The citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda offers numerous benefits to investors and their families:

• Travel over 140 countries without visa, including the UK, EU Schengen Area, and Singapore.
• Antigua permits dual citizenship
• There are no specific residency requirements
• There are tax benefits on offer by the country including no tax on worldwide income
• People can access the high-quality healthcare and education systems.

The Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment program provides a fast-track process, wherein citizenship is given within months of application submission. Successful applicants has the right to live and work in the country, with other CARICOM member states.

Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship Requirements

Requirements for the Antigua and Barbuda citizenship by investment have been mentioned as follows:

• Minimum age should be more than 18 years of age.
• An investor has to make a contribution to the National Development Fund (NDF) of a minimum of USD 230,000, which is non-refundable with one of the following investment options:
  • A minimum of USD 300,000 in approved real estate projects and ought to be held for a minimum period of 5 years.
  • Minimum of USD 1,500,000 directly into an eligible business as sole investor or joint investment involving at least 2 people in an eligible business totaling a minimum of USD 5,000,000 and each of those investors individually investing a minimum of USD 400,000.
• A minimum investment of USD 260,000 for the University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus Fund. This includes the processing fees.

A point to be noted is that these investment options are scrutinized as per the government processing and with due diligence fees which includes a thorough background check after which the applicants and their families are offered citizenship. The Antigua Citizenship by Investment program (CIP) helps the investors make a significant contribution towards the country’s economy. In addition to the funding of the selected investment option, requisite fees (government fee, due diligence fee, and passport fee) ought to be paid by each family member.

The fees schedule for mandatory NDF investment is as follows:

• For investor as individual: – Processing Fees (PF): $10,000
• Contribution: $2,30,000
• Due Diligence: $8,500

For investor having a family of up to 4 members:

• PF- $20,000
• Contribution: $2,30,000
• Due Diligence: $8,500 +$5,000 (for spouse)
• $2,000 per dependent aged between 12-17
• $4,000 per dependent aged above 18 years
• $5,000 as benefactor

If the investor is having a family above 4 members:

• PF- $20,000 with payments on an incremental basis of $10,000 for each additional dependent.
• Contribution: $2,30,000
• Due Diligence: $8,500 +$5,000 (for spouse)
• $2,000 per dependent aged between 12-17
• $4,000 per dependent aged above 18 years
• $5,000 as benefactor

The schedule of fees for real estate investment options:

• For investor as individual: – Processing Fees (PF): $10,000
• Contribution: $3,00,000
• Due Diligence: $8,500

For investor having a family of up to 4 members:

• PF- $20,000
• Contribution: $3,00,000
• Due Diligence: $8,500 +$5,000 (for spouse)
• $2,000 per dependent aged between 12-17
• $4,000 per dependent aged above 18 years
• $5,000 as benefactor.

If the investor has the family above 4 members:

• PF- $20,000 with incremental payments of $10,000 for each additional dependent.
• Contribution: $3,00,000
• Due Diligence: $8,500 +$5,000 (for spouse)
• $2,000 per dependent aged between 12-17
• $4,000 per dependent aged above 18 years
• $5,000 as benefactor

The schedule of fees for the business investment options:

• For the investor as individual: – Processing Fees (PF): $10,000
• Contribution (single investor): $15,00,000
• Contribution (joint investors): $50,00,000 (min no of persons is 2 and each person is required to contribute at least $4,00,000 to the joint investment.
• Due Diligence: $8500.

For the investor having a family of up to 4 members :-

• PF- $20,000
• Contribution (single investor): $15,00,000
• Contribution (joint investors): $50,00,000 (min no of persons is 2 and each person is required to contribute at least $4,00,000 to the joint investment.
• Due Diligence: $8,500 + $75,000 (for spouse)
• $2000 for the dependent(s) aged between 12-17
• $4000 per dependent aged above 18 years
• $5000 as benefactor.

The schedule of fees for the University of the West Indies Fund (UWI):

• For investor having family of 6 members :- Processing Fees(PF): $NIL
• Contribution: $2,60,000(inclusive of PF)
• Due Diligence: $8,500 for principal applicant +$5,000 for spouse
• $2,000 per dependent aged between 12-17
• $4,000 per dependent aged above 18 years
• $5,000 as benefactor.

For investors having family members more than 6 members :-

• Processing Fees(PF): $10,000 for each additional dependent.
• Contribution: $2,60,000
• Due Diligence: $8,500 for principal applicant +$5,000 for spouse
• $2,000 per dependent aged between 12-17
• $4,000 per dependent aged above 18 years
• $5,000 as benefactor.

ECD = Eastern Caribbean Dollars  USD = United States Dollars

Documents Required in Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment

There are various documents required for this visa. Refer to the same very carefully while you go ahead in the application process.

Application forms

1. a) AB1 Form: Application
2. b) AB2 Form: Signatures with photo certificate
3. c) AB3 Form: Medical Certificate
4. d) AB4 Form: Confirmation of Investment
5. e) AB5 Form: Agent Form

Application for Passport Forms

1. a) L Form: For Applicants aged 16 or above.
2. b) M Form: For people under the age of 16.

Investment Options Forms

1. a) Form AB8: Application for Real Estate Developer
2. b) Form AB9: Investment in Business Application

Forms for Agents & Representatives

1. a) Form AB6 Form: Providers of Service and Representatives
2. b) AB7 Form: License Form of Agent

Documents Required for Application Submission

As we now know the forms required for submission of submission, lets have a look at the other documents required: 

• Application forms completed (AB1, AB2, AB3, AB4, AB5)
• Photographs of passports-size
• Current passport certified copy
• Certificate of birth
• Certificate of marriage (if applicable)
• Clearance certificate of Police
• Medical fitness results
• Address proof
• Education and professional certificates
• Bank and financial statements
• Fund’s source documentation

All documents ought to be in English or shall be accompanied by certified translations.

Step-by-step guide to apply for citizenship to Antigua and Barbuda by Investment

To gain citizenship by Investment in Antigua and Barbuda, an applicant has to go step by step and coordinate with the relevant authorities at each step. For this, as an applicant, one should know what is in store for them at each step. Following are the steps has to follow:

1. Route of Investment: Select the best pathway of investment aligned with your goals.
2. Authorized agent: Select the approved and authorized agents from the official website of CIU for better visa processing. 
3. Completion of all application forms: All the forms provided by the agents have to completed properly and with utmost 
4. Application Submission: Completed and duly filled application has to be submitted with the documents for further processing.
5. Interview for Citizenship: As a mandate, a virtual interview round has to be conducted, which forms a crucial part in the application of citizenship.
6. Approval of CIU: It takes about 4 to 5 months to receive the confirmation letter post the submission of application.
7. Make the Investment: After the approval of CIU, an investment has to be processed, which shall be supported by proper documentation and shared with CIU.
8. Citizenship: Lastly take the citizenship oath or affirmation of allegiance at an Embassy, High Commission, or Consular Office of Antigua and Barbuda, invariably becoming the citizen of the nation.

Antigua and Barbuda citizenship by Investment processing time 

Each step has its own processing time. Let’s dig deep into it in a step by step way. 1) Preparation The expected processing time at this step is one month. Under this step, it is expected to:

1. a) Pick up the best fit investment option.
2. b) Go with authorized agent from the list on the website of CIU
3. c) Submission of completely filled form and required documents through the authorized agent.

2) Processing      The processing of your application takes its own sweet time and is important as well. This is to make sure that everything is good to go. Under this the expected duration is two to four months. Following are the things that can be expected in this process:

1. a) Background checks by CIU.
2. b) Virtual interview.
3. c) Do the required/ proposed investment.

3) Approval Last but not the least, the final approval of the visa takes about four to six months of the duration. The final approval stage involves the following things in it:

1. a) Pay the passport fees
2. b) Obtain the Certificate of Registration
3. c) Obtain the Antigua and Barbuda Passport

Frequently Asked questions