Antigua and Barbuda

Lying in the Eastern Caribbean’s Leeward Islands, the English-speaking, two-island state of Antigua and Barbuda is a favoured tourist destination affectionately referred to as the ‘Land of 365 Beaches’.

Antigua and Barbuda enjoy a pleasant year-round climate, with average air temperatures ranging between 25ºC to 28ºC (77ºF to 82ºF) and sea temperatures reaching 29ºC (84ºF). These lush tropical islands are stunningly beautiful locales, and tourism is the dominant source of income-generating about 60% of the islands’ GDP.

Having gained independence from Britain in 1981, Antigua and Barbuda has developed a reputation for judicial and governmental stability. Today, passport holders enjoy visa-free travel to approximately 152 countries, including the countries of the European Schengen Area, the UK, South Africa, Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as enjoying the privileges associated with citizenship of a Caricom country

The Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship-by-Investment Programme requires an applicant to make a significant financial investment into the country in return for citizenship for the applicant and his/her family

To qualify for citizenship, the main applicant must be over 18 years of age, meet the due diligence requirements, commit at least five days of visit within the first five years of obtaining citizenship and must select one of three main options:

• A non-refundable donation to the National Development Fund starting from USD 100,000
• Purchase of qualifying real estate of at least USD 200,000 in a Government-approved project
• USD 150,000 non-refundable donation to the University of the West Indies (families of six or more only)

The National Development Fund (NDF) is a non-profit fund that
was established under section 42(2) of the Finance Administration Act 2006 for the purpose of funding government sponsored projects, including public-private partnerships and approved charitable investments.

The NDF contribution for a single applicant or a family of up to four people is USD 100,000 and the processing fee is USD 30,000.

The primary applicant may included his or her spouse and children up to 30 years of age who are financially dependant. A sibling of the applicant or spouse who is unmarried will also qualify as a dependant. In addition, parents and grandparents
may be included who are 55 years of age or older and who are financially dependant.

Below is a table summarizing two cost scenarios:

Applicants may also choose to purchase real estate with a minimum value of USD 200,000 from an approved real estate project. The real estate cannot be disposed of for a period of five years.

Under this option, the following government processing fees and due diligence fees would apply for the same two scenarios outlined earlier:

In addition to fulfilling one of the three economic contributions above, main applicants and their dependants must have clean personal backgrounds. The
Citizenship-by-Investment Unit (CIU) is the government authority responsible for processing and examining all applications and will perform strict due diligence checks.

An applicant will be denied citizenship if he/she has been denied a visa to a country that has a visa-free travel arrangement with Antigua and Barbuda, is identified as a potential national security risk, a reputational risk or is subject to a criminal investigation.