Grenada Citizenship by Investment: a passport for the whole family and a route to the US E-2 visa

It is full citizenship with a passport, not a residence permit: it has no expiry, currently requires no residence in the country and allows another citizenship. A residence amendment has already been adopted under the regional agreement, but under IMA Circular No. 2 of 21 August 2026 it will not apply until the regional regulator is operational and the five states set a common date; its parameters have not been officially published. The passport is issued for 5 years and renewed under the normal procedure. The legal basis is the Grenada Citizenship by Investment Act 2013; the administrator is the government's Investment Migration Agency Grenada (IMA).

The National Transformation Fund contribution is USD 235,000 for a single applicant or a family of up to 4. The real estate route is from USD 270,000 for a share in an approved tourism project plus USD 50,000 to the government. Fees come on top: application USD 1,500 per person, due diligence USD 5,000 from age 17, processing USD 1,500 (under 17 — USD 500), interview USD 1,000 from age 17. For a single applicant on the fund route that is USD 244,000 before professional and passport fees. Discounts are prohibited: a price below the statutory amount is grounds for refusal.

Grenada is on the list of US treaty countries, so its citizens may apply for the E-2 investor visa — which Indian passport holders cannot, as India has no such treaty. But since 2022 US law (8 U.S.C. §1101(a)(15)(E)) requires that, where citizenship was acquired through a financial investment, the applicant has been domiciled in that country continuously for at least 3 years before applying. That is a real home that must be proven. This route should be planned on real timelines and compared with L-1 and EB-5.

Yes. India does not permit dual citizenship, and OCI is not dual citizenship. Acquiring Grenadian citizenship means surrendering the Indian passport and switching to OCI for your ties to India. For families whose main need is mobility and a base abroad, a residence permit often solves the task without that trade-off — both options should be compared before committing.

The IMA states that an application is approved within 60 business days of submission, subject to satisfactory due diligence and receipt of funds. That is a target, not a statutory term: real timelines depend on the due diligence firms' workload and document requests, and open data shows waits of over a year. Add dossier preparation (usually 3–6 weeks) and passport issuance after payment.

No. Under IMA rules no visit is required before, during or after the application. There is no residence requirement today. A residence amendment has already been adopted under the regional agreement, but under IMA Circular No. 2 of 21 August 2026 it will not apply until the regional regulator is operational and the five states set a common date. Its parameters have not been officially published. The interview is online. The exception is your own goal: the US E-2 visa needs a genuine domicile in Grenada of at least 3 years.

As at the verification date, Grenadian citizens do not need a visa for short stays in the Schengen area (up to 90 days in any 180) and are not on the UK's visa national list. The full list should be checked against real trips at the time of planning: states revise visa-free regimes, and the EU has demanded that Caribbean countries wind down citizenship-by-investment programmes by June 2028 — an ongoing process that should be built into the decision.

The investment is paid only after approval, so it is never paid on a refusal. All fees (application, due diligence, processing, interview) are non-refundable under IMA rules. A separate industry-wide risk is a programme closing to citizens of a particular country after payment; refund terms for each payment should be checked in the contract with the agent before payment.

The fund contribution is cheaper (USD 235,000 versus USD 320,000 including the government contribution) and easier to value: the money buys the status and does not come back. A project share is formally refundable, but the exit depends on the developer, the holding period and a real buyer; a promised buy-back is not a guaranteed return. Every property should be assessed as a standalone asset, not as a 'free passport'.

Police certificates from your country of citizenship and the countries where you have lived; the IMA medical form from a doctor where you live; proof of funds — bank statements and source-of-wealth documents. Everything in English and legalised: UAE documents through the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Indian documents with an apostille from the Ministry of External Affairs. Nationality, countries of residence and past visa refusals are examined by an independent firm — explanations should be prepared in advance.

The programme applies enhanced checks and restrictions to certain nationalities; there is no open list on the IMA website, so it is clarified through a licensed Local Agent before filing.

Yes. Dependants are the applicant's financially dependent spouse, children, parents, grandparents and siblings; the IMA sets no age limit for dependants. Parents and grandparents aged 55 and under are charged separately — USD 50,000 each — and siblings USD 75,000 each, and none of them count towards the base four. Every adult goes through due diligence and the interview.

The base NTF contribution of USD 235,000 is the same for a single applicant and for a family of up to 4 (applicant plus three dependants). Each further ordinary dependant adds USD 25,000. Parents aged 55 and under (USD 50,000) and siblings (USD 75,000) are counted separately. Fees per person: application USD 1,500, due diligence USD 5,000 from age 17, processing USD 1,500 (under 17 — USD 500), interview USD 1,000 from age 17. On the real estate route the share from USD 270,000 is topped up by a USD 50,000 government contribution for a family of up to 4, with the same surcharges.