Investment Immigration: Antigua and Barbuda Investor Citizenship
Antigua and Barbuda has an Investor Citizenship programme which enables one to acquire direct citizenship of the country without any complicated residency requirements.
Benefits of having a citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda:
- Hassle-free movement through the Caribbean CARICOM countries
- Visa-free travel in the Schengen countries of the European Union
- Family members can also acquire citizenship without any additional investment requirements.
There are three investment options offered by Antigua and Barbuda Investor Citizenship Programme:
- Investment in National Development Fund:
The National Development Fund (NDF) is a non-profit fund which was set up in 2006 to run government projects, private-public partnerships and other government approved charitable investments. An investor can acquire citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda by investing a minimum amount of US $250,000 in the NDF.
Through such an investment citizenship can be acquired by the investor, his/her spouse, any dependent children and dependent parents above 65 years of age, without any further investment requirements.
- Investment in Real Estate
Another option for acquiring citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda is to invest a minimum amount of US $400,000 in real estate property in the country. Such an investment must be made in officially-approved real estate only.
A joint investment can also be done wherein two or more applicants can jointly apply for citizenship, provided that each applicant makes a minimum investment of $400,000.
The applicant cannot sell or dispose of the property bought under this option for a period of five years. This is allowed only if the applicant buys an alternative real estate property approved by the government and which meets the permissible investment criteria for acquisition of citizenship by investment in Antigua and Barbuda.
- Investment in Business
Investors can also acquire citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda by investing in a business approved by the Citizenship by Investment Unit. There are two ways in which investors can use this option:
- Make a minimum investment of $1,500,000 in an approved business
- Make a joint investment application with one or more persons in an approved business where the total minimum investment should be a sum of $5 million. In such an investment, each applicant should contribute at least $400,000.
The application process for all options stated above requires the investor to obtain an application form from a locally authorized agent licensed by the Citizenship by Investment Unit of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda. The completed application form should be submitted along with necessary documents and payment of requisite due diligence fees and 10% of the total government processing fee. The application will be processed by the agency implementing the programme within three months of submission.
A Certificate of Registration of Citizenship will be issued to the successful applicants and all eligible dependents.
In order to get the passport, the investor should submit an application along with necessary documents and the Certificate of Registration of Citizenship.
The investor applicant must take the oath or affirmation of allegiance when he/she first visits Antigua and Barbuda. However this requirement can also be fulfilled at an embassy or high commission in the investor’s country of residence.
The passport fee is $300 per person.
Antigua and Barbuda Investor Citizenship: Fees
| Government fees | Due diligence fees
|
Principal Applicant | $50,000 | $7,500 |
Spouse | $50,000 | $7,500 |
Dependent child aged 0-11 | $25,000 | $0 |
Dependent child aged 12-17 | $25,000 | $2,000 |
Dependent child aged 18-25 | $50,000 | $4,000 |
Spouse | $50,000 | $7,500 |
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