of “real” citizens. However, these peculiarities concern only the rights of a resident during political elections. In order for the passport to become a “real” passport, it must be renewed after 5 years. If the resident has no problems with the law, this procedure becomes formal. You only need to live in the country for these years... 5 days.

There is one more peculiarity that cannot be missed in this review. In Antigua and Barbuda, you can get a so-called preferential tax certificate. Its holder is exempt from paying taxes on dividends, inheritance and wealth. The certificate is issued to a resident with citizenship, provided that he:

  1. will be able to develop his own business in the country with an annual profit of at least $100 thousand;
  2. will be able to pay to the treasury of Antigua a fixed tax of $20 thousand annually;
  3. actually reside in the country for at least 30 days a year.

Stages of citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda

Stage 1: Conclusion of the contract. This procedure takes place in our office. You only need to bring copies of passports of those who will apply for citizenship. At the same moment you will undergo a free preliminary security check.

Stage 2: Preparation of documents. At this stage you will be accompanied by our specialists. They will carry out all the necessary manipulations with the documents and send them to the Antigua and Barbuda authorities.

Stage 3: Review of documents. Usually, this check lasts from three to five months. For this purpose, you do not need to personally fly to the country. Sometimes there are cases when additional documents may be requested, but you should not worry, because our specialists will accompany you all the time.

Stage 4: Obtaining Antigua and Barbuda citizenship. After you have made all the investments and paid the fees, our specialist will receive your passport and citizenship certificate on the island and send it to you.

Stage 5: We will forever be your trusted advisors and helpers! Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

What requirements do I need to comply with?

We have made sure that buying citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda is a profitable step in all respects. Learn more about this program on our website GARANT.in. Here you can also get real information from our consultants and order a calculation of the full cost of your case.

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