Established in 2013, the citizenship by investment programme of Antigua & Barbuda offers a fast route to acquiring a second citizenship by investment by making a contribution to a government fund or investing in approved real estate projects.

There are various benefits for an individual obtaining citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda. These include the fact that the acquired citizenship can be retained as the government allows dual citizenship.

A very well sought-after benefit also includes visa free access to 150 countries including the Schengen area, Singapore, Hong Kong and the UK. Another benefit of the Antigua Citizenship Programme is that the processing time to obtain citizenship is minimal, being that of 4-6 months. The processing time for one to obtain an in-principle approval for the citizenship in Antigua is that of around 3 months. The naturalisation certificate will be issued one month after the in-principle approval.

To apply for the Antigua  Citizenship  Programme, the main applicant must be at least 18 years of age and dependents can also be included within the application. Those which are eligible under the Citizenship by Investment programme include the spouse, financially dependent children under the age of 31 who are full time students at a recognised academic institution and parents and grandparents above the age of 55.

Another requirement for an individual to become a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda, one also must go through a ‘fit and proper’ test to prove that the applicant is of outstanding character, is in good health and holds a clean criminal record.  

The government agency responsible to administer the programme and process applications is the Antigua Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU). The CIU conducts a strict due diligence background check and also conducts mandatory interviews for the main applicant and dependants over the age of 16.

Applicants are also required to reside in Antigua & Barbuda for at least 5 days in the first five year period.

The applicant must also invest in one of the following options offered by the Antigua  Citizenship Programme; a donation of US$100,000 to Antigua’s National Development Fund (NDF) for a single applicant or a family of 4 or less.

The applicant might also do an investment in real estate amounting to a minimum of US$200,000 and which must be kept for a minimum of 5 years.

Another investment option has also been introduced which entails an investment US$150,000 into the University of the West Indies. 

Together with any of the previously mentioned investment, there are also a number of government processing fees.