CIP Antigua and Barbuda: Investment Program News

Antigua and Barbuda intends to increase the number of investment programs. Plans are underway to develop the sale of residence permits.

The state of Antigua and Barbuda is one of those in the Caribbean region that actively participates in the investment migration market by selling its own citizenship. Its program, launched in 2013, is one of the youngest in this part of the planet, but also one of the most successful. During its operation, according to statistics, about 2,700 applicants, not including their family members, have acquired passports of this country.

There was one program - will it become two?

Everything suggests that the state authorities are seriously thinking about expanding the range of their investment services. In the nearest plans - the launch of a program that allows foreign citizens to obtain a residence permit status in Antigua in exchange for investments. It is assumed that such an opportunity will be used by wealthy foreigners, whose work will allow them to stay on the islands for at least 183 days a year. In other words, it is the residents of Antigua and Barbuda who will benefit from the new development.

A few words about the existing program

It is worth recalling that the current program for the direct sale of citizenship consists of several options. The overwhelming number of applicants choose one of them, namely, a gratuitous donation to the National Development Fund. This option is the cheapest and also the least troublesome.

 In addition to a non-refundable investment, the program offers potential investors:

• purchasing real estate from a certain list;
• investing in the development of local businesses; 
• investing in the University of the West Indies Foundation. This option is the newest, having come into effect only this year. It is beneficial to large families of the applicant (more than 6 people), its minimum size - $150 thousand. In addition, a bonus is an annual tuition fee for one family member at the University of the West Indies.

Features of the new, proposed program

As we have already said, the new project is designed to provide applicants with the opportunity to acquire a residence permit in Antigua and Barbuda. Let us immediately inform you that the official text of the new Program has not yet been made public anywhere, so we can analyze those provisions that have appeared in the media. But they are confirmed, at least in words, by officials.

So, what is already known.

1. The program involves the acquisition of residence permit status for a period of 2 years.
2. The developers expect that it will be of interest to people who have formalized the residency of the country (living in its territory for more than 6 months a year). Residency gives investors wide tax opportunities, opens ways to optimize personal funds and their business. The fact is that in this tiny country there are no taxes on income, wages and capital gains. There are also no taxes on dividends.

At this point, it's worth noting that Antigua and Barbuda has excellent opportunities for a quiet, relaxing vacation. There are many beautiful sandy beaches, plenty of sunshine, and a warm tropical climate prevails. The only exception is a few months, when the islands are covered by strong cyclones.

According to the idea of the developers, the option of two-year residence permit will be interesting to wealthy people who earn money remotely. They can spend many months in the country, combining remote work with excellent vacation. At the same time, investors will receive a significant financial benefit due to the absence of taxes. Antiguan authorities expect to attract at least a thousand clients a year with the help of the new program, which will help the economy to additionally compensate for losses from the current “pandemic” crisis. The main question still remains open - what financial requirements to investors will be laid down in the new project?

Antigua's CIP revenue up 66% in 2019, but PM says Choksi is “destroying” the program's image

Antigua and Barbuda's Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP) has seen a significant increase in revenue this year, but the Prime Minister is concerned that a fugitive from India is jeopardizing one of the country's most important sources of revenue.

Government revenue from Antigua and Barbuda's CIP rose from $59.7 million in 2018 to $98.9 million in 2019, an increase of 66% year-on-year, according to this year's budget statement presented to Parliament on Thursday. Prime Minister Brown projected that the CIP was expected to bring in US$100 million to the government's consolidated fund, in his budget last year. However, the revenue recorded was only US$1.1 million.

An incident that undermines the credibility of the CIP program in Antigua

Brown is also concerned that despite the positive CIP trend, the ongoing case of former jewelry tycoon Mehul Choksi, is still unresolved. He said he is wanted by Indian authorities for playing a key role in the largest ever case of bank fraud in that country. Choksi drew international media attention to Antigua's CIP in 2018 when it emerged that he had obtained citizenship through investments in Antigua and Barbuda weeks before Indian authorities issued an Interpol warrant for his arrest. The incident left the authorities of Antigua and Barbuda, a common law country, in an awkward position. At the time of Choksi's approval, there was no criminal case against him - as such, so acquiring citizenship in the country was legal - but subsequently became a magnet for unwanted attention to Antigua's CIP. Because he is a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda and has not yet been convicted of any crime, his citizenship cannot be easily revoked. Nor can Antigua deport or extradite him, without the right to avail himself of all legal remedies due him under the law. A strong statement from the Prime Minister But Prime Minister Browne has unequivocally expressed his desire to get rid of the man whom he considers a threat to his country's reputation and its CIP. Most recently, in June last year, Brown said the government would revoke Mehul Choksi's citizenship, which he had obtained under the CIP program, and extradite him to India after he had “exhausted all his legal options”. And by all indications, Choksi is about to run out of rope.

An Antiguan court will determine next month whether Choksi will be allowed to retain his citizenship as it rules on the respondent's appeal of a Supreme Court ruling from last year that prevented him from calling an expert to challenge the validity of an extradition request from India. “We have told Mehul Choksi that he must leave voluntarily, otherwise he will be legally deported or repatriated (returned) to India. We have also communicated that he needs to leave when we have exhausted all legal actions that will ensure his repatriation to where he came from,” the Prime Minister said in Parliament, according to the Antigua Observer. “The quality and integrity of our CIP is too valuable to our economy and the well-being of our people to do anything other than uphold and implement the highest standards,” Browne added.

Choksi's attorney for the accused, David Dorsett, declined to comment on the matter.

Thus, the difficult and tense situation in Antigua in the Citizenship by Investment program is worrisome and uncooperative, at least for now. Will the government take measures aimed at achieving stability? Or will Antigua's CIP reputation be crippled after all? Time will tell.

Antigua CIP now open to siblings, grandchildren and dependents; fees for adding future family members are being reduced

Just two weeks after St. Kitts and Nevis' CIP became the fourth Caribbean CIP to allow siblings to be claimed as dependents, Antigua and Barbuda has followed suit. All Caribbean CIP programs are now open to siblings and dependents.

Yesterday's CIU Antigua and Barbuda circular, however, contained more good news than just the inclusion of relatives and dependents; fees for adding spouses, children and elderly dependents ex post facto have also been drastically reduced. In addition, even future spouses and future children of a dependent child of the principal applicant can now be included.

The circular informed interested parties of the following changes in the definition of “dependent” and the fees for adding them to an ex post facto application:

• The registered spouse of the principal applicant;
• a child of the principal applicant or his or her spouse between the ages of 0 and 30 who is financially dependent on the principal applicant;
• a child of the principal applicant or his or her spouse who is 18 years of age or older, but who is physically or mentally disabled, living with and fully supported by the principal applicant;
• A parent or grandparent of the principal applicant or his or her spouse 55 years of age or older who is financially dependent on the principal applicant;
• a brother or sister of the principal applicant or his or her spouse, if unmarried;
• The future spouse of the principal applicant. The $50,000 fee is payable at the time of application;
• The future spouse of a dependent child, if the dependent child is financially supported by the principal applicant;
• and the The future child of a dependent child. A fee of $10,000 is charged for children under 5 years of age and $20,000 for children between 6 and 17 years of age.

The Cabinet also approved:

• The fee for adding a child is $10,000 for children under age 5 and $20,000 for children 6 to 17.
• The fee for adding adult dependents will be reduced from $75,000 to $50,000.
• There should be no time limit on when a dependent can be added to the application.

Changes in Antigua and Barbuda have brought the Caribbean CIP market full circle in two years in terms of expanding the definition for dependent members. The St. Kitts and Nevis CIP earlier this month became the fourth Caribbean CIP to include children in applications, following the introduction of such a policy in Grenada in 2018 and in Dominica and St. Lucia last year.