Caribbean citizenship: who can participate in the program with an investor
With a Caribbean passport, you can move around the Schengen countries without a visa, open your own business in the USA or Great Britain, register a company and assets with the second passport, open currency accounts in foreign banks. You will be able to quickly move to another country in an unforeseen situation.
Author •Lyle Julien
prepared documents for spouses, kids, parents and siblings of 400 investors. All of them received Caribbean passports
Caribbean citizenship: who can participate in the program with an investor
The investor’s children can study in the UK on preferential conditions since the Caribbean countries are part of the British Commonwealth of Nations.
Citizenship by Investment program is offered by Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Grenada, and Dominica. You can obtain a Caribbean passport as soon as just in two months. The starting investment amount is $100,000
You can invest in real estate, business and the local economy. Moreover, each country has its own fund:
in Dominica, the Dominica Economic Diversification Fund (EDF);
in Antigua and Barbuda, the National Transformation Fund (NTF);
in Saint Lucia, the Saint Lucia National Economic Fund (NEF);
in Grenada, the National Transformation Fund (NTF);
in Saint Kitts and Nevis — The Federal Consolidated Fund.
In addition to the basic investment options, there are two more special options. In Antigua and Barbuda, you can invest $150,000 to the University of the West Indies Foundation if your six family members are applying to the program. In Saint Lucia, you can buy government bonds at a 50% discount until December 31, 2020, and fully return the investment in 5—7 years.
You don’t need to travel to the Caribbean to get a second passport — you can do it remotely. Also, the citizenship of these countries does not oblige you to live there, except for five days within five years in Antigua and Barbuda.
Caribbean programs provide an opportunity to apply for citizenship for several family members at once: spouse, children, parents, brothers, and sisters. Moreover, you can reunite with them later, after the main applicant receives a passport. Also, in all countries, citizenship is inherited, but there are some specifics that we spotlight further.
To better understand in which country and how much are needed to invest to obtain citizenship in the Caribbean, let’s take a family as an example: husband, wife, and two children.
Cost of Caribbean citizenship for a family of four
Caribbean passport for the family: who is initially included in the application
You can immediately include spouse, children under 18, and parents in your application for citizenship by investment to any of the five mentioned countries.
Adult children who are financially dependent on the investor can also participate in the program. They should be no more than 30 years old, and in Antigua and Barbuda — no more than 28 years old. Children with disabilities at any age can be enrolled in any of the five countries.
The parents and grandparents of the investor and the spouse can also be included in the application immediately. Age should be taken into account: in Antigua and Barbuda, parents must be at least 58 years old, and in Dominica — from 55 years old.
In Grenada, the age of the parents is not important at all. In Saint Kitts and Nevis, you won’t be able to include grandparents — or even add them later. Read more about the age of parents and grandparents in the table below.
Siblings can also participate in the Caribbean Citizenship Program. Each country has its own conditions: for example, in Grenada, Dominica, and Saint Lucia, they cannot have a husband, wife, or children. And in Antigua and Barbuda they can be included in the application only at a later stage.
How much does Caribbean passport cost for a family?
Each country has different initial investment value and additional fees. The more an investor invests, the more expensive is the participation. However, this is not the case with the purchase of real estate: for example, by investing $400,000 in real estate in Antigua and Barbuda, the investor will be able to include a family of four or more to the application.
How much it will cost for family members to participate in the program — we will show you an example of a non-refundable contribution.
Cost of family participation in citizenship programs in the Caribbean with the example of a non-refundable contribution
Additional expenses are added to the number of investments: government fees, payment for due diligence, administration fees. The cost of these services differs in each program.
Here is an example of additional costs to participate in the Antigua and Barbuda investment program. The government fees will be $25,000 for a non-refundable contribution, $50,000 for real estate purchases, and $15,000 for each additional family member. The due diligence check will cost $15,000 for spouses, $2,000 for children 12—17 years old, $4,000 for children over 18 years old.
Who can join the program after obtaining citizenship of the Caribbean countries and how much does it cost
Family reunification is the registration of citizenship for other family members after the investor and family members originally included in the application have already received citizenship. For example, an investor obtained citizenship together with his wife and child and then decided to apply for citizenship for his parents. This can be done without new investments, but with additional payments.
In Antigua and Barbuda, you can add a spouse, children, and parents, except for brothers and sisters. And in Dominica, everyone except the parents.
In Saint Lucia, it is possible to add children, spouse, s and other family members not later than five years after receiving citizenship.
The most challenging situation with family reunification is in Grenada: the investor’s spouse, parents, brothers, and sisters cannot join the program at a later stage. Only children who were born within a year after obtaining citizenship. Therefore, if you want to obtain citizenship of Grenada, it is better to include family members in the application right away.
The costs for joining family members
Additional costs arise when other family members join the program: government and passport fees, due diligence, bank and agents commission.
Can the citizenship of the Caribbean countries be inherited?
The inheritance of citizenship enables your children to obtain citizenship by birth or through reunification. But if the child was born outside the Caribbean country, then you will have to add him as a new family member.
Citizenship of which Caribbean country is right for you
If you are thinking about how to obtain citizenship of the Caribbean fast, consider Dominica and Saint Lucia. They will work even if it is important for you to include most of the family members in the application or reunite them later.
If it is important to make a minimum investment to obtain Caribbean citizenship for yourself or your family, consider Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Saint Lucia.
If you intend to include a family to your application and want to avoid additional costs, check out the terms and conditions of the programs in Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Immigrant Invest is a licensed agent for citizenship and residence by investment programs in the EU, the Caribbean, Asia, and the Middle East. Take advantage of our global 15-year expertise — schedule a meeting with our investment programs experts.
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