Antigua and Barbuda – Citizenship by Investment Program (AB-CIP)

Overview

With the recently introduced 2013 Citizenship by Investment Act, Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment program is the fourth legal citizenship program in its category after St Kitts and Nevis, the Commonwealth of Dominica and Austria.

Applicants to the AB-CIP can choose from any of the following investment offers:

• Contribution to National Development Fund (NDF)
• Eligible Real Estate Investment
• Business Investment

Benefits of Antigua & Barbuda Citizenship

• Visa free travel to over 130 countries including Canada, UK, EU, Singapore and Hong Kong
• Independent, democratic Commonwealth with an English speaking community
• No personal income tax
• Tax advantages for businesses
• Beautiful tourist destination with hundreds of white sandy beaches, blue skies and turquoise waters
• Great central location in the Eastern Caribbean for cruises, yachts and sailing boats

Investment Requirements for Antigua Citizenship by Investment Program

• Contribution to National Development Fund (NDF)

Antigua & Barbuda Citizenship by Investment under the NDF contribution option requires the applicant to make a one-time minimum donation of US$200,000 per application to the National Development Fund.

NDF is a not-for-profit fund established by the Government of Antigua in order to provide funding for public projects, public-private business initiatives as well as approved charitable investments. The NDF operations are monitored regularly by the Parliament and audited by internationally recognized accounting firms.

• Real Estate Investment

Another investment option for acquiring an Antigua Citizenship under AB-CIP is to buy a government approved real estate with a minimum purchase price of U$400,000.

The Government of Antigua approves certain areas on the Island for developments as well as projects that would be eligible for Citizenship investments. Currently there are eight areas on Antigua and two areas on Barbuda that are approved for real estate development projects by Citizenship Investors. Nine real estate projects in these designated areas have obtained approval from the Government as eligible real estate projects for Citizenship by Investment program. (This information is slightly confusing, especially the numbers in the last two sentences).

• Business Investment

There are two business investment options:

1)  Individual investment in an approved business of at least US$1,500,000

2)  Joint investment by at least two persons in an approved business totaling at least US$5,000,000, and in which each applicant makes at least US$400,000 investment contribution to the joint business

Applicants wishing to obtain Antigua Citizenship under Business Investment category must first seek the approval of Antigua & Barbuda Investment Authority for their proposed business investment in an existing business or a planned business project.

In all these three investment options, the primary applicant may include spouse, dependent children (children under 18 or children between 18 and 26 who are full time students and depends on their parents) and dependent parents over 65 years in their application.

Applicable Fees for the Antigua Citizenship by Investment Program Applications

In addition to the Investment amounts; applicants will have to pay three types of other fees under the program:

• Processing fees
• Due Diligence Fees
• Commission

List of Applicable Fees:

Government processing fees

• Principal Applicant: $50,000
• Spouse: $50,000
• Dependent child (aged 0-11): $25,000
• Dependent child (aged 12-17): $25,000
• Dependent child (aged 18-25): $50,000

NOTE: 2 dependent children in a family application is free

• Dependent parent (aged over 65): $50,000

Government due diligence fees 

• Principal Applicant: $7,500
• Spouse: $7,500
• Dependent child (0-11): $0
• Dependent child (12-17): $2,000
• Dependent child (18-25): $4,000
• Dependent parent (aged over 65): $4,000

Other fees

• Biometric Passport Fee: $400 each person
• Authorized Service Providers’ Commission

Other information on the Antigua Citizenship by Investment Program 

• Citizenship, which confers the right to a passport being valid for a period of 5 years with application for renewal thereafter
• There is a residency requirement of 5 days total over a five-year period. Citizens may opt to complete their residency requirement in any one-year of the five year period
• Purchase of a previously held property in a designated zone would not grant automatic eligibility for citizenship
• The right to vote is not automatically conferred. The provisions of the Representation of the People’s Act will apply.
• The Antigua Citizenship Investment Unit reserves the right to interview any applicant
• Every successful applicant must appear in person in Antigua and Barbuda at the CIU to collect his/her passport and to take the Citizenship Oath
• Multiple citizenship is allowed
• Applications can only be made through authorized agents