Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment: Cost and Process

Antigua and Barbuda's programme in brief

Antigua and Barbuda has offered citizenship by investment since 2013. Approved applicants receive full citizenship, and dual citizenship is permitted, so US and UK nationals retain their existing status.

Antigua is the one Caribbean programme with a genuine physical presence requirement: citizens are expected to spend at least five days in the country during the first five years after naturalisation.

• Qualifying routes: National Development Fund (NDF), University of the West Indies Fund, approved real estate, or a business investment.
• The UWI fund option is designed for families of six or more and includes a scholarship benefit.
• Five-day physical presence requirement within the first five years.
• Citizenship is lifelong and generally transferable to descendants.

What Antigua and Barbuda citizenship costs

Who qualifies

• Main applicant aged 18 or over, of good character and in good health.
• Clean criminal record, with police certificates from every country of adult residence.
• Documented source of funds and source of wealth.
• Dependants can normally include a spouse, children within age limits, and dependent parents or grandparents.
• Willingness to meet the five-day residence requirement within five years of naturalisation.

The process, step by step

• Step 1: Eligibility and source-of-funds review, plus a family-size cost comparison across the fund options.
• Step 2: Appoint a government-authorised agent; direct filing is not permitted.
• Step 3: Prepare passports, vital records, police certificates and financial evidence, apostilled where required.
• Step 4: File; due diligence begins.
• Step 5: Approval in principle.
• Step 6: Make the contribution or complete the property purchase.
• Step 7: Certificate of registration and passport issue, followed by the oath where required.

How long it takes

Expect four to eight months for a complete file. Larger family applications take longer simply because every adult dependant needs their own police certificates and financial evidence — start those requests early.

How Island Legacy Consultancy helps

We provide consultancy and preparation: choosing between the NDF, UWI and real estate routes for your family size, structuring source-of-funds evidence, assembling and apostilling documents, and coordinating with the licensed agent who files. We are not a licensed CBI agent or a law firm and we do not guarantee approval.