Antigua is the only Caribbean CBI program that includes an education benefit, the UWI fund route covers one year of tuition at the University of the West Indies for any family member, which partially offsets its cost for families with college-age dependents.
The Four Investment Routes and Their Base Prices
The National Development Fund donation is the most popular route at $100,000 for a single applicant, $125,000 for a family of up to four, and $150,000 for families of five or more. Real estate requires a minimum $400,000 purchase in an approved development, held for five years, and can be shared between two qualifying applicants splitting the threshold. The University of the West Indies fund option costs $150,000 for a family of six or more and includes one year of tuition, making it the only CBI route globally that bundles an education benefit. A business investment route also exists requiring at least $1,500,000 in an approved enterprise, though very few applicants use it.
Government Fees Stacked on Top of the Investment
Government processing fees are charged per person and are non-negotiable regardless of route. A single applicant pays $30,000 in due diligence and processing fees combined. A couple adds another $15,000 for the spouse. Each dependent child under 18 adds $7,500 and each dependent between 18 and 25 adds $15,000. These numbers mean a family of four taking the NDF route pays $125,000 in donation plus roughly $55,000 to $60,000 in government fees before professional service fees are counted.
Professional and Agent Fees
Antigua requires all applicants to use a government-approved agent, so there is no legitimate path to applying direct. Agent fees range from roughly $10,000 to $25,000 for a single applicant depending on the firm and complexity, and reputable agents will charge more for comprehensive document preparation, notarization coordination, and source-of-funds structuring. Budget an additional $3,000 to $8,000 in legal and document costs including apostilles, medical exams, and police certificates. For a realistic all-in figure on the NDF route, a single applicant should plan for $145,000 to $165,000 and a family of four for $210,000 to $240,000.
Processing Timeline and the Residency Requirement
Antigua processes most applications in three to six months. Unlike St. Kitts or Dominica, Antigua imposes a residency obligation: passport holders must spend at least five days in Antigua and Barbuda within the first five years of citizenship. Failure to meet this threshold is grounds for revocation, though enforcement has historically been inconsistent. If you want a Caribbean passport with zero residency obligation, Dominica's program is worth comparing directly since it has no stay requirement at all.
What the Antigua Passport Actually Gets You
The Antiguan passport grants visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to approximately 150 jurisdictions as of 2024, including the entire Schengen area, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Brazil. US visa-free access is not included, which is the same limitation shared by every other Caribbean CBI passport. Antigua is a Commonwealth member, which adds soft practical benefits in some jurisdictions. There is no Antiguan capital gains tax, inheritance tax, or wealth tax, and the country does not tax foreign-source income, making the passport genuinely useful for tax planning if you establish Antigua as a secondary residence.
How Antigua Stacks Up Against Other Caribbean Programs on Cost
Across the Caribbean CBI tier, Antigua sits in the middle of the cost range. St. Kitts raised its NDF donation to $250,000 for a single applicant in 2023, making Antigua meaningfully cheaper on the donation route. Grenada's program starts at $235,000 all-in for a single applicant and adds the advantage of an E-2 treaty investor visa pathway to the US, which Antigua cannot offer. Vanuatu delivers the fastest processing globally at roughly 30 to 60 days but costs around $130,000 to $145,000 all-in for a single applicant with a weaker passport. Antigua's family pricing is one of its strongest competitive advantages since the per-person add-on fees are lower than Grenada's or St. Lucia's for larger family units.
Things people ask first.
What is the minimum cost for Antigua citizenship by investment?
The absolute minimum investment is $100,000 via the National Development Fund for a single applicant. Adding government fees and agent fees brings the true all-in cost to roughly $145,000 to $165,000 for one person.
Can a family of four get Antigua citizenship and what does it cost?
Yes. A family of four using the NDF route pays $125,000 in donation plus approximately $55,000 to $60,000 in government fees and another $15,000 to $25,000 in professional fees, landing at roughly $210,000 to $240,000 all-in. Antigua's per-dependent fees are lower than several competing programs, which is why large families often favor it.
Do you have to live in Antigua to keep the citizenship?
You must spend at least five days in Antigua and Barbuda within your first five years of citizenship. After that obligation is met, there is no ongoing residency requirement. This is lighter than most residency-based citizenship paths but is more than the zero-day requirement that Dominica and St. Kitts impose.
How long does the Antigua CBI process take?
Most applications are processed in three to six months from submission of a complete file. Incomplete applications or complex source-of-funds documentation can push processing past six months.
Is the Antigua real estate route a better deal than the donation?
The $400,000 real estate route costs more upfront but is theoretically recoverable since you own an asset. In practice, Antigua's approved real estate market is illiquid and prices are inflated by CBI demand, so treating it as a genuine investment rather than a fee requires careful due diligence on the specific development.
Does Antigua citizenship give visa-free access to the United States?
No. The Antiguan passport does not include US visa-free access. Citizens still need a B-1/B-2 visa for the US. Grenada's CBI passport is the only Caribbean option that offers a pathway toward US access, via the E-2 investor visa treaty rather than visa-free entry.
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The Offshore Playbook breaks down every active CBI program side by side, including Antigua, with exact fee tables, passport strength comparisons, and the due diligence traps that sink applications. If you want to shortcut the research and make a decision with complete numbers, this is where you go next.
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