Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Program

by XIPHIAS IMMIGRATION migration executive

Caribbean citizenship by investment program encompasses 5 countries that offer their citizenship programs. Each of the countries that offer these programs are islands and have beautiful beaches adorning them. These countries are popular and are known as few of the top tourist destinations in the world. These islands have their own culture and their spices are known across the world. Caribbean islands are located in the Gulf of Mexico in the Caribbean Sea.

The 5 major countries which are offering their Citizenship by Investment programs are Dominica, Saint Lucia, Grenada, St. Kitts & Nevis and Antigua & Barbuda islands. Each of these islands provides their own unique investment immigration pathway. There are many benefits attached to these immigration pathways.

These pathways require that the investor be of good character and be able to prove the same. The investor when applying for citizenship can add his/her immediate family as part of the application process. The applicant is allowed to tag their dependent children till a certain age. Each country has a different requirement. Like Dominica Citizenship by investment program allows investors to bring their children who are below 22 years of age while Anitgua & Barbuda allows children up to 30 years of age.

All of the countries require that the applicant submit a document mentioning that he or she and the co-applicants are not involved in any kind of illegal activities or are having any kind of criminal records. The applicants will need to procure the document from their country of origin where they currently reside.

The passport of these islands allows the holder to travel to 100 to 140 countries visa-free. St.Kitts second passport allows the holder to travel to 141 plus countries. The holder will have access to EU Schengen zone and the UK among other important countries across the globe. Most programs take 3 to 5 months to complete the process and at the end of the processing, the applicants receive their citizenship and passport. None of these programs require the investor to live in the country, neither during the process or post processing of the application. They are free to visit the country as they will. No impediments are laid on the new citizens on their staying or traveling to and fro to the island.

Citizenship will be passed on to the future decedents of the new citizens. Most countries offer some of the best tax regimes which are beneficial to the new citizens. There is tax levied on wealth, inheritance, foreign income or Capital gains. Grenada Citizenship program does not levy taxes or any kind of restriction on the profits and imported capital of the new citizen. This island allows children upto 30 years to apply for the program and unmarried siblings of the main applicant can also participate.

The programs require the applicant to take up one of the below mentioned pathways to purchase Citizenship –

i. Contribute to the National Transformation funds - All of the islands have this fund and each country have their own requirement which the applicant would adhere to if he or she takes up this route. This is basically set up as donation program where the applicant will make a onetime donation to the National fund which will be used for the country’s public development projects.

ii. Invest in the Real estate of the country – There will be a set of chosen pre-approved real estate of the country. Investors will have to invest in one of these projects. The 5 countries are famous as tourist destinations. For example, if the investor has obtained in the Antigua & Barbuda citizenship by immigration program, he will have the advantage of constant tourists who would visit the country to explore the 365 odd beaches in Antigua & Barbuda. Hence investment in any of these would help the investor earn a significant return on investment. The investor can dispose off the property after 3 or 5 years of maintaining the same. The time frame of maintaining the property will be left to the country.

iii. Investing in the running of a business in the country – Investors can choose to invest in a business in the country. But very few countries make this offer.

Whatever be the pathway, it is required that the investor works with international investment immigration firm, to ensure they invest in the right asset and in the right country.