In the year 2024, you might be considering a citizenship program to invest in, but there are a lot of factors to consider when looking at your options. The citizenship by investment industry offers many programs that offer similar benefits regarding visa-free travel, lower taxes, processing speeds, and various investment options.
In this article, we will discuss the best investment options for getting your second passport. All the following options overlap in their key benefits, but some of the choices excel with specific requirements investors might have when making their choices. Be sure to think about what you are expecting from the country you want to invest in and that it meets your expectations.
Top Citizenship By Investment Programs to Consider:
Programs for Affordability – Donation Investments:
If you are a single applicant investor, you have 2 good options to consider, Dominica and St. Lucia. The cost-friendly option from both countries is in the form of their National Development Fund (NDF), which is a donation method. The minimum contribution for both donation programs is $100,000, the lowest minimum contribution worldwide.
Antigua & Barbuda shares the same minimum contribution, but it applies to single applicants, applicant and spouse, or a family of 4. This makes Antigua & Barbuda one of the more popular options for applicants ranging from 2 to 4 people.
For investors who have 5 or more people, Antigua & Barbuda is one of the go-to countries. The minimum investment contribution is $125,000, a little more than an applicant with a 4-person household.
Programs for Affordability – Real Estate Investments:
Antigua & Barbuda, along with Dominica, have minimum real estate investment contributions of $200,000 for government-approved real estate projects within the countries to qualify for citizenship. Close behind is Grenada, where the minimum contribution amount is $220,000 for real estate investments. Dominica brings another consideration to the table, and that is because the investment period is only 3 years long, whereas the average time of investment for other real estate programs is 5 years long.
Alternative Investment Options:
St. Lucia, like Antigua & Barbuda and Dominica, lets you invest in real estate to get citizenship. But unlike the others, St. Lucia also offers a government bond option. You invest at least $300,000 in government bonds to become a citizen. Over 5 years, you’ll get returns from your investment, but without any interest. Just remember, extra fees won’t be part of your return.
If you want to begin a business or help grow an existing business, Antigua & Barbuda and St. Lucia propose the business enterprise option. This option suits you if you want to take a more hands-on approach when investing in your citizenship and getting more transparency about where your investment money is going. But, it is important to note that this route is significantly more expensive than the donation, real estate, and government investment options. Due to the high cost, it will likely not be the most realistic option for investors.
If the government bond and business enterprise options seem less than ideal, then St. Kitts & Nevis has introduced the approved public benefit enterprise program, a valid route for citizenship eligibility. The alternative St. Kitts program requires a minimum contribution of $250,000 from investors.
Programs for Inclusiveness:
Most Caribbean investment citizenship programs are very accommodating for applicants with a spouse and/or children under 18. Antigua & Barbuda, St Lucia and Grenada will allow you to bring your children, who can be as old as 30, without any additional conditions or requirements. Other CBI programs have strict laws concerning the age, marital status, and dependency of the applicant’s immediate family members.
Regardless of the program, all of them include parents of applicants, and some of them are restrictive for parents who are 55 years old or older. Grenada is a standout option in this category, as it permits parents and grandparents of either the applicant or spouse, regardless of their age.
Antigua & Barbuda are inclusive to siblings of the applicant and or spouse, where they extend the eligibility to them regardless of their age. Other CBI programs will restrict siblings depending on their age.
Programs for Visa-Free Travel:
Regarding all the CBI programs, the Caribbean passports offer some of the most substantial benefits for Visa-free travel. St. Kitts & Nevis is marginally better than the other programs because it provides visa-free travel to 150 countries, including the Schengen area and the United Kingdom.
If you aren’t concerned with having the most access to other countries worldwide, Grenada’s CBI gives you visa-free travel to over 140 countries, but unlike the other programs, it offers eligibility to the USA E-2 treaty. It enables successful Grenadan investors to invest and live in the U.S. if they can meet the requirements for that program.
Programs for Tax Purposes:
For the most part, when looking at the Caribbean programs for tax benefits, most of the countries have desirable tax regimes. St. Kitts & Nevis and Antigua & Barbuda offer investors the option to forgo paying personal income, capital gains, inheritance, and gift taxes. These tax incentives benefit individual and business investors looking to increase their tax efficiency.
Programs with Quick Processing Times:
Program processing times will vary. On average, the programs that offer the quickest solutions are Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, and St Lucia, with periods that will take 2 to 4 months, depending on the case’s complexity. If you are in a rush, you should allow at least 1 month for application preparation and 2-3 months until approval.
If you’re looking for a country to invest in for its passport benefits, think about what you want to achieve from your investment. Whether it’s citizenship, global mobility, or financial freedom, our team at Fast Passport Boutique by Jane Katkova is here to help. We’ll make the process easier for you to navigate.
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