For savvy home hunters seeking real estate with benefits, countries that offer passports through investment have become the real golden ticket.
Caribbean Countries With Easy Paths to Citizenship Andreas Voelkel - Getty Images
For savvy home hunters seeking real estate with benefits, countries that offer full citizenship by investment (aka CBI programs) have become the real golden ticket, with Caribbean nations leading the charge.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines announced in December that it plans to launch a CBI scheme this year, following neighbors Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts and Nevis. St. Kitts launched the region’s first CBI program in 1984.
Rather than just offering residency, citizenship-by-investment programs grant passports to foreigners who either invest in government-run philanthropic projects or buy approved real estate, said Basil Mohr-Elzeki, a Miami-based managing partner at Henley & Partners, a global firm that specializes in residency and citizenship planning.
“Governments started these programs to seek foreign direct investment,” Mohr-Elzeki said. “The investor’s family gets a passport. The country gets economic stimulus that leads to jobs and infrastructure. It’s a win-win.”
But there’s a case for investors to hurry if they’re seriously interested, as residency- and citizenship-for-investment programs tend to come under the microscope as they become more popular.
According to a report from the European Commission, more than 100,000 passports have been issued through CBI programs since 2014. But the report added that “the past years have shown that traveling without a visa may pose significant challenges related to irregular migration and security.”
As a result, islands may soon tighten up requirements, Mohr-Elzeki said.
“St. Kitts will be implementing a more merit-based program, meaning a genuine link to the island, a physical presence, or job creation or a business, and other islands are rumored to be considering more stringent requirements and higher investment thresholds,” he said. “But we don’t see a cap coming. We see a change of program to make it more difficult as demand increases.”
To add to pressures in the region, the United States this week announced it will no longer process visa applications from 75 countries, including most of the Caribbean islands.
Boom in U.S. Applicants
As applications for CBI programs have “surged,” host countries are seeing significant changes in both who’s applying and how they’re spending. Among Henley Global clients, U.S. nationals accounted for 5% of total applications in 2018, a figure that rose to about 40% in 2025, “a 2,425% increase in applications,” Mohr-Elzeki said. The firm also saw a 43% increase in total CBI applications in 2025 compared to 2024, he said.
When the programs started, “it was people who wanted to get into the U.S. and required a friendlier passport than their home countries, like Russia or China,” said Dominique Silvera, co-founder of Christie’s International Real Estate Barbados. “Ironically, it’s a lot of Americans who are buying now. If you’re an American who does global business, it’s hard to say these days who’s a friend and who’s not, so a neutral passport is valuable.”
For many buyers exploring CBI programs in the region, lifestyle is a primary driver of where they end up buying, said Odge Davey, head of international sales for Savills in London. “Barbados has fantastic golf courses, beautiful landscapes and amazing nature,” he said. “You may get more for your money in Antigua in terms of property. Connectivity is another consideration, since some islands have better airlift than others to the U.S. and Europe.”
The Nuances of Each Island
But tax-efficiency and add-ons to CBI programs also influence choice of location, said Walter Zephirin, managing director of London-based Caribbean real estate specialists 7th Heaven Properties. “Each island has its own little nuances in terms of appeal to buyers. St. Kitts and Nevis is one of the most tax-efficient. Dominica is cheapest in terms of property investment and government donations. And Antigua is a real opportunity buy in terms of capital appreciation.”
Dominica “is also quicker to approve applications, because they don’t have a huge backlog,” said Silvera of Christie’s. “St. Kitts gets many more applications, so the process could take much longer.”
Buyers should also consider their horizon for keeping or selling property, Silvera said.
“Dominica is not a high-volume, high-turnover real estate island, so if you’re planning to eventually sell, you have to consider that. And on St. Kitts, you can’t sell CBI-connected real estate for seven years, so if you’re not planning to hold property, it may not be the best choice for you,” she said.
A St. Kitts passport also enables visa-free travel to 155 countries, the most of any island nation that offers a CBI program, she said. And because of a treaty with the U.S., Grenada’s passport is the only one in the region that provides access to an E2 visa, which allows a two-year stay in the U.S. for investors who commit “substantial” capital to a Stateside business. “If you’re coming from somewhere like the Middle East, that’s your roadmap to the U.S.,” she said.
Why You Should Hire an Expert
Obtaining citizenship by investment isn’t as easy as writing a check, said Mohr-Elzeki of Henley & Partners. “There is stringent due diligence to ensure that these passports are awarded to good citizens,” he said. “It’s more extensive than a standard background check. Every government has strict criteria and multiple layers. Because it could pose a risk for other countries, these Caribbean nations are very conscious about security. Rejections happen if files aren’t submitted correctly.”
Applicants must work with an authorized agent or lawyer to get the benefits of a CBI program, Mohr-Elzeki said. Approvals can take six to eight months, he said. Applicants can expect to pay around $40,000 to $60,000 in consultant fees and about $10,000 to $20,000 in government and administrative costs; applications can include dependent children, he said.
By
Michael kaminer
