The legal second citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda for money is available to any foreigner who has no criminal record and can wait for their new Caribbean passport for 3 to 6 months, and who is mentally and financially ready to part with about two to three hundred thousand U.S. dollars. Many experts say that the most accessible, fast and easy-to-get second citizenship is offered to potential participants of the Antiguan program wherever they might be from.
The Antigua and Barbuda Economic Citizenship Program is available to both individual bachelor investors and individuals with families who are allowed to submit collective applications including their family members on preferential terms. The Antigua passport offers many benefits such as reduced tax burden and visa-free access to more than 13 dozen countries, including the UK, Canada, Hong Kong and the Schengen Area countries.
The local economic citizenship program has an interesting feature that could make it slightly less attractive compared to other Caribbean programs. Upon naturalization, new economic citizens are issued temporary passports valid for 5 years. At the same time, they must spend at least five days in the Antiguan territory during the first 5 years of them being in the status of subjects of this jurisdiction. Otherwise, their new passports will be revoked. Having fulfilled this condition and waited for the successful completion of the 5-year period that started from the moment the citizenship was granted, any investor gets their temporary passport exchanged to a standard document with a longer validity period. So, they have the status of a full-fledged citizen.
It is some kind of magic of numbers. Everything revolves around 5. Even updating the economic citizenship program of Antigua and Barbuda, the local authorities do not forget about this tradition. Read on, and you will learn about the new developments to come. They are related to 5, and are designed to make life easier for investors with families.
New Developments of the Antigua and Barbuda Economic Citizenship Program
So, what exactly did the Antiguan authorities offer investors and their families? They allowed the main investor to add their financial dependents after the initial individual application had been approved and their passport has been obtained. Duration of the period within which such additions are possible, as you may have guessed, is 5 years from the date of receipt of the main investor’s passport. Successful applicants can now add children born after the approval or wives (husbands) to whom they married after approval.
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The possibility for new economic citizens to add their dependents to the applications within the first five years upon naturalization was covered by new amendments to the law governing the economic citizenship program of Antigua and Barbuda. To take advantage of this opportunity, the investor will have to pay the following fees:
- The fee for processing an application extension for the new spouse is USD 75,000
- Processing fee for extending an application for a new financial dependent aged 0 to 11 is USD 25,000
- Processing fee for extending an application for a new financial dependent aged 12 to 17 is USD 25,000
- Processing fee for extending an application for a new financial dependent aged 65 and over is USD 75,000
- Due Diligence fee for the new spouse is USD 7,500
- Due Diligence fee for the new financial dependent aged 0 to 11 is USD 0
- Due Diligence fee for the new financial dependent aged 12 to 17 is USD 2,000
- Due Diligence fee for the new financial dependent aged 65 and over is USD 4,000
Updates on the Antigua and Barbuda Economic Citizenship Program
The above update of the Economic Citizenship Program of Antigua and Barbuda may well be called relevant and reasonable. After all, the demand for Antiguan passports from investors with families has been remaining consistently high for years.
According to current statistics covering the period from the program inception until mid-2019 present, the authorities of the Caribbean country received more than 2,000 individual and collective fast-track naturalization applications from Chinese and other foreigners who decided to purchase a second passport of Antigua and Barbuda for themselves and their loved ones. At the same time, the total number of passports issued by the Antiguan authorities at the end of the period under review exceeded 4,000.
This means that a significant proportion of the total number of applications came from the collective applicants covering the main investor’s spouse and/or their other financial dependents. It is clear that many foreigners see the Antigua and Barbuda economic citizenship program as a means of not just a personal empowerment but also a source of opportunities for their loved ones, and they do have additional resources necessary for that.
The Antigua and Barbuda Economic Citizenship Program Became More Flexible
Thanks to the new developments, potential participants of the Antigua fast-track naturalization program will be able to manage their finances even more efficiently. They can start acting now and buy passports for their children and spouses later. Such a flexibility is relevant in the current recession time when money has to be spent as wisely as possible.
In fact, the second citizenship for money of Antigua and Barbuda has become more affordable. Investors may initially pay less for a collective application, not including, for example, a child or a parent who do not yet need Antiguan passports, but may well need them in a year or two. And the money that became available can be put into a business.
Now potential participants of the Economic Citizenship Program of Antigua and Barbuda who plan to get married and have children within, for example, a year or two, can stop waiting and start investing in their new passport right now.
The Antigua and Barbuda Economic Citizenship Program Has Gained Another Competitive Advantage
Antiguans can be safely called innovators. So far, none of the current Caribbean island economic citizenship programs or European fast-track naturalization programs have been able to offer the same level of flexibility in filing of collective applications.
This flexibility is a serious competitive advantage of the Antigua and Barbuda Economic Citizenship Program which has previously had a unique benefit of
visa-free travel to Canada. Other Caribbean programs can not boast it just as yet. Right, a second EU passport acquired in Malta or Cyprus also entitles its owner to a visa-free entry to Canada. But such a document will cost you at least four times more than the second citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda.
In light of the ever-increasing competition in the global second passport market, this advantage is very valuable. The demand for Antiguan passports will definitely go uphill. Moreover, the local authorities have pledged earlier to further financially encourage those licensed intermediary agents that attract the most investors.
The innovation announced by the Antiguan Government assumes that the most successful agents will be receiving annual bonuses of 10% of the total amount of investments in the country’s economy made by clients of the respective agents. Any intermediary who can attract more than 3 dozen successful applicants to participate in the program will be able to count on the bonus.
It is obvious that agents expecting financial incentives will seek as pro-actively as possible to sell the second citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda for money, offering it to investors at every opportunity.
But remember that the choice and the last word in this matter should always be yours. Try to explore all available options. After all, some other program can be much more interesting and useful for you. Ask lots of questions and explore the market. After all, it is not about just going shopping, but about buying a legal second passport in which you will need to invest decent money.
By the way, the Antiguan program has its drawbacks. Recently it became clear that the Antigua and Barbuda Economic Citizenship Program is subject to changes. The local authorities significantly amended the forms filled out by foreign investors wishing to acquire the second citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda for money. It could be all right, but the officials forgot to notify the intermediary agents about the changes.
When new forms were introduced, agents and their clients were simply confronted with the fact. As a result, many investors had to re-collect their packages of documents, and this can hardly please wealthy businessmen for whom every minute counts. Agents had to make excuses for the issues that had arisen out of the blue, and which they actually had absolutely nothing to do with.
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.
