The National Development Fund (NDF) represents about 81% of all applications, while real estate investments at around 10%, and the remainder directed to business investments and the University of West Indies Fund, one of the industry’s most competitive investment options for larger families.

The Antigua & Barbuda citizenship investment unit announced late last week that they will now accept for siblings and dependent grandchildren to be included in citizenship applications.

The most recent changes to the Antigua & Barbuda include the following changes to the definition of “dependent”:

a) A current spouse of the principal applicant;
b) A child of the principal applicant, or of his or her spouse, who is 0-30 years of age and who is financially dependent on the principal applicant;
c) A child of the principal applicant, or of his or her spouse, who is 18 years or older but who is physically or mentally handicapped and who is living with and is fully supported by the principal applicant;
d) A parent or grandparent of the principal applicant, or of his or her spouse, who is 55 years of age or older and who is financially dependent on the principal applicant;
e) A sibling of the principal applicant, or of his or her spouse, if unmarried;

There are also some changes to the fees for adding dependents to applications after citizenship is granted:

a) A future spouse of the principal applicant, A fee of US$50,000 is payable upon application;
b) A future spouse of dependent children where the dependent child is financially dependent on the principal applicant; and
c) A future child of a dependent child. A fee of US$10,000 is to be payable for children under 5 years of age and US$20,000 for children 6-17 years of age.

Cabinet also approved the following:

• The fee to add a child shall be US$10,000 for children under 5 years of age and US$20,000 for children 6-17 years.
• The fees for the addition of adult dependents shall be reduced from US$75,000 to US$50,000.
• There shall be no time restriction on when a dependent may be be added to an application.

These are welcome adjustments bringing Antigua & Barbuda in line with some of the other Caribbean programs which also decide to allow siblings last year. The other changes have once more ensured Antigua and Barbuda’s citizenship program is the most compelling and not least because it’s the most cost effective option for a family to apply.

Despite being the most desirable country in many respects for second citizenship when you consider important ‘Plan B’ factors such as access, infrastructure, international population, foreign direct investment, safety, education, medical infrastructure and in particular the economy, Antigua & Barbuda has priced it’s citizenship aggressively in the market place knowing that the vast majority of applicants are almost solely concerned with the visa-free travel privileges and are price sensitive.