Is Antigua & Barbuda Citizenship by Investment Worth It?

Jennifer: It's Jennifer Harding Marlin coming to you from beautiful Antigua in the Caribbean. Today's video is going to talk about the lifestyle in Antigua and Barbuda, about things to do in the country, as well as how you can become a citizen through its Citizenship by Investment program. So Antigua and Barbuda is located close to the islands of St. Barts, St. Martin, Monstrad, and St. Kitts and Nevis. What's really interesting about the country is that it's very easily accessible with international flights, direct flights from a little bit all around the world. So you can fly here on United, American Airlines, JetBlue, Delta Airways. You can also fly through Princess Juliana Airport in St. Martin or Barbados, which are known to be international hubs here in the Caribbean and take a local Caribbean airline over. You can also rent a helicopter and or a private charter to get here to the country and then access other Caribbean islands as well.

Jennifer: Antigua is about 108 square miles and it's about a 45-minute boat ride to Barbuda and both Antigua and Barbuda are one country and Barbuda the area is approximately 62 square miles. So the population of Antigua is around 93,000 and what I've noticed over the last 10 years is that there's a growing expat community with more and more people from all around the world choosing to relocate here either on a part-time basis or on a full-time basis. And so recently I met up with some friends from South Africa. They moved here a couple years ago. They sold everything they had in South Africa and relocated here with their children. And the primary reasons for relocating to Antigua was mainly for safety as well as the quality of life and opportunities for their children. There's a lot of international schools and there's a medical school and there's a lot of activities for kids.

Jennifer: And a lot of local people that have grown up here that either go away for school and or have gone away to work choose to come back here to the island to raise their family. It's a lot less woke than other countries and again it's a very tight-knit community and very family oriented. So things to do if you're someone that loves nature and being out on the water. There's swimming, there's diving, there's kite surfing, there's boating, plenty of activities, sailing, plenty of activities out on the water. As well there's tennis, golf, pickleball, soccer, pretty much any sort of activity you're interested in. There's other people on island that are most likely interested in the same activity and so there's always something to do.

Jennifer: What's really interesting is that there's a really big sailing community here, particularly in English Harbor there's a really big marina which is worth visiting and so a lot of really big boats will spend part of the year docked at the marina and or people will come here for sailing regattas.

Jennifer: And other events around sailing. You don't have to be an expert sailor. There's opportunities to learn how to sail here. And I myself am learning how to sail here in Antigua. And so there's lots of things to do and there's lots of things to see. One really thing that's really special about Antigua and Barbuda is that there's over 365 beaches, one for every day of the year. They have crystal blue water, white, white sand, some of the nicest beaches in the world. So some of the beaches that I like are Little Fry's Beach which is located close to the restaurant Shear Rocks and Shear Rocks has a lot of nice pools and hot tubs which overlook Antigua and then there's other beaches like Galleon Bay, Darkwood Beach, Half Moon Bay, Dixon Bay and many other beaches. Barbuda has a really long stretch of beach and a lot of people will go there to either go to the local restaurant or to visit Nobu which recently opened and have sushi on the beach.

Jennifer: And so if you're someone that's a beach person, Antigua and Barbuda have some of the nicest beaches in the world. So if you're interested in coming here, there's lots of historical sites, churches to visit, places to visit, so you may want to consider visiting Nelson's Dockyard. It has a lot of boats that are located there as well as you can learn more about the history of the country. And then you can go to Shirley Heights and at that location there's food and drinks and you have a really spectacular view of Antigua as well. Some people decide after having a drink at the top at Shirley Heights to go to a local restaurant that's a little bit more down in the valley. So there's a really growing expat community. A lot of people have chosen to make Antigua their home particularly because it's a favorable business environment.

Jennifer: So here in Antigua there is no personal income tax so depending on how you structure your taxes there can be tax advantages to relocating here and business advantages to being based in the Caribbean and you can further do business potentially in the Caribbean by being based here as well.

Jennifer: And so it's interesting to learn about the history of Antigua and its involvement in the online gambling and gaming industry and particular lawsuits of Antigua versus the United States and learning more about the involvement of Antigua as a jurisdiction. And a lot of people that are in the cryptocurrency space have chosen to relocate to Antigua. A lot of people are interested in transacting locally in cryptocurrency and building cryptocurrency businesses here. So it'll be really interesting to see how cryptocurrency develops and how cryptocurrency will interact with the daily lives of people that live here. So if you're interested in becoming a citizen of the country, Antigua and Barbuda has a Citizenship by Investment program that's been in operation since approximately 2013. What's interesting about the program is that it's one of the most family-friendly and family-inclusive Citizenship by Investment programs in the world.

Jennifer: So you can include children that are below the age of 30 who are financially dependent on the main applicant or spouse. You can also include unmarried siblings regardless of their age and regardless of them being financially dependent on the main applicant or spouse. And you can also include parents or grandparents that are above the age of 55 that are financially dependent on the main applicant or spouse. And so the pricing for families is one of the best priced Citizenship by Investment programs for families. If you're a single applicant or a family of four, the cost under the donation option is US$100,000 with a $30,000 government processing fee and then additional due diligence fees of $7,500 the main applicant, $7,500 the spouse, as well as additional agent fees and other fees if you're interested in a particular cost quote. You can get in touch with us at jennifer at jlhmarlin. Com.

Jennifer: There's also under the donation option the University of West Indies Fund which is $150,000 for a family of six and entitles one person to free tuition at the University of West Indies. Again, there's additional fees that are applicable so if you would like a cost quote you can get in touch with us. At jennifer at JH Marlin. Com. So as I've said, there's one option that is the donation option. Another option is investment in government-approved real estate for Citizenship by Investment. So you can't just go and purchase any real estate. It has to really be government-approved for citizenship. It starts at $200,000 to be maintained for five years. There's additional government processing fees applicable. And then there's the real estate option at $400,000 to be maintained. For five years as well.

Jennifer: And what's interesting about Antigua is that they do have buyback options under the real estate option for citizenship and a secure share of a built real estate.

Jennifer: So if you'd like more information about this option, you can also get in touch with us for the particular real estate that's government approved for Citizenship by Investment. So the donation option and the real estate option are the two main options for Citizenship by Investment in Antigua and Barbuda. And some of the benefits and why people choose to do Antigua and Barbuda citizenship is it gives you the right to live and work in the country. If you're interested in doing business in the Caribbean, you have freedom of movement with the citizenship and passport. As well, Antigua is a tax-free country. There's no personal income tax in the country, so there is tax-favorable laws depending how you legally structure your taxes. And so there's business advantages, there's personal freedom and travel advantages. With the passport of Antigua you can travel visa-free to a very high level of countries.

Jennifer: It's a politically stable and economically stable country. It's a safe place to live and it's very family inclusive and family oriented so there's personal and family advantages to becoming a citizen of the country. So if you want more information you can visit our website at jhmarlin.com or get in touch with us for any specific questions about Antigua and Barbuda. At jennifer. Jhmarlin.com. All the best.