When I started in this business, a Caribbean home was mainly about lifestyle: winter sun, a boat and a place to entertain. That is still true. But over the last few years the conversations I have with family offices and their advisers have changed. Now they start with a different word: optionality.
What families are planning for
Principals and their advisers are increasingly thinking in terms of jurisdictions as well as assets. Where can the family live if circumstances change? Where can the next generation study and build careers? Which passports and residence rights will keep doors open in ten or twenty years? A home in the right jurisdiction can answer several of those questions at once.
Why Antigua & Barbuda is on the shortlist
- Citizenship by Investment through real estate. A qualifying purchase in a government-approved project, currently from US$300,000 and held for at least five years, can support a citizenship application for the whole family, subject to due diligence and government fees. Families can therefore hold a home they actually use rather than simply make a donation.
- A light residence requirement. Citizens under the programme must spend five days in the country within the first five years. That suits families whose lives are already international.
- A favourable personal tax environment. Antigua & Barbuda does not levy personal income tax on individuals, and there is no capital gains, inheritance or wealth tax. How this affects a particular family always depends on the rules of their home country, which is why we work alongside their own tax advisers.
- Stability and familiarity. English is the official language, the legal system is based on English common law, the currency is pegged to the US dollar, and we are in the Eastern Caribbean time zone, one hour ahead of New York in winter.
Due diligence is a feature, not an obstacle
Citizenship by Investment is rightly under more scrutiny than ever, from partner governments and from the families themselves. I welcome that. Stronger due diligence, the creation of a regional regulator (ECCIRA) and greater transparency protect the value of the passport for everyone who holds it. Serious families want a programme that will still be respected in twenty years, not the fastest route.
It also means the advisers involved matter. Applications should only go through licensed Authorised Agents. Property should only be bought in government-approved projects with clear title. And any structuring should be reviewed by the family's own legal and tax advisers. If a family is presented with a route that skips any of these steps, that is a warning sign.
Where real estate fits
The families I work with rarely choose between lifestyle and planning; they want both. For them, the best answer is a property they would want to own anyway: in the right location, well built, professionally managed and with a clear exit after the holding period, which also happens to support the family's wider residence and citizenship plans.
If you advise internationally mobile families and would like a confidential briefing on how property, residence and citizenship work together in Antigua & Barbuda, please get in touch.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Programme terms are set by the Government of Antigua & Barbuda and may change.
