Five Passport Options for Billionaires Seeking New Citizenship
Five countries worldwide are becoming popular choices for billionaires seeking new passports. These nations offer citizenship with relatively easy requirements.
According to a BBC report, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Lucia offer citizenship through investment (Citizenship by Investment/CBI) programmes, with prices starting from US$200,000, or approximately IDR 3.3 billion.
By purchasing a property, individuals can also obtain a passport that grants visa-free access to up to 150 countries, including the Schengen Area in Europe. Furthermore, all these countries (except Dominica) offer passports with visa-free access to the United Kingdom.
For wealthy individuals, the absence of taxes on these islands, such as capital gains and inheritance taxes, and in some cases, income tax, is another major attraction.
In Antigua, property agents are struggling to meet the demand, according to Nadia Dyson, owner of Luxury Locations. “Up to 70% of all buyers now want citizenship, and most of them are from the US,” she told the BBC.
“We don’t talk about politics with them, but the unstable political landscape [in the US] is clearly a contributing factor.”
According to Henley & Partners, a migration investment expert, US citizens made up the majority of applicants for CBI programmes in the Caribbean during the past year.
Ukraine, Turkey, Nigeria, and China are among the most common countries of origin for applicants.
The company added that overall, applications for CBI programmes in the Caribbean have increased by 12% since the fourth quarter of 2024.
Robert Taylor, from Canada, purchased a property in Antigua, where he plans to retire later this year. He invested US$200,000, just before the property threshold was raised to US$300,000 last summer.
He explained that becoming a citizen of Antigua gives him the freedom to take advantage of business opportunities. “I chose Antigua because the country has beautiful waters, I find the people very friendly, and it also means good weather for my old age.”