Independent Dubai advisory · Antigua & Barbuda CBI since 2013
Dubai advisory · ECCIRA-era programme
One government contribution of $230,000 covers up to 4 people — and unlike most Caribbean passports, this one still opens the United Kingdom and the Schengen Area. We handle the application end to end from Al Barsha, and we tell you where the programme is weak as clearly as where it is strong.
Programme at a glance
$230,000
National Development Fund · covers a family of up to 4 · $15,000 per additional dependent
Government minimums for 2026. Due diligence, the verification interview and statutory fees are quoted separately and in writing.
The programme now sits under ECCIRA, the new Eastern Caribbean regulator — tighter screening, and a passport that holds its credibility.
Antigua's programme is one of the region's longest-established. Across our network: 5,000+ investors and 9,000+ new citizens.
The same advisers you meet in Al Barsha assemble your file, prepare your interview and answer government queries.
Every fee itemised before you commit. No package price that quietly grows once your household is counted.
Why this programme
Five Caribbean programmes sell broadly similar promises. Antigua separates itself on household economics, on European and British access, and on how the advisory work is actually done. Here is the case, stated plainly.
Rivals advertise a low single-applicant price, then layer per-person fees until a real family of four costs more than the sticker suggested. Antigua does the opposite: $230,000 covers up to 4 people flat, and the dependent definition stretches to children up to 30, unmarried siblings of any age and parents or grandparents from 55. Count everyone who matters and the arithmetic usually lands here.
The Antigua passport reaches 150+ destinations on the Henley Passport Index 2026, including the United Kingdom through the ETA and the full Schengen Area, plus Hong Kong and Singapore. That is precisely the access some rival Caribbean and Pacific passports have lost or weakened in recent years, and it is the reason most of our clients are here.
Your file is not handed to a call centre. The Al Barsha team that takes your first call is the team that builds your due-diligence pack, briefs you for the verification interview and chases the government when a query lands. One accountable point of contact, reachable on WhatsApp, from enquiry to passport.
Antigua & Barbuda has operated its Citizenship by Investment Programme under national legislation since 2013. That legal footing matters more than it sounds: what you receive on approval is full, hereditary citizenship that passes to your children, not a residence permit that a future administration can quietly reclassify. Dual nationality is permitted, so for most applicants this is a second passport added alongside the first, not a trade.
In 2026 the programme runs under ECCIRA, a new Eastern Caribbean regulator that standardised due diligence across the region's programmes. Screening became harder as a result, and some files now run longer. We treat that as a feature rather than a cost — the passports that keep their value at borders and with banks are the ones issued under real scrutiny.
Investment routes
All four routes are government-approved and lead to the same citizenship. They differ in price, in whether your money comes back, and in the household size each one suits. Every figure below is a 2026 government minimum.
$230,000
single applicant or family of up to 4
$260,000
built for households of six or more
from $300,000
government-approved property
from $1,500,000
individual investment
Figures are 2026 government minimums for the contribution or investment only. A complete budget adds due diligence, the verification interview (~$1,500 per applicant aged 16 and over), and government, legal, oath and passport fees — all itemised in your written estimate. See the full cost breakdown.
What it really costs
The honest answer to "what does Antigua citizenship cost" is that the government contribution is the biggest line and the easiest one to quote. The lines that vary — and that some advisers leave out until you are committed — are the ones that scale with your household.
Alongside the contribution you should plan for professional due-diligence screening of every applicant aged 16 and over, the verification interview introduced in December 2023 at roughly $1,500 per person in that age bracket, government processing fees, and legal, oath and passport charges. None of these are unusual or hidden by the government — they are simply the part of the total that depends on who is in your application.
This is also why a flat "package price" advertised online is usually misleading. A single applicant and a household of six are very different totals on the same route. We would rather understand your family first and quote accurately once, than win the enquiry with a number that grows later. Every estimate we issue is written, itemised and given before you pay anything.
Government minimum plus an indicative all-in range. Your written quote confirms the exact figure.
Indicative only and not a quote. Fee ranges reflect typical due-diligence, interview and statutory costs per applicant.
Process
A well-prepared Antigua file runs 4–6 months. We manage every stage on your behalf and you never need to set foot in Antigua to complete any of it.
We assess your household, your actual travel patterns and your objectives, then confirm whether Antigua is genuinely the right programme. Free, confidential, and where we tell you if it is not.
We open your file and issue a checklist built for your specific family — passports, civil certificates, police clearances and the source-of-funds evidence each applicant needs.
We assemble and pre-check the background file against ECCIRA-era standards, reconciling your source-of-funds narrative before submission rather than after a query lands.
Mandatory since December 2023 for every applicant aged 16 and over, conducted online. We rehearse the likely ground so it is a formality, not a hurdle.
The application is filed and independently assessed. We track progress and answer any queries raised, usually within the same working day.
On approval you complete the contribution, take the oath of allegiance, and the certificates and passports are issued and delivered to you.
Global mobility
On the Henley Passport Index 2026 the Antigua & Barbuda passport reaches 150+ destinations visa-free, visa-on-arrival or through a simple electronic authorisation, placing it around ≈ 24th in the world.
The strengths are concentrated exactly where Gulf-based families use them: the United Kingdom through the ETA, the whole Schengen Area for short stays, and the major Asian hubs of Hong Kong and Singapore. Antigua is also a full member of CARICOM and the OECS, which carries rights to live, work and move across member states — a practical benefit that rarely makes the marketing but matters if the Caribbean becomes a real base rather than a passport.
On the United States we are deliberate. Antigua is no longer a strong passport for American travel: since 21 January 2026 it sits in the US visa-bond pilot, and since 27 February 2026 B-1/B-2 visitor visas for Antiguan nationals have been cut to three-month single-entry. If regular, frictionless US travel is the reason you are buying a second passport, we will tell you so and point you at a programme that serves that better.
Source: Henley Passport Index 2026. We use one consistent figure across this site rather than inflating the count.
Family inclusion
Most citizenship programmes stop at a spouse and minor children. Antigua reaches considerably further, which is why it tends to win for households that span generations.
| Who | Eligibility | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse | Included as a dependent | Legally married partner of the main applicant. |
| Children | Up to age 30 | Covers adult children in study or genuine financial dependence. |
| Siblings | Unmarried, any age | Of the main applicant or the spouse, where dependency is established. |
| Parents & grandparents | Aged 55 and over | Of the main applicant or the spouse. |
| Household of 4 | One $230,000 contribution | Main applicant plus up to three dependents; $15,000 per person beyond that. |
For a family thinking across generations, that breadth is the whole argument. You can bring a spouse, adult children still in education, an unmarried sibling and parents in retirement under a single coordinated application instead of filing separately for each branch — and the pricing rewards you for doing so rather than penalising you per head.
The programme also stays flexible after approval. A spouse you marry later, or a child born after your certificates are issued, can be added through a lighter dependent application, subject to the fees and screening in force at that time. Every dependent aged 16 and over goes through the same due diligence, which we prepare for in advance so nothing stalls a family file.
Taxation
Antigua & Barbuda levies no personal income tax, no capital gains tax, no inheritance tax and no wealth tax. For an internationally mobile household that is a notably clean nationality to hold.
0%
Personal income tax
abolished in 2016
0%
Capital gains tax
0%
Inheritance tax
0%
Wealth tax
It is worth being precise about the limits of that headline. Antigua does not tax the worldwide income of individuals and has none of the four taxes above on its books. But citizenship does not relocate your tax residence — that is determined by where you genuinely live and by the rules of the countries you are connected to.
For a UAE-resident family the practical picture is clean: the UAE does not levy personal income tax on individuals, and Antigua adds no new personal-tax burden, so the citizenship sits alongside your existing position rather than layering on top of it. It is not, however, a substitute for getting your residence position right. Confirm your own circumstances with a qualified tax adviser.
Compared
All five give broadly similar mobility. The decision usually comes down to what a real household of four costs once everyone is counted — and to one or two niche advantages worth knowing about.
| Programme | From (indicative) | A family of four | UK / Schengen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antigua & Barbuda | $230,000 | Covered by one contribution | Yes / Yes |
| St Kitts & Nevis | from ~$250,000 | Routed through a higher tier | Yes / Yes |
| Dominica | from ~$200,000 | Per-person add-ons | Yes / Yes |
| Grenada | from ~$235,000 | Per-person add-ons | Yes / Yes |
| St Lucia | from ~$240,000 | Per-person add-ons | Yes / Yes |
Antigua figures are programme facts. Competitor minimums are indicative 2026 figures shown for orientation only and should be verified before you commit to anything. Grenada's genuine edge — a US E-2 treaty — is covered on the comparison page.
Updated 22 September 2026
Four developments genuinely affect budget, timeline or what the passport does. We track them here and rewrite this section when the position moves.
The Eastern Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Regulatory Authority took effect in 2026, standardising due diligence and supervision across participating programmes. Screening is harder and some files now run toward up to 9 months. We read it as a credibility signal: oversight is what keeps a passport respected at borders and with banks.
In August 2024 the National Development Fund minimum increased from $100,000 to $230,000 for a household of up to 4. Even after the rise, Antigua remains the strongest family value in the region because of how wide its dependent definition reaches.
From 21 January 2026 Antigua entered the US visa-bond pilot ($5,000 / $10,000 / $15,000). From 27 February 2026 B-1/B-2 visas were cut to three-month single-entry, with entry directed through designated airports, and immigrant-visa processing was frozen.
The current obligation is 5 days within the first 5 years, largely tied to passport renewal. The government has signalled a possible move toward a roughly 30-day minimum. We publish the current rule as current, and tell clients as soon as the position firms up.
Your Dubai team
You work with the same small team from the first call to the day your passports arrive. Behind them sits a network active since 2013 that has supported 5,000+ investors and 9,000+ new citizens.
Managing Partner
Two decades in international commodities and cross-border structuring before moving into investment migration. Christian advises Gulf-based families on Caribbean second-citizenship strategy and divides his time between Dubai and Europe.
Managing Partner
A compliance and due-diligence specialist who handles government liaison. Richard builds files to ECCIRA-era evidentiary standards so applications clear screening without avoidable follow-up queries.
Director of Advisory
Avani leads client advisory across the Gulf and Asia. Multilingual, with a background in private-client services and global mobility, she is the contact families deal with from first call to passport collection.
Questions
The questions Gulf families actually ask before they engage anyone. If yours is not here, the full FAQ goes further — or just call.
Free consultation
A free, no-obligation consultation with our Dubai team. We will assess your household, recommend the route that genuinely fits, and send a written, itemised estimate — including the case for a different programme if Antigua is not it.
No obligation
Tell us about your household and we will send a written, itemised estimate for the route that actually fits — including the fees most sites leave out.