Antigua and Barbuda citizenship

If you are not a Caribbean citizen, in order to study in Antigua and Barbuda you must obtain a student visa. Student visas are usually issued for one year only. After that, the student visa must be renewed every year. A study permit is issued for a specific institution or university, and students cannot study in any other places except there. But if you want to change your university, you can apply for a new study permit. International students do not have work permits in Antigua and Barbuda and cannot have any type of job, either part-time or full-time. However, they can work in voluntary jobs without receiving a salary, if the job is related to their field of study.

The following documents are required for applying for an Antigua and Barbuda student visa.

• Student visa application form

• Letter of acceptance from the Ministry of Education

• Letter of acceptance from the educational institution

• Applicant’s passport

• Proof of financial ability

• Health certificate

• Birth certificate

• Passports of parents or guardians

• Passport photo

The citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda can be obtained directly through investment. There are three ways to obtain the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda by investment.

• Obtaining the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda through donation

In order to obtain the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda through a donation at least $ 100,000 must be donated to the National Development Fund. All of this amount must be paid at once. The main applicant can apply for the residency of his/her spouse, dependent children and dependent parents over the age of 58 with no extra costs. However, the applicants are required to pay government fees and commissions for each person. When you are submitting your application, in order to obtain the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda through investment, you must pay a commission fee and 10% of the administrative costs. After receiving the confirmation letter, you must deposit the remaining of the administrative costs to the account of The Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) within 30 days, and also deposit your donation to the passport fees account.

The required amount of money for obtaining the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda by investment in the donation method is as follows.

_ For a single person or a family with up to 4 members:

* US $ 100,000 Donation

* US $ 25,000 for administrative costs

_ For families with 5 or more members

* US $ 125,000 Donation

* US $ 15,000 for per additional member for administrative costs

• Obtaining the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda by investing in real estate

In order to obtain the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda by investing in real estate, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda requires the applicant to invest in the determined and approved properties. The minimum amount for investment is US $ 400,000, and also the government fees and administrative costs must be paid too.

The purchased property cannot be sold for up to 5 years unless another approved property is bought in Antigua and Barbuda.

After buying the property and signing the documents, the application for citizenship by investment can be sent to The Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU). At the time of submitting your application, you must pay commission fees and 10% of the administrative costs. After receiving the confirmation letter, you have to pay the remaining of the administrative work costs.

In addition to investing at least US $ 400,000 in real estate, there are an additional administrative costs for each person.

_ For a single person or a family with up to 4 members:

* US $ 50,000 for administrative costs

_ For families with 5 or more members:

* US $ 15,000 for each additional member as administrative costs

• Obtaining the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda by investing in businesses

In order to obtain the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda by investing in businesses you must invest in companies that are approved by The Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) in Antigua and Barbuda. You can invest in the existing companies or offer to establish a new company.

There are two ways for you to invest in a business:

o Invest at least $ 1,500,000 in an approved business.

o At least two people jointly invest in an approved business worth at least US $ 5 million.

 After confirming the business investment, The Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) will consider and check your application for citizenship. The application process is similar to the donation method, when you submit your application you have to pay commission fees and 10% of the administrative costs. After receiving the confirmation letter, you must pay the remaining of the administrative costs and the amount of your investment within 30 days.

In addition to the required amount for the investment, another amount must be paid for administrative costs for each person.

_ For a single person or a family with up to 4 members:

* US $ 50,000 for administrative costs

_ For families with 5 or more members:

* US $ 15,000 for each additional member as administrative costs

After paying the investment amount, a certificate of citizenship registration will be issued to the main applicant and his / her family members. This certificate along with the citizenship application and other required documents will be sent to the relevant office. Then your legal representative will send you a citizenship certificate.

In order to obtain the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda by investment, you can use any of these methods that are more suitable for you. The citizenship that you obtain will be valid for 5 years and the applicant must have spent a total of 5 days in these 5 years in Antigua and Barbuda. After getting the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda by investment, the passport holder (citizen) will not be able to vote automatically and will have to prove his/ her eligibility as a citizen.

Antigua and Barbuda follow the right of soil for granting citizenship to people who are born in this country.

Under the Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship Act, the following people will automatically obtain the citizenship Antigua and Barbuda.

• People born in the territory of Antigua and Barbuda will obtain the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda, regardless of their parent’s citizenship. Of course, the children of diplomats are an exception to this rule.
• One of the parents is a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda; Even if the child is born abroad.

Obtaining the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda is also possible for people who marry citizens of this country. According to this country’s law, marrying a male or female citizen is not different, and in both cases the spouse can obtain a permanent residence permit after one year of living in Antigua and Barbuda, and if the are still married and they live together, the spouse can obtain the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda after three years of continuous residence.

The following documents must be provided in order to apply for a residence permit in Antigua and Barbuda through marriage.

• A copy of the marriage certificate
• Presence of spouse
• The citizenship certificate of the Spouse
• Passport
• Police certificate of the applicant’s personality/character
• Health certificate
• Proof of having insurance

People may want to obtain the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda through asylum seeking. An asylum seeker (refugee) is a person whose life is in danger or is harassed because of his/her beliefs or religious, political or racial activities in his/her own country. Antigua and Barbuda is a party to the Geneva Conventions but it accepts a few refugees and very few people in the world apply for asylum in this country. Asylum seeking in Antigua and Barbuda is a rare and a difficult process.

As mentioned, there are several ways to obtain the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda which the investment method directly leads to obtaining citizenship. The remarkable thing about Antigua and Barbuda is that this country accepts dual citizenship, and individuals can retain their citizenship and also obtain the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda. Another interesting thing about investing in Antigua and Barbuda and obtaining the citizenship of this country is that in this method you do not need to be present in this country and you have to be in this country for only 5 days in every 5 years. Also, due to the fact that the citizens of this country have the opportunity to travel without a visa to more than 100 countries, including the Schengen countries, people can receive the citizenship of this country as their second citizenship and use this opportunity to freely travel in the world and there is no need to live in Antigua or Barbuda.