Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment: 2026 Guide

Antigua and Barbuda launched its programme in 2013 under the Citizenship by Investment Act. The Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) publishes the investment options, fee schedule and forms, and licenses the local agents who must file every application. An authorised representative abroad usually prepares the file, and a licensed Antiguan agent submits it in person with the first payments^[1][8].

Successful applicants receive a certificate of registration as citizens and then an Antigua and Barbuda passport. Antigua does not require new citizens to give up their existing nationality. Antigua is one of the five states that signed the Eastern Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Regulatory Authority (ECCIRA) Agreement in September 2025: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and St Kitts and Nevis on 18 September, Saint Lucia on 22 September and Grenada on 23 September^[10][26]. The agreement sets common standards on due diligence, interviews, residence and passport renewal. Antigua's version is Act No. 18 of 2025^[10]. The agreement enters into force 30 days after the fifth ratification, and the regional regulator is not yet operational: on 28 September 2026 the St Kitts and Nevis CIU said the regional framework takes effect only once the Authority is running and all member states agree a commencement date^[32]. For prices and travel access across the region, see our side-by-side comparison of the five Caribbean CBI programmes.

The NDF option is the cheapest and most used route: a one-off, non-refundable US$230,000 per application. The CIU states that the main applicant may include a spouse, dependent children and dependent parents over 55 "with no additional NDF contribution required"^[3]. Processing fees still scale with family size (see the cost table).

The UWI Fund option finances the University of the West Indies' Five Islands campus in Antigua. It costs US$260,000 including processing fees, and the CIU sets a minimum of six people per application; each dependant beyond six adds US$10,000 in processing fees. One family member receives a one-year, tuition-only scholarship^[4]. For a family of six, the NDF costs US$230,000 plus US$40,000 in processing fees (US$270,000), so UWI saves US$10,000, and the gap stays the same for larger families.

Both donations are paid within 30 days of the approval letter. At submission you pay the full due-diligence fees (plus 10% of the processing fee on the NDF route), so if the application is refused the donation is never paid, but due-diligence fees are not refunded^[3][4].

You must buy property worth at least US$300,000 in a CIU-approved development, signing a binding sale agreement conditional on approval. The full price is due after approval so that title can be registered, and the property cannot be resold for five years unless you move into another approved property^[5]. Ownership through a local company is allowed if the applicant holds all the shares and the company is not an exempt or offshore entity^[5]. Henley & Partners states that two applicants can buy jointly if each invests at least US$300,000^[21]; the CIU page does not mention this, so confirm it before signing.

Three practical points matter. Approved-project prices are set by developers and are usually above open-market levels, so resale after five years often happens at a discount. Buyers normally pay 2.5% stamp duty and, as non-citizens, a non-citizens land-holding licence of about 5%; vendors pay 7.5% stamp duty^[22][27]. How these are split in CIP developments varies. Finally, many projects sell fractional or hotel-unit shares with a promised rental yield, so check the yield terms and the developer's track record.

You can invest at least US$1.5 million in a Cabinet-approved business alone, or join a joint investment of at least US$5 million by two or more people, each contributing at least US$400,000^[6]. Funds are transferred within 30 days of approval, under escrow terms negotiated case by case, and processing fees follow the family-based schedule. The CIU page sets no job-creation target or holding period. Approved projects are few, so treat this as a private-equity investment with matching due diligence.

The main applicant must be at least 18, of good character and health, and able to show the lawful source of the funds. The file includes forms AB1 to AB5 (application, photo and signature certificate, medical certificate, investment confirmation and agent form), police certificates, certified civil documents and passport forms^[8]. Applicants aged 16+ who have lived in Canada for more than six months must supply an RCMP fingerprint-based (RTID) check^[9].

Restricted nationalities

Nationals of Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, Somalia, Yemen and Sudan can apply only if they left before adulthood and/or have held permanent residence elsewhere for at least 10 years, with no economic ties to a restricted country^[9]. Russian and Belarusian nationals are not on that published list, but the government suspended applications from them from 31 March 2023, and no reopening has been reported since^[36]. Antigua has also committed to excluding anyone subject to EU sanctions^[18].

Interviews and integration

The CIU says an interview may be required^[8]. Under ECCIRA, an interview (in person or by secure video) is mandatory for the main applicant and dependants aged 18+, and for dependants aged 12+ flagged in due diligence. New citizens also commit to an integration programme that may include civic education^[10]. Henley & Partners reports virtual interviews for everyone aged 16 and over^[21].

The residence requirement: 5 days or 30 days?

The original rule was five days in Antigua during the first five years after citizenship^[21]. ECCIRA replaces it with an aggregate of 30 days in the first five calendar years after the grant. Each family member must be present for at least five days in the first 12 months, the remaining days can be shared among the family, and a day when several members are present counts once^[10]. Antigua enacted the ECCIRA Agreement as Act No. 18 of 2025^[10]; the government says the 30-day rule is already applied administratively, and the July 2026 amendment bill aligns the 2013 Act with it^[16][17]. Plan for 30 days.

First passports under ECCIRA are valid for five years and renewed for ten only once the CIU certifies that you met the stay requirement. Failing it without reasonable excuse can lead to revocation proceedings^[10].

Antigua has one of the widest dependant definitions in the region. The CIU accepts^[7]:

• the main applicant's spouse;
• financially dependent children aged 0–30, and children 18+ with a disability who live with and are fully supported by the applicant;
• financially dependent parents or grandparents of the applicant or spouse aged 55+;
• unmarried siblings of the applicant or spouse.

Family members can be added after citizenship at a higher price: US$10,000 for a child under 6, US$25,000 for a child aged 6–17, and US$50,000 for a dependant aged 18+ or a future spouse, plus due-diligence and passport fees^[2][7].

Because the NDF contribution does not change with family size and a family of four pays the same US$20,000 processing fee as a couple, the cost per person falls quickly for larger households^[3]. Compare the per-dependant pricing in our St Kitts and Nevis citizenship guide and on the Dominica economic citizenship page.

All applications go through a licensed Antiguan agent^[8]. The sequence below follows the CIU's published process and payment schedule.

Citizenship alone does not make you tax resident in Antigua; your tax position depends on where you actually live. For people who do move there, Antigua abolished personal income tax in 2016 and levies no capital gains, inheritance or wealth tax. Annual property tax is about 0.1%–0.5% of assessed value, and consumption is taxed through the Antigua and Barbuda Sales Tax (ABST)^[22].

US citizens and green-card holders remain taxable in the US on worldwide income, and many residence countries apply controlled-foreign-company rules, exit taxes or reporting duties that a second passport does not change. Under ECCIRA, applicants also file a declaration of tax residence and compliance status^[10], and banks reporting under the OECD Common Reporting Standard may ask about your other residences.

The Antigua and Barbuda passport gives visa-free, visa-on-arrival or eTA access to 154 destinations in the Henley Passport Index 2026 (Henley data updated 7 September 2026), including the Schengen Area, Hong Kong and Singapore; the UK requires an electronic travel authorisation^[23]. Agent figures of 160+ use different counting methods. Canada has required visas from Antiguans since June 2017^[12].

United States: what the 2026 restrictions cover

Section 5(b) of the proclamation of 16 December 2025 states that Antigua and Barbuda "has historically had CBI without residency" and suspends entry of its nationals as immigrants and on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M and J visas from 1 January 2026. Exemptions include lawful permanent residents, dual nationals travelling on a passport from a non-designated country, diplomatic visas, and visas issued before the effective date. The Secretary of State reports on the restrictions every 180 days^[11]. Washington also agreed to honour visas valid on 31 December 2025^[13]. In February 2026 the validity of new B-1/B-2, F, J, L and R visas for Antiguans was cut to three months and a single entry^[14]. Antigua and Barbuda has also been on the visa-bond list since 21 January 2026 (bonds of US$5,000–15,000 under the pilot); the permanent programme published on 3 August 2026 sets bonds of US$10,000, 15,000 or 20,000 for any B-1/B-2 visa that can still be issued^[31][30]. Antigua was also on the 75-country immigrant-visa pause of 21 January 2026, which a court vacated on 21 August 2026; that ruling does not lift the proclamation's suspension of immigrant visas^[33][34]. In August 2026 Prime Minister Gaston Browne asked President Trump for a review, citing the stricter residence rules and biometric cooperation with the US Department of Homeland Security^[15]. As of 2 October 2026 the restrictions remain in force.

A new citizen who also holds a non-designated passport can still travel to the US on that passport. Anyone who planned to use the Antiguan passport itself for US visits, study or immigration will not get that benefit.

European Union: phase-out request and Antigua's response

Regulation (EU) 2025/2441, adopted on 26 November 2025 and in force since 30 December 2025, makes operating a CBI programme a ground for suspending visa-free access^[28]. The Commission's 8th visa suspension mechanism report (COM(2025) 792, 19 December 2025) estimated that the five Eastern Caribbean programmes had issued about 107,000 passports and put Antigua and Barbuda's 2024 rejection rate at 1.7%^[35]. On 25 June 2026 Commissioner Magnus Brunner wrote to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia asking them to phase out their programmes by 1 June 2028, with interim safeguards by September 2026^[29]. On 6 July Antigua rejected "a unilateral phase-out" and said any transition must include "tangible EU assistance in generating equivalent replacement revenues"^[18]. Browne and Saint Lucia's prime minister met Brunner in New York on 24 September 2026, with no change to the 2028 deadline announced^[19]. Three days later Browne said the government needed "more information in order to make an intelligent decision", announced technical talks in October, and floated a 2.5- to 3-year transition if a phase-out were agreed^[20]. Our analysis of the EU visa-free phase-out for Caribbean CBI covers the scenarios.

This is direct citizenship, not residency: there is no probationary permit or naturalisation period. Citizenship is granted after the investment is made, and Antigua permits dual and multiple citizenship, subject to your home country's rules. Citizenship can be revoked for fraud and, under ECCIRA, for unexcused failure to meet the 30-day stay requirement.

If you are deciding between a passport and a residence permit in a stronger jurisdiction, our explainer on citizenship by investment versus golden visas compares the two.

Good fit: larger families (especially with adult children up to 30 or parents over 55) who want a Plan-B citizenship at a low cost per person; investors who already hold a US-accepted passport and value Schengen, UK and Commonwealth access; and people who can spend a few weeks in Antigua over five years.

Look elsewhere if: your main goal is easier US travel; you need Schengen access that will last a decade or more, given the EU's 2028 timetable; you are a single applicant chasing the lowest price; or you cannot travel to the Caribbean for the required days.

• St Kitts and Nevis economic citizenship: the region's oldest programme, priced higher, and not named in the 2026 US proclamation.
• Grenada's investor citizenship: access to the US E-2 treaty-investor visa, though it faces the same EU letter.
• Saint Lucia passport programme: comparable pricing and not named in the US proclamation.
• Dominica's donation route: under the same US restrictions; useful as a price benchmark.
• Turkish citizenship through property: a larger outlay, outside the EU's Caribbean phase-out debate.
• Vanuatu's fast-track citizenship and Nauru's newer programme: Pacific options with their own travel caveats.

If residence would serve you better than a passport, see the Barbados residency options and the Panama Qualified Investor visa. Our ranking of lower-cost citizenship programmes and the full citizenship by investment directory list every live option.