In the first half of 2024, a record number of applications were submitted for Antigua and Barbuda’s Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP).
This stated rise occurred as part of a regional initiative to standardize CIP offers throughout the Eastern Caribbean, weeks before program modifications were scheduled to go into effect.
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In comparison to the same period last year (242 applications), the program got 739 applications in the first half of this year, up 205 percent, according to figures given by the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU).
Additionally, this half-year total is higher than the sum for any of the preceding full years.
This surge of applications is probably the result of changes made earlier this year to the minimum investment requirements for citizenship, which were raised from US $100,000 to US $230,000, according to Investment Migration Insider.
The sharp increase comes after a successful 2023 in which the CIU got 685 applications, a 40% increase over the 489 applications it received in 2022.
As of early 2024, 83 percent of applications went through the National Development Fund (NDF), which remains the most popular investment method. Real estate investments make about 15 percent of the total, which is a considerable change from the program’s early years.
A review of the report also showed that applications from people in the following countries accounted for 75% of the total: Canada (21), China (90), Egypt (19), Germany (13), India (21), Iraq (22), Lebanon (50), Morocco (21), Nigeria (67), Pakistan (32), Syria (18), Turkey (44), Ukraine (19), the UK (25), the USA (81), and Uzbekistan (11).
Chinese applications have accounted for 21.5 percent of all applications since the program’s inception in Antigua. Nigerians and Americans rank second and third, respectively, with 9.5 and 6.7 percent of all applications.
Beginning on August 1st, individuals seeking citizenship must now meet three new baseline requirements: they must invest a minimum of US $260,000 in UWI, own real estate worth US $300,000, and choose the NDF option, which requires US $230,000.
