Caribbean countries offer the least expensive passports

Where can you find the most affordable foreign passport to buy? Three countries in the Caribbean basin offer the least expensive citizenship. One more country in the region offers the fastest acquisition of its full citizenship and one more – the simplest one. Below please learn more about these attractive investment opportunities.

A second passport of the country that offers beneficial taxation conditions can seriously facilitate your business activities. The document can also be used to travel around the world without the need of obtaining entry visas.

Several states such as Israel, for example, grant citizenship to people who have kin relations with their residents. Other countries will grant citizenship in exchange for investment into their economies. You can also acquire citizenship in a foreign country via naturalization, which means that you have to hold a legal residence permit in the country for several years and actually live there.

However, if you are looking for the fastest, the simplest, and the most affordable way to become a citizen of a foreign country, you have to give an eye to the ‘golden passports’ opportunities that some countries offer. Their passports can be obtained in exchange for investments or donations to the state funds.

We have examined all possible variants of acquiring a foreign citizenship and we have found five citizenship by investment programs that are most affordable of all such programs in the world. Interestingly, all these programs are to be found in the Caribbean basin.

The procedures and the conditions of acquiring a Caribbean citizenship by investment

When choosing what Caribbean country to apply for citizenship to, you have several options to consider. Citizenship can be acquired via purchasing real property in some of these countries, or buying stocks and bonds, or investing into business, or making a donation to the local state fund. The donation is going to be non-returnable while all other investments are potentially returnable.

For an additional fee, you can include your family members in the application for citizenship. Besides, everyone who is applying for citizenship in the Caribbean can be certain that the information about this procedure will remain strictly confidential.

You cannot file the application for citizenship directly to the country’s authorities. You have to use the services of a licensed immigration agency. The agent is responsible for collecting all the required application documents from you, filing the application, and fully supporting the client until the day when he or she receives a Caribbean passport. It will be pleasing to know that you do not even have to visit the Caribbean to pick your new passport. The immigration agency that you hire will deliver the passport to any place in the world.

Five citizenship by investment programs in the Caribbean

The Governments of five Caribbean states put forward the most affordable requirements to foreign nationals who want to apply for their citizenship in exchange for investment or a donation. Please note that the prices quoted below do not include the state duties payable for the application processing and due diligence checks and neither do they include the cost of the services provided by the licensed immigration agent. The application processing period is between two and six months, depending on the particular country.

Citizenship by investment: Dominica

In order to acquire citizenship of Dominica you have to make a non-returnable donation of US$ 100,000 to the state fund if you are a sole applicant. In case two people are applying for citizenship such as a married couple, for instance, the donation shall constitute US$ 175,000. A family of four will have to donate US$ 210,000. There is also a possibility to obtain Dominican citizenship by investment into real estate in the country. The minimum required amount of investment is US$ 200,000.

Citizenship by investment: Saint Lucia

Minimum required donation to the St Lucia economic development fund is US$ 100,000. This sum is sufficient for one person to acquire citizenship in the country. A family consisting of four members has to donate US$ 200,000.

The local Government offers three more investment opportunities that allow acquiring St Lucian citizenship: investment into real estate (from US$ 300,000), investment into government bonds (from US$ 500,000), and investment into local corporate projects (from US$ 1,000,000).

There is also a limited time offer that is going to be valid only until the end of 2020. A family of four members can donate US$ 150,000 thus acquiring St Lucian citizenship for every member. Besides, by making a returnable investment of US$ 250,000 into coronabonds you can also become a citizen of St Lucia. Let us stress that this special offer is going to be in place only until the current coronavirus crisis is over.

Citizenship by investment: Antigua and Barbuda

In order to obtain citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda a foreign national has to make a donation of US$ 100,000 to the local development fund. In addition to that, citizenship can be granted to those who purchase real property in the country or invest into local business. The required investment amounts are US$ 200,000 and US$ 400,000, correspondingly.

It has to be borne in mind, however, that the applicant must visit Antigua and Barbuda personally to receive the passport. Moreover, he or she has to spend minimum five days in the country per year during the first five years of holding the passport.  

Citizenship by investment: Saint Kitts and Nevis

To obtain a St Kitts and Nevis passport you have to donate US$ 150,000 to the local state fund. If you want to acquire citizenship not only for yourself but also for your spouse and two children, you have to make a donation of US$ 200,000. Besides, investments into real estate in the country of at least US$ 200,000 will also make you qualified for St Kitts and Nevis citizenship.

St Kitts and Nevis is the country where you can acquire citizenship faster than anywhere else. The application processing lasts only two months in this Caribbean country.

Citizenship by investment: Grenada

Applicants for citizenship of Grenada are required to contribute US$ 150,000 to the national fund. This sum will suffice for one person. A family of four has to contribute US$ 210,000. Besides, economic citizenship of Grenada is available in exchange for investment into real property located in the country. This option involves investing minimum US 220,000.

The advantages of a Caribbean passport

The competition between Caribbean states granting citizenship in exchange for investment makes their Governments reduce the passport prices. Moreover, it makes them create beneficial living and business conditions for new citizens.

The Caribbean basin is a well-known offshore zone popular with entrepreneurs from all over the world. Many business people dream of obtaining Caribbean citizenship because of the beneficial taxation systems and transparent legislations in the region. Some taxes are absent in the Caribbean while others are significantly reduced.

Another reason to acquire Caribbean citizenship is the opportunity to travel to most world countries without having to obtain visas. Caribbean citizens can freely visit Europe and Great Britain. Citizens of Grenada can also enter China without a visa and stay in the USA for a long time on an E2 visa. Caribbean passports bring numerous other benefits including but not limited to the following ones:  

• Access to reputable international banks;
• Extended possibilities for international businesses;
• Subsidized education in prestigious universities;
• Protection against military conflicts and other extreme events in the investor’s home country.

All countries in the Caribbean basin boast warm climates, perfect ecological conditions, and exotic landscapes. Having a passport of one of these states, you can come to the region for you annual vacation. On the other hand, you do not have to ever visit the countries if you do not desire to and still have a Caribbean passport (with the exception of Antigua and Barbuda though).

Why should you invest into Caribbean citizenship right now?

Your resolution to acquire Caribbean citizenship will be strengthened if you acquaint yourself with the most recent news on the economy, finance, tourism development, and construction projects in the region.  

Economic growth in the Caribbean

The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean or ECLAC has published a report on Caribbean economies. The report indicates and the economies of Dominica and Antigua have been developing at especially fast rates. The highest GDP growth rates in these countries are expected to occur in 2019.

According to the report, the economy of the region in general will grow by 2.1% in 2019. The growth rates in the countries that have citizenship by investment programs are expected to be as follows:

• Dominica — 9.9%;
• Antigua and Barbuda — 5.9%;
• Grenada — 3.3%;
• St Kitts and Nevis — 3.1%;
• St Lucia — 2%.

The report also notes that the Caribbean countries use the funds that they receive from foreigners buying their passports to finance healthcare, education, construction of new residential accommodations, reduction of the state debt, restoration after hurricanes, creation of new jobs, and tourism development.  

Grenada and Antigua, in particular, have reduced their corresponding national debts significantly over the recent years. As of the end of June 2019, the national debt of Grenada was 59.9% of the GDP. At the same time, in 2013, the country’s national debt was 108% of the GDP.  

Construction of new hotels in the Caribbean

The Caribbean islands referred to above offer the most affordable opportunities to invest into real estate in exchange for acquiring their citizenship. In order to acquire a second passport there you have to purchase property that is worth from US$ 200,000 as we have noted above.

It has to be borne in mind, however, that investors can obtain Caribbean citizenship only if they put money into the real estate that the Governments have approved for this purpose. As a rule, these are various resort complexes. It is good to know that the choice of real property to buy is constantly growing as more and more new hotels are constructed in the Caribbean.  

According to the STR analytical company, 155 new hotels were under construction in the Mexican-Caribbean region as of July 2019. The total number of rooms these hotels are going to have is 31,968. This number is 33.9% higher than the corresponding figure for 2018.

The luxury resort segment is the leader in the hotel construction industry. The total of 8,553 deluxe suites were being built at the point in time indicated above. This figure exceeds the one for the previous year by 72.4%.

At the same time, as STR experts note, the increased supply of hotel accommodations puts pressure on the demand. Thus, July of 2019 was the fourth month in a raw when the room occupancy rate decreased. This is associated with the overall growth in the number of rooms available for rent in the Caribbean.

In comparison to 2018, the room occupancy rate decreased by 6.5%, the supply of rooms increased by 3.1%, while the demand decreased by 3.6%. Fortunately, the hoteliers have been able to partially compensate for the losses by increasing the Average Daily Rate (ADR) by 4.8%, on an annualized basis. However, the growth of ADR was insufficient for raising the Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR). This indicator dropped by 2.1% in comparison to the previous year.

The prospects for the current year look promising. Ove the first seven months of 2019, the RevPAR grew by 6.2%. The STR forecast a small decrease in room occupancy rates (0.8%) but an increase in ADR of 1.1% and an increase in RevPAR of 0.3% in 2020.

The inflow of tourists to the Caribbean region

If you purchase a resort accommodation in order to acquire citizenship in the Caribbean, you can let it out on a lease straight after the purchase is made. This will give you a stable passive income and a second passport simultaneously. The recent tourism statistics suggests that this would be a wise investment decision indeed.  

The number of tourists arriving to the Caribbean region over the period between January and July of 2019 grew by 11% in comparison to the same period of the previous year, according to the UN World Tourist Organization.

The growth is attributed mainly to the high demand for tourist services in the Caribbean on the part of the USA residents. Experts stress that the region is still recovering from Irma and Maria hurricanes that hit the islands at the end of 2017 bringing havoc and devastation to some of them.  

Caribbean tourist companies see an even more glittering future. Thus, the officers of a large cruise operator Royal Caribbean International predict that the company turnover will increase by 50% by 2030. The total inflow of capital generated by cruise ship tours will reach 6 billion US dollars.

Official Caribbean digital currency

The Antiguan economic citizenship program has one characteristic that makes it compare favorably to all other countries offering such programs including Caribbean neighbors of Antigua. It is the possibility to acquire citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda in exchange for cryptocurrency. Soon this process is going to run even smoother.

The Eastern Caribbean Currency Union or ECCU launched a pilot project that is about to turn into a full-fledge financial program. The DXCD Caribe project, as the authors call it, was started in March 2019 and it was aimed at reducing cash use in ECCU by 50%. This should enhance the stability of the regional financial sector and contribute to faster growth and development of local economies.

Eastern Caribbean Central Bank representatives say that eight months after the project was launched, it began attracting interest even from outside the region. The experts note that the ultimate goal of this project is the inclusion of maximum possible number of people into the financial system of the Caribbean region.    

The project is going to be carried out in two stages. The first stage involves testing the digital currency over the period of approximately twelve months. Than the currency will be introduced in four countries: Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, and St. Lucia. The introduction process will be extended over six months. The digital currency will be used via a DXCD Caribe application.

If you require further information about the possibilities of obtaining a second passport from one of the Caribbean states mentioned above, please consult our experts at [email protected]. If you feel that the Caribbean islands lie too far or sound too exotic, we will gladly suggest European, Asian, and other second passport alternatives to you. Please send your questions and information requests to the address specified above. We will certainly find an option that you will like!