1. Travelling visa-free with an Antigua and Barbuda passport
Antigua and Barbuda has visa waiver agreements with 150 countries, with some of the most popular destinations among them.
For instance, holders of Antigua and Barbuda passports don’t need a visa to enter any Schengen state. They can stay in the Schengen area for a maximum of 90 days every six months.
Citizens of Antigua and Barbuda can also travel freely to the UK and stay there for 180 days per visit. Aside from travelling, they are allowed to attend business meetings, volunteer for up to 30 days, study and receive treatment.
With an Antigua and Barbuda passport, travelling to Singapore and Hong Kong is possible visa-free. This simplifies business travel for those who work with partners in Asia.
2. Opportunity to obtain a long-term visa to the United States
Antigua and Barbuda citizens can apply for a 10−year visitor visa to the USA. The B–1/B–2 visa is intended for tourism and business trips, so it does not allow working or studying in the country. Instead, it enables its holder to travel, visit family and friends, attend business meetings and take part in scientific, professional, or educational conferences.
The stay is limited to 180 days per year. To obtain the visa, citizens of Antigua and Barbuda apply to any convenient American consulate.
Alessandra and her husband live in Brazil and often travel to the USA to visit their daughters, who study there. During the 2020 pandemic, the couple could not obtain visitor visas to the USA, so they decided to obtain second passports to ease the process.
The USA would still issue visas for citizens of the Caribbean countries even during the pandemic; that’s why Alessandra opted for an Antigua and Barbuda passport. Even after the COVID restrictions were lifted, Caribbean citizenship still comes in handy.
3. Living in Antigua and Barbuda without limits
The investor and their family members can visit the country anytime, even if the borders are closed for third-country nationals.
Antigua and Barbuda can become an excellent place for vacation or a “safe haven” for the investor. In case of emergencies or dangerous situations in their country of residence, they can move to Antigua and Barbuda to ensure safety for themselves and their loved ones.
Another Antigua and Barbuda passport benefit is that the country is a member of CARICOM and OECS. The country’s citizens can come to any Caribbean state of the associations without visas and reside indefinitely in the OECS states or for six months in CARICOM states.
4. Tax optimisation for Antigua and Barbuda citizens
Antigua and Barbuda has no tax on personal income, capital gains or inheritance. Dividends, interest and royalties are also exempt from taxation, provided they are paid to the country’s tax resident.
Second citizenship also provides opportunities for optimising business taxation. For example, International Business Companies (IBCs) are exempt from taxes on income, dividends and interest from foreign sources for the first 50 years.
There are no taxes on employee salaries, and social contributions are only 8,25%. By comparison, in some countries, business people pay about 30% of contributions for each employee if they are not eligible for benefits.
5. Stable democratic government and the rule of law
Antigua and Barbuda is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. After gaining independence in 1981, Antigua and Barbuda remained under the control of the British monarch. The monarch is represented on the island by the Governor-General.
The main goal of the Commonwealth is promoting democracy — building, supporting and strengthening legal systems and good governance in member countries. Since 1980, the Commonwealth has observed over 160 elections in 40 countries.
In 2022, Antigua and Barbuda was rated 6th in Latin America and the Caribbean by the Rule of Law Index. It gained high rates for civil justice, order and security, and fundamental human rights.
6. EU banking services access
With an Antigua and Barbuda passport, opening an account with a European bank may be more accessible: the background check will not be as strict and lengthy, and refusal is less likely. This enables investors to move savings to a reliable bank and complete foreign exchange transactions without the challenges associated with foreign exchange control.
7. An option to have a second citizenship
Antigua and Barbuda allow their citizens to have second citizenship. When obtaining a passport, the investor does not need to renounce the citizenship of other states unless their laws state otherwise.
8. The extended list of family members to join the application
When it comes to obtaining Antigua and Barbuda citizenship by investment, the program allows the participants to add to the application their close family members.
Family members can obtain citizenship simultaneously as investors. The program allows providing citizenship to the principal applicant’s spouse, children under 30 years old, parents, and siblings.
Citizenship by investment programs in other countries often do not allow including siblings or parents in the application. For instance, Turkey issues passports only to the investor’s spouse and children under 18. And in Vanuatu’s or Dominica’s programs, siblings cannot be included in the application.
9. Available to investors of most nationalities
Antigua and Barbuda citizenship by investment is available to nationals of almost any state. Citizens of only six countries can’t participate in it: Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, Somalia, Yemen, and Sudan.
10. Fast passport obtainment by investment
One of the main benefits of the citizenship by investment program is that it allows applicants to obtain a second passport in only 3—6 months.
an Antigua and Barbuda passport
In many other countries, the timeframe for obtaining citizenship for investors is much longer. For example, none of the EU countries offers foreign nationals such programs — a huge investment will allow them to acquire only a residency status. After that, they can become citizens by naturalisation, which usually takes at least five years.
11. Investors can obtain citizenship remotely
The applicant doesn’t have to visit Antigua and Barbuda to get citizenship — the whole process can be done remotely, including submitting documents, fulfilling the investment conditions and taking an oath of allegiance.
The only requirement is to visit the country once for at least five days within the five years after obtaining the passport. This applies to each person who got a passport, including the investor and their family members.
12. No requirement to live in the country
Investors must not reside in Antigua and Barbuda to keep their citizenship. The only requirement for staying in the country is to visit it for at least five days within five years after receiving the passport.
Why Antigua and Barbuda is more than a holiday destination and what its investment program offers
13. Returnable investment options
Antigua and Barbuda’s citizenship by investment program offers foreigners several investment options, including returnable ones. If a participant chooses to invest in real estate, they will be able to sell the property five years after obtaining citizenship.
Shares in an oceanfront hotel complex can be purchased as an investment for acquiring citizenship. This is a 10-acre complex with restaurants, pools and an exclusive beach area. The price of a share starts at $200,000.
14. Investment options
for big families
Investors who are willing to provide passports to their big families can take advantage of a special investment opportunity within the Antigua and Barbuda CBI program.
An applicant with a family of 6 or more people can make a non-refundable contribution to the University of West Indies fund. The contribution fee is $150,000 for six people. For any additional family member, the investor adds $15,000 to the contribution.
After obtaining citizenship, one of the family members under 29 years old can study at the University of the West Indies for free for one year.
15. No language or history exams for new citizens
Investors don’t need to take language or history exams to obtain an Antigua and Barbuda passport, while many other countries — for example, the European ones — require applicants for citizenship to learn national languages and take integration courses.
Cons of Antigua and Barbuda passport
Along with an impressive number of benefits, the Antigua and Barbuda citizenship by investment program has several drawbacks. It’s essential to know them before investing funds into a second passport.
Visa-free travels to Europe are limited. Citizens of Antigua and Barbuda and other Caribbean countries don’t need visas to travel to the Schengen states. However, this applies only to short visits up to 90 days every 180 days.
If a holder of an Antigua and Barbuda passport wants to stay in any Schengen state for longer than 90 days, they will have to apply for a long-term visa. To permanently live in an EU state, foreign citizens need residency, which is much more expensive to obtain by investment. Citizenship by investment in the EU can’t be obtained at all.
Returnable investment options are more expensive than non-refundable ones. Those who want to return their investment in the future will have to spend more money initially. The applicants are required to purchase real estate for at least $200,000, which is twice as expensive as the non-refundable contribution.
Another potentially returnable option is investing in a business. In this case, applicants invest at least $400,000.
Returning the investment is possible only in 5 years. Another con of investment in Antigua and Barbuda real estate in exchange for citizenship is that the return is possible only five years after obtaining the passport. If one sells their objects or shares earlier, they can lose their citizenship.
Added costs for family members. Investors who want to include their family members in the application will have to pay more considerable Due Diligence and administrative fees. For instance, for adding a spouse to the application, the investor pays $7,500 more for Due Diligence.
Remote country. For investors from Europe and Asia, Antigua and Barbuda can be tricky to visit — there are no direct flights to the country from these continents. But, considering that the passport can be obtained remotely and the investors are required to visit the islands only once, the trip shouldn’t be a big problem.
Immigrant Invest is an agent of the Antigua and Barbuda program with a state licence. The company helps cosmopolitans to obtain passports from this country. If you are interested in a second passport, answer a few questions and get a calculation of the cost of citizenship.
Frequently asked questions
Antigua and Barbuda citizenship provides its holder with a number of opportunities:
- Visa-free travel to over 150 countries, including the UK and European Union.
- Opportunity to get a United States long-term visa.
- Tax optimisation.
- Free to reside in Antigua and Barbuda without time restriction.
- Dual citizenship permitted.
- Access to UE banking services.
- Studying at British universities.
- Stable democratic government.
- The process of obtaining Antigua and Barbuda citizenship takes 3—6 months.
- Available to investors of most nationalities
- The extended list of family members to join the application
- Obtainment by investment can be done remotely
- No requirement to live in the country
- Returnable investment options
Antigua and Barbuda has a visa-free regime with 150 countries. Among them are popular destinations for tourism and business trips.
The passport of this country allows one to come to any Schengen country and stay for 90 days within six months. Also, Citizens of Antigua and Barbuda fly to the UK and stay for 180 days without additional documents.
With an Antigua and Barbuda passport, you can come to Singapore and Hong Kong without additional documents. This simplifies business travel for those who work with partners in Asia.
No, one can’t just buy a passport. But you can apply for citizenship by investment, pass a Due Diligence check and be granted a second passport in several months.
The Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship Program allows obtaining a passport of the country by making an investment in its economy. There are four options offered:
- contribution to the state fund;
- contribution to a university fund;
- purchasing real estate;
- investing in a business.
The Antigua and Barbuda citizenship program offers wealthy foreigners an opportunity to acquire a second passport by an investment of at least $100,000.
One of the main benefits is the procedure term which is 3—6 months. There are four options offered: contribution to the state fund or a university fund, purchasing real estate, or investing in a business.
No, Antigua and Barbuda allow having second citizenship. You do not need to renounce the citizenship of another country unless its law states otherwise.
Antigua and Barbuda passport holders can travel to the UK visa-free and stay there for up to 180 days. However, to work there, they have to obtain a special permit.
Citizens of Antigua and Barbuda do need to request a visa to be able to enter the USA. They can, however, apply for a 10-year visitor visa, which will allow them to visit family and friends, travel, and attend business meetings and short educational courses.
To be able to work in the USA, citizens of Antigua and Barbuda need to obtain a work visa or permit.
