Before we begin exploring today’s topic, let’s establish why people need second citizenship at all. There are many reasons why foreign nationals might want to get a second passport. Here are some of them.
What would be your ideal solution for getting citizenship by investment in a foreign country?
All this and more you can expect from five Caribbean countries that offer their citizenship by investment programs. What you get:
Not all Caribbean countries are good for obtaining citizenship by investment. At the moment, there are five jurisdictions that operate such programs offering foreign nationals a passport and all benefits coming with it in exchange for their contribution to the local economy. They are Saint Kitts & Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia, Dominica and Grenada.
The choice of investment options and jurisdictions is shown in a table below.
$1,500,000 – investment in business
$400,000 – in property for 5 years
$100,000 – donation to National Development Fund
$150,000 – contribution to the Education fund
$200,000 – in real estate for 7 years
$400,000 – in real estate for 5 years
$150,000 – contribution to the Sustainable Growth Fund
$3,500,000 – investment in enterprise project
$300,000 – in real estate for 5 years
$100,000 – donation to the National Economic Fund
$500,000 – investment in government bonds
Investment in real estate for 3 years
$350,000 – for single investor
$220,000 – if 2 or more investors
or
$150,000 – donation to the National Transformation Fund
$200,000 – in real estate for 5 years
$100,000 – donation to the Economic Diversification Fund
Let’s have a look at main investment options for obtaining Caribbean citizenship.
The economies of former British colonies have achieved great results in the last ten years, but they do not stop at that. They have established development and diversification funds to help their countries thrive. Your contribution to such a fund will be non-refundable, i.e. you will not get your money back. But this is the only drawback of this investment, everything else are advantages.
Investment in Caribbean real estate is a good way to make money. Economic reforms and foreign investments are playing out well for the islands and attracting more visitors, holidaymakers and businessmen.
Therefore, if you buy an approved property in Dominica or Antigua, in 5 years you might get more than the $400,000 you have bought it for. Not to mention any rental income on top that you can get during these five years of ownership. If you are not selling, this Caribbean property can become your second home, safe and secure, whenever you need it. you can always rent it out to earn a good rental income.
First of all, if you want to take part in a citizenship by investment program, remember that you can only buy properties from the government approved developers.
Secondly, the minimum investment of $200,000 (Dominica, St Kitts & Nevis) will not buy you an entire property. Though real estate prices in the Caribbean are nothing compared to those in Europe for similar seaside properties, they are still higher than the above amount. Therefore, if you have limited resources, consider the second option – buy a share in a hotel or an apartment.
Next, bear in mind that you will be paying the price for ownership – property tax (if applicable), as well as maintenance fees and charges. However, if you are going to rent your flat or house, rental income should cover the above.
It is possible to bring annual rental income up to 3% of the purchase price. Interested? Talk to our experiences financial experts that know the Caribbean real estate market. We will recommend high-potential projects, developers and respectable and reliable managing companies.
Here are the reasons why this option may be appealing:
Same as with an entire place, you will be able to sell your share after a certain time. Recent trend in growing prices shows that you can even gain on resale.
Another reasonably cheap way of getting a Caribbean passport by investment is buying non-interest-bearing bonds in Saint Lucia for $500,000. Duties and charges apply.
Bonds will be issued in your name and you must hold them for at least 5 years. And as you might have guessed already, you will not get any interest from them.
If you want to apply for citizenship by investment for the whole family, the minimum amount for a couple will increase to $535,000, for a couple with two kids – $550,000.
Good thing about this option is that you spend similar amount of money that you would spend on a property, but it is protected by government guarantees. On the other hand, you are freezing half a million dollars for 5 years that would not bring you income.
We have not mentioned another option here, contributions to government funds, because that investment are non-refundable. Neither have we talked about business investments that start at $1.5 million in Antigua and Barbuda, because the same amount could buy you a Maltese passport.
Whichever option you choose, it is always advisable to consult expert immigration lawyers, especially if you want to make an investment and apply for a second passport remotely. Our qualified advisers will answer all your questions, help you choose a country of second citizenship to your requirements and take care of the whole process and paperwork till you get your passport.
There are 26 island states and territories in the Caribbean and only a few of them have passport schemes for foreign investors. And out of these few only Saint Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Dominica, Saint Lucia and Antigua and Barbuda offer official programs to obtain a second passport by investment.
The above countries are former British colonies and they have not lost connection with the UK. You can come to the UK on a Caribbean passport and stay here for up to 180 days. Younger generation enjoys preferential treatment when enrolling in UK educational institutions even if they got their passport through parents who applied for citizenship by investment and they have never been to the Caribbean.
Almost all the countries we talk about here are politically stable, have low crime rates and are developing their tourism sector. Eventually, it is not just a passport for visa-free travel to Europe, the UK and South-East Asia, it is a Plan B when things go terribly wrong in your home country.
Imperial & Legal experts believe that the most expensive way of investing in second citizenship in the Caribbean is a non-refundable donation to a government fund. Why? Because you will not be able to return your money in a few years which is exactly what you can do if you invest in real estate.
However, this option still has its benefits:
Donating $150,000 to the University of the West Indies Education Fund. This option is available to applicants of Antigua and Barbuda citizenship program along with three other options making it a total of 4 investment options under this scheme.
It is not unusual, someone might say, that the state encourages investment in one of the oldest and most respectable Caribbean universities. However, do not jump to any conclusions before you read this:
You can visit your second home to… spend an amazing time in the tropical paradise. Besides, if you invest in a hotel share, you will get discounts on your stays or even a free stay while you are there.
If we talk about visiting the country to apply for second citizenship and make an investment, there is no need and more over, it is not allowed by current citizenship laws. All communications with island authorities must be done through licensed intermediaries.
This has been an intentional choice of Caribbean governments and it was not done to create an additional expense for applicants. It is justified by the governments having control over the whole production chain – from an agent to a developer – this is a way to weed out fraudsters and unreliable legal firms.
Another good thing that comes out of it is fast processing times. If your application is supported by such experts asImperial & Legal, there is a good chance that you will not lose time on additional request for information and documents.
To recap, under 4 out of 5 citizenship by investment programs, you can get a second passport and invest in real estate without travelling to the Caribbean. The only exception is Antigua and Barbuda where you will have to spend at least 5 days in the first five years of obtaining citizenship.
We will work with you to find a customised solution for your immigration, second citizenship, business, tax and other needs.
St Kitts & Nevis Citizenship
Antigua & Barbuda Citizenship
Dominica Citizenship
St Lucia Citizenship
Grenada Citizenship
Cyprus citizenship
Second passport by investment
Caribbean passport
European passport
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