Antigua & Barbuda citizenship

The NDF contribution is $230,000, covering a family of up to four, the fastest, simplest path. Real estate is $300,000 in an approved project, partly recoverable at resale after five years.

The UWI Fund is $260,000 and suits families of six or more, with one scholarship included. Business investment is $1,500,000 for a sole investor, or $5,000,000 as a joint investment with two or more investors putting in at least $400,000 each.

The process is fully remote, you do not need to travel to Antigua to apply. A licensed Authorised Agent must file for you; self-filing is not permitted.

The CIU may ask for an interview or for additional information during its review. The CIU publishes no set processing time, and it notes that the real-estate route can take longer, depending on the property you choose.

Citizens must spend at least five days in Antigua within the first five years. This one is worth getting right: the official consequence of missing it is deprivation, the loss of your citizenship, not merely a delayed passport renewal. Applicants aged 80 and over are exempt. A longer residence requirement under the new regional framework is not yet in force: once the ECCIRA agreement signed in September 2025 takes effect, it asks for 30 days in total across the first five years after citizenship is granted, with at least five days in the first 12 months.

The requirement itself is light, one short trip within a five-year window, so for most applicants it is not a meaningful obstacle, as long as you actually make the trip.

The most expansive list in the region: spouse, financially dependent children up to 30 (and their own spouse and children), parents and grandparents 55+, and unmarried siblings of the main applicant or spouse at any age.

That is one of the broadest sibling policies in the Caribbean, and bringing siblings in under a single main application, where many programs would need separate applications, keeps the total cost down.

Visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to roughly 154 destinations, including the full Schengen Area and the UK. The US and Canada are not included. Antiguans have always needed a US visa, and Proclamation 10998, in force since 1 January 2026, partially suspends new US visitor visas for Antiguan nationals: the few issued under its limited exceptions are single-entry and valid for three months, and visas issued before then were not revoked. Antigua has also been on the US visa-bond list since 21 January 2026, so an applicant found eligible must post a refundable bond of $10,000, $15,000 or $20,000, the amount set at the interview. The terms have been politically fluid; verify the current position before you travel. For a US-treaty route, Grenada is the only Caribbean citizenship-by-investment option, and its E-2 needs three years of domicile in Grenada first. In June 2026 the European Commission asked Antigua and Barbuda and four other Caribbean states to phase out citizenship by investment by 1 June 2028 under the EU's visa suspension rules; talks are ongoing and Schengen visa-free access remains in place.

No personal income, capital gains, inheritance or wealth tax for citizens who establish residency, but citizenship does not change your home-country tax obligations. Citizenship and tax residency are separate questions; get qualified advice.