Antigua and Barbuda is a small island nation in the Eastern Caribbean, known for its amazing golden beaches washed with pure turquoise water, shady palm trees and the unique relaxed Caribbean setting. But beaches, warm ocean and the ambiance are not the only advantages of this jurisdiction.
The country also has an economic citizenship program that allows any law-abiding and well-to-do foreigner to obtain a second passport and citizenship of the Caribbean islands in a matter of months. Having established and launched this mechanism of fast-track naturalization, the islanders were given a powerful instrument of attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), as evidenced by the latest statistics.
The Antigua and Barbuda Economic Citizenship Program Driving Foreign Investment
According to official data of the Antigua Government, the volume of foreign direct investment in the economy of this Caribbean country was amounting to about USD 150 million for two years in a row (in 2014, the volume of FDI reached USD 155 million, in 2015 it was USD 154 million). This corresponded to about 13 per cent of the gross domestic product of the Caribbean jurisdiction (the GDP of Antigua and Barbuda in 2013 was USD 1.2 billion, and in 2018 it was USD 1.61 billion, according to the World Bank’s World Development Indicators report).
Antiguan officials note that development projects officially approved for the Economic Citizenship Program of Antigua and Barbuda play an important role in attracting FDI. An excellent example is the Pearns Point Reserve & Hotel, developed by the Orange Ltd, which involves the construction of a resort worth about USD 300 million in the Jolly Harbor Bay. After a long coordination and refinement, the implementation of this development project finally started successfully in 2015, increasing significantly the inflow of investments in the Antiguan economy and giving everyone who wants to get a second citizenship for investment of Antigua and Barbuda another way to achieve their cherished goal.
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The report of Antiguan officials notes that in 2016 the volume of FDI was planned to be increased significantly thanks to the start of construction of the projects by the Chinese company called Yida Investment Group and the Canadian Sunwing Travel Group, whose investment value is estimated at hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars.
The list of multi-million dollar projects in progress also includes the resort of Paradise Found that is estimated at USD 200 million. It is supervised by American actor Robert De Niro and Australian billionaire James Packer. By the way, this project is also pre-approved for the economic citizenship program of Antigua and Barbuda.
How to Invest in the Economic Citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda for Profit and a Second Passport
In the first quarter of 2016, Antigua and Barbuda had a total of more than 424,000 visitors. The chart below shows a breakdown of the new arrivals in terms of the transportation means used (air, yachts and cruise ships) and the dynamics of quantitative indicators in the five-year context.
| Number of new arrivals | 1st quarter of 2012 | 1st quarter of 2013 | 1st quarter of 2014 | 1st quarter of 2015 | 1st quarter of 2016 | Changes by the end of 1st quarter 2016 year-on-year |
| By air | 77,330 | 76,302 | 79 ,550 | 74,493 | 84,566 | + 13.5% |
| By sea (yachts and cruise ships) | 327,260 | 298,750 | 278,547 | 330,089 | 339,826 | + 2.9% |
| Total | 404,590 | 375,052 | 358,097 | 404,582 | 424,392 | + 4.9% |
As you can se from the chart, 20% of visitors during the period in question arrived to the Antiguan resorts by air, 78% of guests used cruise ships, while the remaining 2% of visitors sailed on yachts. Anyone wishing to obtain a second citizenship for investment of Antigua and Barbuda, having put their money in the resort real estate, should look closely at the tourists from the first and the third categories. After all, such holidaymakers most often stay in the local hotels, while cruise ship passengers mostly stay on board their ships when visiting the Caribbean jurisdiction.
Antiguan authorities underline that January-March 2016 recorded the highest total number of newly arrived tourists in the last five years. This figure was 18.5 percent higher than the five-year low recorded one in the first quarter of 2014. In addition, the total tourist inflow increased by 4.9 percent compared to the first quarter of 2015. It was also noted that the average annual growth rate of quarterly tourist inflow for the period from 2012 to 2016 was 2.56 percent.
Statistics also show that the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom were the main donor countries for the Antiguan tourism market (if we take air travel). These developed countries accounted for 82 per cent of the total number of visitors to Antigua by air in the first quarter of 2016.
Moreover, the United States has been leading for years and widening the gap. The United States accounted for 41 percent of the total number of visitors who reached the Caribbean country by air. Thus, the U.S. tourist inflow in January-March 2016 increased by 22 percent compared to the first quarter of 2015. This was thanks to an increase in the number of visitors from New York (29 per cent of all American tourists who arrived in Antigua and Barbuda by air during the period under review), New Jersey (11 per cent) and Florida (6 per cent).
As for the United Kingdom and Canada, the majority of tourists in their case were from London, Surrey, Kent, Essex and Hampshire, as well as from Canada’s Ontario, Quebec and Alberta, respectively.
The duration of stay in the Antiguan resorts is at a fairly high level for these tourists. The average length of stay during the period under review was 9.7 days. At the end of January-March 2016, more than half of all visitors spent 4 to 7 days in Antigua and Barbuda. About a third (29 percent) of guests spent 8 to 14 days in the jurisdiction. Another 10 per cent of visitors stayed in the Caribbean islands for only 1 to 3 days, while the remaining 7 per cent spent 15 days or more in the resorts of Antigua and Barbuda.
The tourist statistics are impressive and give confidence in the prospect of a decent return on investment under the economic citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda and in the local real estate in order to obtain a stable source of rental income.
To secure a profitable asset together with a second passport, you only need to choose a resort that is best for you, prepare the necessary amount and a package of documents, and then just wait for a bit. This can be assisted by experienced staff of an intermediary firm licensed to provide services to the participants of the economic citizenship program of Antigua and Barbuda. We are among these accredited intermediaries with a solid reputation and many experienced specialists.
Do not hesitate to contact us and we will introduce you to the most experienced consultants in the field of citizenship by investment. Please email us to info@offshore-pro.info right now.
