Antigua & Barbuda is a twin island country lying between the caribbean sea and the atlantic ocean. Antigua was first discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493 and later became a British settlement and naval base. The country is a exotic paradise of beautiful over 300 white beaches, turquoise waters, coral reefs, tropical islands with lots of luxury resorts. Tourism is a key industry driving 60% of GDP.  Antigua is a member of the United Nations (UN), the British Commonwealth, Caricom and the Organisation of American States (OAS). Antigua has population of 85,000 and its currency is Eastern Caribbean Dollar (ECD) pegged to USD and official language is english.

The Citizenship by Investment Program of Antigua & Barbuda (CIP) was officially launched on Oct 10, 2013.  The Regulations under Section 6 of the Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment Act, 2014 allow the government to operate a CIP program, under which citizenship is granted to persons who qualify under criteria set by parliamentary decision. Antigua CIP requires a person to make a significant economic contribution to the Country. In exchange, subject to stringent application and background check , the applicants and their families are granted lifetime citizenship.

Antigua & Barbuda can be the most affordable citizenship by investment scheme for international families in the Caribbean who look for second nationality with wealth diversification. The CIP program has been amended to become a family friendly.

Benefits

Antigua is currently one of the best economic citizenship program among the Caribbean countries.

• Lifetime citizenship with one time investment.
• Affordable citizenship by investment scheme for families
• Fast processing time 3-4 months.
• No personal visit to Antigua required during first 5 years.
• Choice of real estate or business investment.
• Passport issued with 5 year validity.
• Family, siblings and children can apply for citizenship.
• Visa free travel to UK, Ireland, Switzerland, China, EU schengen over 145+ countries.
• No business experience or language tests.
• Antigua Government provides good consulate assistance in many countries.
• Maintain dual citizenship with other nations.
• No wealth, inheritance, foreign income, personal income taxes.

CIP Investment Increase

Price Increase: Please be informed the minimum investment is raised from July 30, 2024 for donation and real estate investments options, subject to parliamentary approval. Please apply before this date to benefit from old pricing structure.

Antigua and Barbuda CIU has announced new investment thresholds for the citizenship by investment program, in accordance with the MOA signed with five eastern caribbean states. The new prices will be implemented by July 30, 2024 (instead of Jun 30), that is 30 days later from the proposed date, according to the memo sent to all CIP stakeholders by CEO of Antigua CIU Charmaine Donovan.

• NDF Donation – $230,000 (upto family of 4)
• Real Estate – $325,000
• UWI Fund – $300,000

Citizenship by Investment

The Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP) was established following parliamentary assent to the Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment Regulations 2014. The Regulations regarding Citizenship by Investment in Antigua and Barbuda are contained in Section 6 of the Citizenship by Investment Act, 2014. These provisions allow the government to operate a program under which citizenship is granted to persons who qualify under following criteria set by parliamentary decision and the Citizenship by investment unit (CIU) handles all applications in Antigua.

Legal Background

Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2021	2021
Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship Act	1982
Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship By Investment (Amendment ) Act, 2018	2018
Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 2016	2016
Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 2016	2016
Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment (Amendment) Act, 2014	2014
Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment (Amendment) Act, 2016	2016
Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment (Amendment) Act, 2020	2020
Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship By Investment (Amendment) Regulations 2020	2020
Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship By Investment Act, 2013	2012
Antigua Citizenship by Investment Regulations 2024	2024

Antigua is the only country besides St lucia that offers business investment option with a direct path for citizenship under CIP.

The Government of Antigua introduced the fourth University of West Indies Fund  (UWI fund)  option after a cabinet decision is currently open for applications effective from Oct 12, 2018. Foreigners can qualify for Antigua citizenship by making $150,000 one  time contribution to the UWI fund.   One member of the family  will be entitled to scholarship for 1 year (tuition only) at the University of the West Indies campus.

Investment Routes

The investment options  under the citizenship program are:

1. National Donation Fund (NDF) One time non-refundable contribution paid to the national fund.	USD 230,000
2. Real Estate Shares or title deed must be held for 5 years. Only approved real estate projects qualify for citizenship.	USD 300,000
3. University of West Indies Fund (UWI) Only families of 6 or more members can apply. Free scholarship for 1 year for one child. This makes it cheaper for families of 6 or more compared to NDF option	USD 260,000 (inclusive of processing fee)
4. Business Investment USD 1.5 million business investment in approved business projects such as resorts, spas, hotels, aquaculture etc as a sole investor (or) a joint investment involving at least 2 persons in an eligible business totalling at least USD 5,000,000 and each of those persons individually invests at least US$400,000.	USD 1,500,000

All four investment options are subject to government processing and due diligence fees (see below).

1.National Development Fund

Fees	Single	Family of 4	Family of 5+
Contribution	$230,000	$230,000	$230,000
Processing fees	$10,000	$20,000 for a family of up to 4 persons	$10,000 for each additional dependent.
Due Diligence	$8,500	$8,500 + $5000 for spouse, $2,000 per dependent 12-17, $4,000 per dependent 18 and over	$8,500 + $5000 for spouse, $2,000 per dependent 12-17, $4,000 per dependent 18 and over

* Other fees payable include passport fees. These fees are subject to change.
* All fees quoted are in US dollars

2. Real Estate

Fees	Single	Family of 4	Family of Five +
Property	$300,000	$300,000	$300,000
CIP Processing fee	$10,000	$20,000 for a family of up to 4 persons	$10,000 for each additional dependent.
Due Diligence	$8,500	$8,500 + $5000 for spouse, $2,000 per dependent 12-17, $4,000 per dependent 18 and over	$8,500 + $5000 for spouse, $2,000 per dependent 12-17, $4,000 per dependent 18 and over

* Other fees payable include passport fees. These fees are subject to change.
* All fees quoted are in US dollars

3. UWI Fund

The University of the West Indies Fund (UWI)

Costs	Family of 6	Family of 7 or more
Processing fees	Included	$15,000 for each additional dependent.
Contribution	$260,000 (inclusive of processing fees)	$260,000
Due Diligence	$7,500 + $7,500 for spouse, $2,000 per dependent 12-17, $4,000 per dependent 18 and over	$7,500 + $7,500 for spouse, $2,000 per dependent 12-17, $4,000 per dependent 18 and over

Due Diligence and passport fees

DD fee	*USD
Principal applicant	$8,500
Spouse	$5,000
Dependent child aged 0-11	$0
Dependent child aged 12-17	$2,000
Dependent aged 18-25	$4,000
Dependent parent aged 65 and over	$4,000
Passport fee – each person	$300

Future Addition of Dependents

It is possible to add spouse and children post citizenship approval of main applicant. DD fee may apply depending on adding dependent within a year or after one year.

	*USD
Spouse	$50,000
Dependent child aged 0-11	$10,000
Dependent child aged 12-17	$20,000
Dependent Parent aged 65 and over	$75,000

Antigua Passport Validity

Antigua Passport takes 3-4 months of processing time with 5 years validity.  All applicants has to go through stringent background and due diligence checks before being granted citizenship. The “certificate of naturalization” is issued first which is a proof of citizenship granted and based on this Antigua passport is issued.

The Antigua passport will be valid for initial period of 5 years and will be considered for renewal subject to the recipient having spent a total of 5 days in Antigua and Barbuda, since gaining citizenship, within the 5 year period. The passport does not afford automatic voting rights and persons would need to qualify as outlined in the Representation of the People Act. The passport is revoked after 5 years if the 5 day requirements of visiting the country is not met.

*Standard due diligence and passport fees apply

*Please Note: ECD = Eastern Caribbean Dollars and USD = United States Dollars

Real Estate Properties

We offer the following handpicked properties to clients interested in Real estate. These are government approved properties. The Minimum required investment to qualify for citizenship is USD 200,000 (share only) or USD 400,000 (comes with title deed)

• Deppie Bay Villas – USD 200,000 (buyback share)
• Hodges Bay – USD 200,000  (guaranteed buyback by developer)
• Moongate Hotel – USD 200,000 (shares)
• South Point Hotel – USD 200,000 (shares)
• Beach Houses – $1.5 million onwards

Application forms

The CBI application forms are available for free download to familiarise yourself. The Authorized agent will be able to provide you updated application forms.

• Citizenship by Investment Application Form AB1 – Sample
• Photograph and Signature Certificate Form AB2 – Sample
• Medical Certificate Form AB3 – Sample
• Investment Confirmation Form AB4 – Sample
• Antigua & Barbuda Passport L Form (16 and older)
• Antigua & Barbuda Passport M Form (Under 16)
• Real Estate Developer Application Form AB8 – Sample
• Business Investment Application Form AB9 – Sample

Refusals

The granting of citizenship is at the sole discretion of the Antigua and Barbuda government and council of ministers.

• Applicant has provided false or concealment of information on his or her application
• Where a medical practitioner states that any of the family members is suffering from a contagious disease and/or serious health problems
• Not having received a free pardon, has at any time previously been convicted in any country of an offence for which the maximum custodial penalty is in excess of six months imprisonment
• Is the subject of a criminal investigation
• Is a potential national security risk to Antigua and Barbuda or to any other country
• Is involved in any activity likely to cause disrepute to Antigua and Barbuda
• Has been denied a visa to a country with which Antigua and Barbuda has visa-free travel and who has not subsequently obtained a visa to the country that issued the denial
• Nationals from restricted country list published by the Government (North Korea, Somalia, Yemen).

Deprivation

Deprivation of citizenship  may  occur if the citizen does not spend at least 5 days in Antigua and Barbuda during the period of five calendar years after having obtained citizenship  and they will not be entitled to repayment of any investment, contribution or purchase price made by them in their original application for citizenship.

Property Market

The real estate market is on the expansion as lot of construction projects has been happening lately such as South point hotel, Sandals beaches resort, Beau panel 5000 homes, Singulari mega resort (647 acre with $1 billion investment). IMF report says the market will grow by 2.3% in 2016. The prices of 2 bedroom houses average around $420,000. Gross rental yields average around 4% and peak seasons 5% ROI.

Antigua & Barbuda Passport

Antigua & Barbuda passport is ranked 28th powerful passport in the world and its  holders can visit 150 countries as of 2023,  including Hong Kong, Russia, Singapore, U.K. and the European Schengen Area without visa, according to Henley. You can download the full list of countries with visa waivers in pdf format

Canada Visa Waiver (eTA)

Canada has granted partial visa waiver through electronic travel authorization to citizens of Antigua & Barbuda. Effective Jun 6, 2023, A&B citizens who have either held a Canadian visa in the last 10 years or who currently hold a valid United States non-immigrant visa ,can now apply for an eTA instead of a paper visa, when travelling to Canada by air.

Antigua Taxes

There are no capital gains or inheritance taxes in Antigua & Barbuda. Personal income tax was abolished recently in the country. The business and corporate tax rate is 25% of net profits, although attractive concessions are available to qualifying companies. Property tax is levied on all properties in Antigua but not in Barbuda. The taxable value is based upon the property’s current market value construction replacement cost with the applicable tax rate dependent upon the classification of the property (residential or commercial).

Documents Required

These are the documents which must be kept ready, when applying for citizenship.

• Medical certificate (HIV clearance less than 3 months including children) **
• Police clearance certificate or Certificate of no criminal record (original) aged 16 or older, where they have lived in countries more than 6 months in past 10 years (must be less than 6 months old) **
• Copy of passports (2 certified copies)
• Marriage or divorce certificate, with spouse as dependent (original) **
• 2 birth certificates (certified copies)**
• Military records (if any)
• 8 photos in color
• Professional reference letter (main applicant less than 6 months old issued by notary, lawyer, accountant)
• Bank references (in letterhead less than 3 months old)
• Proof for source of funds (business registration, share certificate or employment document)
• Proof of name change if any
• For children, 18-25, proof of education such as school or university letter showing full time studies.
• NDF Escrow Agreement confirmation of investment.
• certified copy of a recent utility bill or bank statement showing full name and address, or written confirmation from a bank, attorney, chartered accountant or Notary Public), not older than 3 months
• copy of duly executed real-estate contract (Purchase and Sales Agreement), copy of duly executed escrow agreement.
• affidavit of support for each dependent (excluding spouse) over 18 years of age

** Documents originating outside Antigua and Barbuda must bear Apostille seal.

FAQs

What makes Antigua different from other CBI programs?

Antigua is the cheapest CBI for families applying for four or more dependents. It gives a good balance of passport power for the right price.

How long is the passport is issued for?

Antigua passport issued is valid initially for 5 years. The validity is extended another 10 years after you renew the passport.

Where can i travel visa free to Antigua passport?

Antigua has visa free or arrival to 150+ countries and territories. These include United Kingdom, Russia, EU Schengen area, South Africa, Brazil etc.

Can i invest in real estate for citizenship?

Yes you can. The minimum required investment is USD 300,000 plus fees and other charges.

What are the processing times?

The whole citizenship process until the passport is issued may take between 3-4 months.

Are there any age limits for including family members?

Yes, children of main applicant upto only 30 years of age, can be included in family application. Future spouse and siblings can be included provided they are unmarried and financially dependant.

Is the name change allowed?

After 5 years of living.

Can i get permanent residency with citizenship?

Only if you buy real estate under CBI scheme. Donation option do not come with permanent residence card.

Can i visit USA using Antiguan passport without visa?

USA – A visa required which can be applied at any US embassy.

Can i visit UK using antigua passport without UK visa?

Yes, you can visit upto 6 months maximum for tourism, business conferences, visiting family and friends etc. You can check here: https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/

Are there any residency requirements?

Just 5 days. This is only needed when renewing your passport after 5 years. After renewing passport first time, you get 10 year validity Antigua passport for family.

How do i renew expired passport?

You can do it through consulate, authorized agent or directly at the immigration office in Antigua. Remember you must visit Antigua for 5 days or spend these days before you can renew your passport validity.

What are the benefits of buying real estate?

If you buy real estate you get the following benefits

• You will be investing in refundable appreciating investment.
• You have genuine link to Antigua owning a home (ties to country)
• You will have your Antigua home address printed in Antigua passport

Do i need to give up my existing citizenship?

Antigua & Barbuda has no restrictions on dual citizenships. However, please check your home country may prohibit it. Countries such as India, Saudi Arabia, China, Russia do not allow dual citizenships.

Can i visit Schengen countries with Antigua passport?

Yes, you can stay or visit Schengen countries including Switzerland for upto 90 days in 180 period (sliding window)

Are there any Restricted country list?

Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment Programme will not accept applications from nationals of the following countries: Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Somalia, Yemen

As an exception, nationals of the above-mentioned countries who are lawful permanent residents lived outside for 10 years of Canada, the United States of America or the United Kingdom, will be allowed to make application providing that their status as lawful residents is established.

How to start the application process?

You must apply for Antigua CIP through authorized agent. Antigua CIP unit does not accept the applications directly. We work with many government authorized agents in the island for CIP. You have to pay 10% of Government fee for due diligence to start the process.

Do i need to come to Antigua to for the application process?

No. You can get the passport but taking an oath may be required

Do i get my money back if the application is not approved?

If your application is rejected, you will lose only agent fee and due diligence fee paid to government. You will not lose investment, which must be paid after approval letter is issued.

Where to obtain police certificates in Canada?

There are two national police certificates available in Canada. One is a name and date of birth check through the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC). The other a certified criminal history check conducted by the RCMP Real Time Identification system (RTID). It must be less than 6 months when launching the citizenship application.

Are there any taxes in Antigua?

Antigua has no capital gains, gifts, wealth, estate, personal income and inheritance taxes and income generated outside of the country is not taxed.

Do i need an address in Antigua?
No

Do i need visa to visit Antigua ?

Yes, you are welcome to visit the beautiful country and have a look around. You can also meet various real estate developers. Please check the visa requirements (http://www.immigration.gov.ag/visa-services/countries-exempt-from-visa/). If you hold the following you can get visa on arrival in Antigua by paying $100.

USA Visa or ‘Green Card’
UK Entry certificate or residence permit
Canadian Visa or Permanent Residence card
Schengen Visa or residence permit

Are there any interviews ?

Yes, there is an interview taken online.

What if i dont visit Antigua for 5 days within first five years?

You wont be able to renew your passport after 5 years of expiry. Your citizenship will be cancelled.

Do i need to re-make the investment again when renewing passport?

No, you just have to pay $300 passport fee and show your “Certificate of naturalization” as proof of citizenship.

What are the qualifying real estate investments for CIP?

$300,000 in real estate projects approved by the Government. You can buy a condo, villa, share in a hotel or resport.

What is the time taken by CIP unit for approvals?

Takes 90-120 days sometimes faster.

Does the Antigua government publish the names of investors who are approved for passports?

No. Plus the application process is fully confidential.

We are expecting a new baby and can for the baby get citizenship of Antigua?

Yes, only if the baby born after the date of issue of “Certificate of naturalization”. See post approval fees.

Is the due diligence carried out for children?

Only Children above 12 years must go through due diligence and background checks. Dependent children under 11 requires no due diliagence but requires a sworn affidavit from parents and there is no due diligence fee to be paid.

Can i apply directly to the Citizenship unit in Antigua (CIU) without involving agent?

No, CIU does not accept applications directly. It must go through authorized agents.

Can i live and work in Antigua and Barbuda with the citizenship?

Yes you will get full residency status with the right to live and work in Antigua.

What are the main qualifying requirements to apply for Antigua CIP?

• Clean criminal record
• Sound financial background
• Excellent references
• No fraud or concealment of information in the citizenship application
• Must not be a threat to safety and integrity of the country.
• Economic activity is outside OFAC list of countries hit by sanctions
• All the applicants, dependents and children must undergo thorough background and due diligence checks. The government will issue letter of refusal, should they deny the citizenship. The granting of citizenship to an alien national, is ONLY at the sole discretion of the Government and Cabinet of Ministers.

Why is there a 5 day residency requirement?

It is a layer of security check to screen applicants and establish genuine ties with the country. Antigua passport issued initially valid for 5 years without even visiting Antigua. The Rule applies only at the time of renewing your passport after 5 years. You must have visited Antigua for 5 days, if not the passport or deprival of citizenship occurs. Besides this.Antigua is really beautiful has white beaches and turquoise water and we really think, you should spend your holidays atleast once here and you will be a proud citizen.

Does the citizenship give me voting and political rights in Antigua and Barbuda?

No. The Antiguan passport under CIP does not afford political automatic voting rights and persons would need to qualify as outlined in the Representation of the People Act. You cannot also service public offices.