Grenada citizenship for a newborn child

Background: why Shimon and Alma got Grenada citizenship by investment

Shimon’s company produces equipment for oil and gas extraction and buys components in China. The investor used to visit China for negotiations with business partners every half a year.

Shimon did not manage to come to China in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet, he foresaw that it would take a lot of time and effort to obtain a visa when China opened for visitors again. So, the investor decided to obtain second citizenship which would let him enter China without a visa. 

On February 7th, 2021, Shimon and his wife Alma received Grenada passports by investment. At that time, Grenada was the only country that had an agreement on visa-free travel with China and offered to get citizenship by investment within half a year. Since November 22nd, 2021, there have been two such countries, as Dominica and China signed a similar agreement.

Citizens of Grenada can travel visa-free to 144 countries, including China. An investor obtains Grenada citizenship if he makes a non-refundable contribution of at least $150,000 to a state fund or buys real estate worth $220,000 or more. Shimon chose to make a contribution as it was the less expensive option.

$216,540 — Grenada citizenship costs for a married couple when investing in the state fund

In 2022, investors can spend even less money to get the opportunity of travelling to China without visas. The minimum investment under the Dominica program is $100,000, and a married couple needs to contribute $150,000.

A month after receiving a Caribbean passport, Shimon learned he would soon become a father. The investor wanted his coming baby to also become a citizen of Grenada and travel without visas with his parents. On March 16th, the investor turned to Immigrant Invest and asked how to get a second passport for a child when he is born.

The most comfortable weather in Grenada is in January, February and March: it is warm, but there is no sultry heat. So in February, Shimon’s family is going to go on a Caribbean vacation

The couple likes that their son will be able to study for free at the University of St. George’s in Grenada in the future. A degree from this university is valid in the USA and UK

Shimon is considering buying a yacht and registering it in Grenada. The cost of yacht maintenance in the Caribbean is cheaper than in Europe, yet only citizens of the Caribbean countries have the right to register yachts. As a Grenada passport holder, Shimon has such an opportunity

Ways of getting Grenada citizenship for a newborn child

According to the Grenada legislation, Grenada citizenship by investment can be only the second for a person. The rule applies to everyone, including newborn children. Shimon and Alma had two options for obtaining a Grenada passport for their child. 

The first way was to give birth to their child in Grenada. In this case, the newborn would get Grenada citizenship by birth, not under the citizenship program. The second way was to give birth to the child outside Grenada, obtain the first citizenship for the newborn, and then apply for the child to join the investment program.

Zlata Erlach
Head of the Austrian office, Caribbean investment programs expert

Alma was not eager to go into labour in Grenada. The child’s birth was expected in late November — early December. At this time, there was dry thirty-degree heat in Grenada, which Alma did not tolerate well. Therefore, she chose to give birth to her child back home in Israel, famous for its high level of medicine and mild winters. 

When the baby was born, Shimon and Alma obtained his birth certificate and applied for an Israeli passport. Issuance of a passport took about a month. When the couple received it, everything was ready for their son to join the Grenada citizenship program.

Obtaining a Grenada passport for Shimon’s son

Under the terms of the Grenada citizenship by investment program, a child can get a passport only if they are born within a year after the investor becomes a citizen of the country.

Shimon and Alma’s son was born within ten months. Immigrant Invest lawyers collected the necessary documents and submitted them on time to the Grenada CBI unit. Shimon also paid the required fees.

$6,685 — the total cost for Shimon’s son to join the Grenada program

Documents that Shimon provided for his newborn son to join the Grenada citizenship by investment program:

1. The form on the child’s personal data filled out and signed by the parents;
2. The form on the child’s medical condition filled out by the doctor;
3. A completed application for Grenada citizenship;
4. Parents’ certificates of naturalisation in Grenada citizenship;
5. A child’s birth certificate and its notarised and apostilled copy;
6. A notarised and apostilled copy of the child’s passport;
7. A notarised and apostilled copy of any other child’s identity document or an affidavit explaining why only one identity document can be provided;
8. 2 passport-sized photos of a child.

It took the Grenada CBI unit three weeks to consider and approve the application. Another two weeks were spent on issuing and transmitting the passport and certificate of naturalisation.

On January 23rd, 2022, the investor received a Grenada passport for his newborn son. It was sent by courier by the Immigrant Invest lawyers to the address convenient for the investor.

It’s great that the terms of the Grenada program allowed our son to get second citizenship. He is not even a year old but already a cosmopolitan.

Shimon, 37 years old
An entrepreneur

The procedure for the investor’s newborn child to join the Grenada citizenship program