No points system — binary qualification through CIU vetting for investors, and treaty-based free movement or work permits for everyone else.
Overview
Antigua and Barbuda has no points-based selection. For investors, the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) applies a binary test under section 6 of the Citizenship by Investment Act 2013: meet one of four published investment minimums and clear due diligence, or be refused on one of the listed ineligibility grounds. Applications cannot be lodged personally — they must go through an authorised representative working with a CIU-licensed local agent, who submits forms AB1-AB5 with due diligence fees and 10% of the government fee. For non-investors, selection is treaty- and employer-driven: citizens of the seven OECS Protocol Member States (which include Antigua and Barbuda) receive an indefinite-stay stamp on arrival and may work without a work permit anywhere in the Economic Union; CARICOM nationals in the approved skilled categories can seek a CSME skills certificate; everyone else needs an employer-obtained work permit from the Labour Department under the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Code, with fees set by Work Permit (Fees) Orders. Long-term residents may pursue naturalisation through ordinary citizenship law rather than the CIP. Verified against cip.gov.ag, oecs.int and caricom.org as of June 2026.
CBI Decision Pipeline — Who Decides What
| Stage | Who | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-screening | Authorised representative + licensed local agent | Only CIU-licensed agents may submit; they pre-screen against the ineligibility grounds and Restricted Countries List before any fee is paid |
| Submission | Licensed agent → CIU | Forms AB1-AB5 lodged with full due diligence fees and 10% of the government processing fee (non-refundable) |
| Vetting | CIU + international due diligence | Background checks on every family member; the CIU may request additional information or require an interview (cip.gov.ag) |
| Decision | CIU issues letter of approval or refusal | Approval triggers payment: balance of government fees, passports, and the contribution to the Government Special Fund within 30 days |
| Grant | Certificate of registration → passport office | Certificate issued for principal and family; oath of allegiance taken on first visit or at a mission abroad |
| Retention | Government of Antigua and Barbuda | Citizenship can be revoked for fraud, treason/sedition conviction, or failing to spend 5 days in-country within the first 5 years |
Who Qualifies — and Who Is Screened Out
- Baseline: the principal applicant must be over 18 and select one route — NDF USD 230,000, approved real estate USD 300,000 (5-year hold), UWI Fund USD 260,000, or business investment USD 1.5M sole / USD 5M joint.
- Published ineligibility grounds: false information; a contagious disease or serious health problem in the family; any conviction (without free pardon) for an offence carrying over six months' custody; being under criminal investigation; national security risk; conduct bringing disrepute; or an uncured visa refusal from a visa-free partner country.
- Restricted nationalities: Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, Somalia, Yemen and Sudan (Cabinet list, 26 February 2020). Exception: applicants who left before the age of majority and/or held permanent residence outside all restricted countries for 10+ years with no economic ties there.
- Family scope is wide: spouse; financially dependent children 0-30; disabled children 18+; dependent parents/grandparents 55+; unmarried siblings; even a future spouse (USD 50,000 fee) — all subject to per-person due diligence.
- No ranking, no quota published: qualifying applications are processed as received; there is no competition between applicants and no published annual cap.
Non-Investor Routes — Work and Residence
- OECS free movement: Antigua and Barbuda is one of seven OECS Protocol Member States (with Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines). Citizens of these states get an indefinite-stay stamp on arrival and may live and work without a work permit, with equal access to employment, education and healthcare (oecs.int).
- CARICOM skilled nationals: under the CSME, approved categories of skilled CARICOM nationals (graduates, artistes, sportspersons, media workers, nurses, teachers and others — list maintained by the CARICOM Secretariat) can move for work with a skills certificate rather than a work permit (caricom.org).
- Work permits for everyone else: employer-driven applications to the Labour Department under the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Code (Cap. 27). Fees are set by Work Permit (Fees) Orders and vary by category — obtain the current schedule from the Labour Department before budgeting; permits are annual and renewable.
- Ordinary naturalisation: long-term legal residents may apply for citizenship under the general citizenship legislation administered outside the CIP — a multi-year residence route with no investment requirement; processing details come from the Ministry responsible for immigration, not the CIU.
- No US E-2 treaty: unlike Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda is not on the US State Department's E-2 treaty country list — relevant if onward US business immigration is part of your plan.
Practical Selection Realities
- The visa-refusal trap: a refusal from any country Antigua and Barbuda has visa-free travel with (UK, Schengen states and others) makes you ineligible unless you subsequently obtained that visa — disclose every refusal to your agent at the outset.
- Due diligence is per-person: every family member 12+ is separately vetted (USD 2,000-8,500 each); one problematic dependant can sink or delay the whole family file. Some families file the principal first and add dependants later at the published add-on fees.
- Interviews can be required: the CIU states additional information and/or an interview may be requested — the 2024 regional Memorandum of Agreement among the four Eastern Caribbean CBI states pushed all units toward tighter, more standardised vetting.
- Source-of-funds scrutiny: Form AB4 (investment confirmation) and banking checks require a clean, documented trail for the full investment amount; a benefactor funding someone else's application pays their own USD 5,000 due diligence fee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a points test or ranking for Antigua & Barbuda citizenship?
No. Selection is binary: choose a qualifying investment (NDF USD 230,000, real estate USD 300,000, UWI Fund USD 260,000, or business USD 1.5M+) and pass CIU due diligence against the ineligibility grounds in the Citizenship by Investment Act 2013. There is no scoring, no ranking against other applicants, and no published quota — qualifying files are processed as received through licensed agents. The discretion that matters is the CIU's assessment of your background, source of funds and any flagged risks.
Can a previous visa refusal stop my application?
Yes — it is an express statutory ground. Anyone refused a visa by a country with which Antigua and Barbuda enjoys visa-free travel is ineligible unless they subsequently obtained a visa from that same country. Because the visa-free network includes the UK and the Schengen area, an old UK or Schengen refusal is a common stumbling block. The cure is to reapply to the refusing country and be granted the visa before submitting your CBI file. Always disclose refusals; concealment is itself a ground for refusal and later deprivation.
Who actually makes the decision on my file?
The Citizenship by Investment Unit. Your authorised representative and CIU-licensed local agent prepare and lodge forms AB1-AB5, but the CIU runs due diligence on every family member, may demand further documents or an interview, and issues the letter of approval or refusal. After approval you pay the balance of fees and make the contribution within 30 days, the CIU issues a certificate of registration of citizenship, and the passport office issues passports. You cannot apply directly or through an unlicensed intermediary — verify your agent on cip.gov.ag's published list.
I'm from another Caribbean country — do I need the CBI programme to live and work in Antigua?
Probably not. Citizens of the OECS Protocol Member States (Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines) receive an indefinite-stay stamp on arrival in Antigua and Barbuda and may work without any work permit, per the OECS free-movement regime. Wider CARICOM nationals in the approved skilled categories can use a CSME skills certificate instead of a work permit. Only nationals outside these regimes need an employer-sponsored Labour Department work permit.
What family members can I include in a CBI application?
The published dependant classes are broad: your spouse; children 0-30 who are financially dependent; disabled children 18+ living with and supported by you; parents or grandparents 55+ who are financially dependent; unmarried siblings of you or your spouse; plus a future spouse (USD 50,000 fee) and future children of dependent children (USD 10,000 under 6, USD 20,000 for 6-17). Each addition triggers its own due diligence fee (nil under 12, USD 2,000 for 12-17, USD 4,000-5,000 for adults) and a USD 300 passport fee.
What ongoing obligations come with selection?
Two stand out. First, the oath of allegiance — taken on your first visit to Antigua and Barbuda or at an embassy/high commission. Second, the 5-day rule: spend at least 5 days in the country during the first 5 calendar years of citizenship, or face deprivation of citizenship with no refund of your investment. Citizenship can also be revoked for fraud or material concealment in the application, or conviction for treason or sedition in Antigua and Barbuda. Real-estate investors must additionally hold the property for 5 years.