by Brian Dobbin
Founder of Elmsbridge and Citizens International
It’s one thing to get a second citizenship for another country and give yourself the advantages it brings, but it’s a different level of Plan B to have a home in that country.
In a nation like Antigua & Barbuda that has a long history of westerners buying property for a lifestyle escape, the combination of a second citizenship and second home is unbeatable.
And what a time to think of getting a property in Antigua or Barbuda! To say the country is exploding with international attention and incoming investment would be an understatement. This year, there has been a myriad of announcements of top luxury brands planning their entrée into the tourism market here – and brands that fit well the islands’ reputation for boutique luxury at a human scale.
“To say the country is exploding with international attention and incoming investment would be an understatement.”
Names such as One & Only, Rosewood, Nikki Beach, and Nobu highlight what is likely the busiest year in the country’s history when it comes to planned development, and growth such as the redevelopment of Jolly Harbour and new additions to the Royalton presence are already well underway.
Being approved under the CIP while acquiring a personal retreat villa in Antigua or Barbuda is truly the state-of-the-art choice in the world today for backup plans. With the societal stresses we have seen over the last decade in the West and more and more personal freedoms we’ve taken for granted our whole lives under direct attack, this combination of property and passport is the best hedge one could possibly have against the direction it appears we are heading in.
When we arrived in St Kitts twenty years ago having had a successful experience with the Canadian immigrant investor programme, I was surprised to learn that St Kitts & Nevis had had a CIP since 1984 – albeit with only about 400 new passports issued over that previous two decades. When we brought our Canadian citizenship legal expertise to meet with the government of the day to outline the international potential of their programme, we did it as real estate developers because we could see the appeal of citizenship plus property.
“From the CIP investor’s point of view, a property and a passport together in this country are unequalled and represent the best safety deposit box one could possibly imagine for their family’s security, wealth preservation and personal freedoms.”
Fifteen years ago, we did the same thing in Antigua, and numerous briefings, seminars, and meetings later, Antigua announced its CIP in 2014. It is my belief that the CIPs in all five of the current Caribbean countries offering citizenship by investment will eventually need to convert at some stage to property investment-only or go extinct, given the current ratcheting pressure from European and North American governments on the donation programmes.
And so they should – a property purchase truly ties the new citizens to their new country and offers substantive repeating benefits to the host nation that a one-time donation to the current account can never match.
From the CIP investor’s point of view, a property and a passport together in this country are unequalled and represent the best safety deposit box one could possibly imagine for their family’s security, wealth preservation and personal freedoms. These individuals are also the catalyst for direct foreign investment, economic expansion, transfer of technologies, and a diversity that will help to make Antigua & Barbuda the most desirable place in the world to live.