Antigua and Barbuda · Citizenship by investment
Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment Programme
Open, but under acute US pressure. Antigua was named in the US Presidential Proclamation of 16 December 2025, effective 1 January 2026, on the grounds that the country has historically offered Citizenship by Investment without any residency requirement. Immigrant visas and B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M and J nonimmigrant visas are now suspended for Antiguan nationals. The government has legislated a 30-day residency requirement in response. Its start date has been repeatedly deferred.
Antigua is the cheapest option per head for large families. The UWI Fund, at USD 260,000 covering six people, is unmatched in the region. But that arithmetic is now secondary. Since 1 January 2026, Antiguan nationals cannot obtain US immigrant visas or ordinary US visitor, student or exchange visas. Approved B-1/B-2 applicants now face a bond of up to USD 15,000 and 3-month single-entry validity, in place of the previous 10 years multiple-entry. For any client whose real objective includes US access, this passport now actively works against them.
Qualifying routes
This fee is non-refundable. It covers a family of any size under the published schedule. Government processing fees are charged separately: USD 10,000 for a single applicant, USD 20,000 for a family of up to four, plus USD 10,000 for each additional dependant.
This fee includes processing costs. It is designed for families of six or more and comes with a one-year tuition scholarship for one family member. For very large families, it works out cheapest per head.
This applies to an approved development, with a five-year holding period.
This applies to an approved business.
Requires at least two persons, each contributing a minimum of USD 400,000.
The facts
- Minimum investment
- $230k
- Total landed cost
- For a family of four on the NDF route, the costs stack up like this: a USD 230,000 contribution, USD 20,000 in government processing fees, and due diligence charges of USD 8,500 for the principal applicant, USD 5,000 for a spouse, USD 4,000 per dependant aged 18+, USD 2,000 per dependant aged 12–17, and nil for dependants under 12. Add USD 300 per passport, and the total comes to roughly USD 265–280k before agent and legal fees. Realistically, the all-in cost lands closer to USD 290–320k. The UWI route, at USD 260,000 inclusive of processing fees, is the cheapest per head once a family reaches six people.
- Route type
- Citizenship by investment
- Timeline
- 10–18 months (14.2 months average in Q4 2025 per IMI's processing-times tracker. That is far slower than the 3–6 months still advertised by agents. The rejection rate was just 1.7% in 2024, a figure the European Commission cites as evidence that due diligence is inadequate.)
- Physical presence
- 5 days within the first 5 years of citizenship, as a condition of first passport renewal. Legislation to raise this to 30 days over 5 years, including a minimum 5 days in year one plus an integration/orientation programme, has been passed. Its commencement has been repeatedly deferred pending regional harmonisation. It was not confirmed in force as at July 2026.
- Family
- SpouseChildren under 18Dependent children 18–30Dependent parents and grandparents over 55Dependent unmarried siblings
- Permanent residency
- Not applicable. Citizenship is granted directly.
- Citizenship
- Immediate on approval and payment. In practice, 10–18 months.
- Language test
- None
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- a clean criminal recorda verified, lawful source of fundsa mandatory interview, introduced under the 2025 CIP Billbiometric enrolment, including for existing citizens renewing their passports5 days of physical presence in the first 5 years (30 days is legislated, but its start has been deferred)an application submitted through a Licensed Agenta medical certificate, including an HIV test
- The December 2025 US proclamation is the single most damaging development for this programme. Immigrant visas plus B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M and J visas are suspended for Antiguan nationals from 1 January 2026, and the US has said plainly this is on CBI grounds. Separately, State Department reciprocity schedules cut B-1/B-2 validity for Antiguans from 10 years multiple-entry to 3 months single-entry. The US Embassy in Bridgetown now requires approved applicants to post a bond of up to USD 15,000. St Kitts, St Lucia and Grenada were not affected.
- The proclamation carries a 180-day review cycle. That means restrictions can be modified or lifted if Antigua satisfies US concerns. It also means they can be extended or hardened. The outcome of the review that would have fallen due around mid-June 2026 has not been published. Do not assume relief.
- The EU's Eighth Visa Suspension Mechanism report singles out Antigua's 1.7% rejection rate in 2024 as evidence that its security and due diligence procedures fall short. Under Regulation (EU) 2025/2441, simply running the scheme is now, on its own, enough reason to suspend Schengen visa-free access.
- The 5-day physical presence requirement is a genuine trap. It is a condition of renewing your passport at the 5-year mark, not of obtaining it. Clients who treat citizenship as the finish line discover the problem only when the passport expires. The pending 30-day rule would make this considerably sharper.
- Advertised timelines are fiction. Agents quote 3–6 months. The real Q4 2025 average was 14.2 months. Budget and sequence accordingly, especially if the client is trying to beat a rule change.
- The 30-day residency rule has been delayed more than once, and its current status is genuinely unclear. Before filing on the assumption that the 5-day rule still applies, get the position confirmed in writing with the CIU.
- The OECD lists Antigua's CBI scheme as potentially high-risk for CRS circumvention. The USD 20,000 flat-tax residency programme is a separate product. It does not follow automatically from citizenship.