Buy a home in one of these 5 islands and get citizenship and visa-free travel to 150 countries including UK

Five Caribbean island nations — Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Lucia — have been allowing citizenship to foreigners who buy homes or make investments and donations starting from $200,000 upwards. The schemes have been around for years, but are seeing a surge in interest from buyers from countries like the US, Ukraine and China. It comes with benefits such as visa-free entry to 150 nations, including the UK and the Schengen area of Europe. Here is how the scheme known as Caribbean citizenship-by-investment (CBI) works:

Investment options in the CBI scheme of Caribbean islands

House or property purchase is one way to get dual citizenship in these islands. Other methods are donations to national development funds starting at $200,000. In Antigua, a $260,000 donation to the University of the West Indies could earn a citizenship.

Visa-free travel, tax benefits and more in the Caribbean Islands

Passports from these countries allow the holders visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to up to 150 countries. The islands do not have many of the taxes, such as on capital gains, inheritance, and in some cases, income. Buyers can retain their original citizenship, according to a report in BBC.

US buyers are lapping up the Caribbean Islands citizenship scheme

The BBC report cited Nadia Dyson, a real estate agent and owner of Luxury Locations in Antigua, as saying that up to 70 per cent of the current buyers of property in these islands seek citizenship and most of them are from the US. “This time last year, it was all lifestyle buyers and a few CBI. Now they’re all saying ‘I want a house with citizenship.’ We’ve never sold so many before,” the report quoted her as saying.

Carribean Island investment: Some buyers are relocating full-time

The report cited Investment migration firm Henley & Partners as saying that applicants from Ukraine, Turkey, Nigeria, and China sought the scheme last year. Overall, Caribbean CBI applications have increased by 12 per cent since late 2024, it said.

Why are people opting to live in the Carribean islands? Political instability at home, travel freedom

Political instability, violence and antisemitism at home are factors behind the surge, the BBC cited Dominic Volek from Henley & Partners as saying. “Around 10-15 per cent actually relocate. For most it’s an insurance policy… Having a second citizenship is a good back-up plan,” he was quoted as saying.

For the businesspeople, the ease of travel and the political neutrality of Caribbean passports are other reasons.

Controversies and criticism of the Caribbean island citizenship by investment

The CBI programmes, mostly introduced in 2012, are not without controversy. There were protests in Antigua over allegations of ‘selling the identity’ of the nation to people who knew nothing of the islands. Other concerns include the possible misuse of the tax and travel benefits by criminals. Recently, the European Union has threatened to revoke visa-free access for Caribbean passport holders over potential security risks, with assessments ongoing since 2022.

But there are advocates to the programme, like the prime ministers of Dominica and St Lucia. Antigua Prime Minister Gaston Browne said CBI funds prevented a national bankruptcy over the past decade.