CBI — National Development Fund (NDF) donation (US$230,000)
Citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda
- Eligibility
- AG-INV-01 is the crown signature route of the Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme: the acquisition of citizenship by registration following a non-refundable cash contribution to the National Development Fund (NDF).
- Timeline
- post-grant 5-day presence in first 5 years
- Renunciation
- Not required
Overview
AG-INV-01 is the crown signature route of the Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme: the acquisition of citizenship by registration following a non-refundable cash contribution to the National Development Fund (NDF). It is the lowest-capital and most commonly used of the four investment options (NDF donation, approved real estate, business investment, and the University of the West Indies / higher-education option) because it requires neither the purchase, holding, and resale-management of property nor the operational commitment of a business. The route serves foreign nationals (and their dependants) seeking a second Commonwealth-realm citizenship and the associated travel mobility, who satisfy the programme's source-of-funds, due-diligence, and good-character conditions and who are willing to make a one-time donation to a government fund rather than acquire an asset they can later recover. The route is administered exclusively by the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU, cip.gov.ag) and applications can be lodged only through a licensed Agent — there is no direct-to-applicant filing channel. The grant takes the legal form of registration as a citizen under the Citizenship Act Cap. 22, made by the Minister (defined in the CBI Act as the Prime Minister) at his discretion and subject to Cabinet approval. As a donation route the contribution is a sunk cost: the applicant receives no asset and, on later deprivation, no repayment. The route has been continuously operative since the CBI Act came into force in 2013; the current contribution figure of US$230,000 was fixed by Statutory Instrument 2024 No. 50, reg 7(1), made 25 July 2024 and operative for applications from 1 August 2024 (after the prior limited-time-offer incentive ceased on 31 July 2024). This is the AG-distinctive donation route — the fund is the National Development Fund (NDF), an Antigua and Barbuda statutory fund, not any sibling state's fund.
Legal basis
The route rests on a three-layer statutory architecture pinned to the decoded primary texts. 1. Enabling Act — power to register CBI citizens. The CBI Act 2013 long title states it is "AN ACT to enable persons to acquire citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda by registration following investment in Antigua and Barbuda and for incidental and connected purposes." (.txt, long title). Section 3(1) is the operative grant power: "Subject to the provisions of the Citizenship Act, a person may, after applying under this section to the Minister in the prescribed manner and upon payment of any fee that may be prescribed, be registered under the provisions of the Citizenship Act as a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda." (s.3(1)). Section 3(2) confirms the grant is discretionary: registration "shall be— (a) at the discretion of the Minister and subject to the approval of Cabinet; (b) subject to the Minister being satisfied that the applicant has invested in accordance with the provisions of the Schedule; and (c) subject to such conditions or limitations as may be prescribed." (s.3(2)(a)-(c)). The "Minister" is the Prime Minister (s.2). **2. Regulation-making power.** Section 6 of the Act delegates the procedural and threshold detail to regulations: "(2) The Minister may by regulations revoke, amend or add to the Regulations in the Schedule and may thereby make further provision for the purpose of carrying this Act into effect" and "(5) Regulations made under this Act shall be subject to affirmative resolution of the House of Representatives." (s.6(2),(5)). This is the source of authority under which SI 2024 No. 50 was made. **3. Current threshold regulation.** SI 2024 No. 50, reg 7 (which "repealed & replaced" the prior NDF regulation) sets the live figure: "An application may be submitted by an agent for a single applicant or family proposing to contribute to the National Development Fund (NDF) the amount of TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY THOUSAND (US$230,000.00) dollars in United States currency." (.txt, reg 7(1); made under "s.6 of the Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment Act, 2013", MADE_DATE 25 July 2024, amending the principal Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment Regulations 2016). The fund itself is defined in the Act: "'National Development Fund' means a special fund established under section 42(2) of the Finance Administration Act 2006 for the purpose of funding government sponsored projects including public-private partnerships and approved charitable investments." (.txt, s.2 / Sch. interpretation). The historical base figure was higher: the original 2013 Regulations, reg 7, required "a contribution to the National Development Fund of at least $675,000" (.txt, Sch. reg 7) — the US$230,000 figure is the current gazetted value and supersedes it.
Example scenarios
ELIGIBLE — AG-INV-01 (NDF donation US$230,000). This is the fastest, lowest-threshold CBI option. No residence requirement, no language test, no civics test. Payment due AFTER approval, not upfront. Processing fee US$10,000. Due diligence US$8,500. Passport US$300. 5-day presence obligation in first 5 years (aggregate). Agent-only submission required. 3-month statutory notification under CBI Act Sch. reg 5(14).
Grounded in CBI Act No.2/2013 as amended, SI 2024 No.50 reg 7(1) (NDF figure US$230,000 operative 1 Aug 2024). Physical presence: CBI (Amendment) Act 2016 s.4 reduced from 35 days to 5 days. Fees: SI 2024 No.50 Schedule of Fees. Agent-only: Sch. reg 4(1) (CBI Act Sch. reg 4(1): 'An application for Citizenship by Investment shall be submitted only by an Agent who is the holder of an Agent's Licence'). No residency/language: positive disconfirmation in AG-INV-01 route doc.
ELIGIBLE — AG-INV-01 + AG-INV-05. Main applicant donates US$230,000 to NDF. Spouse and two children (ages 23 and 25, within the SI 2024 No.50 reg 3 'child ≤30' expanded definition) qualify as dependants. Processing fee US$20,000 (family of 4). Due diligence: US$8,500 (main) + US$5,000 (spouse) + US$4,000 each (children 18+) = US$21,500. Passports US$300/person. Total well within budget. NDF donation is non-refundable.
SI 2024 No.50 reg 3 expanded dependant-child age from 26 to 30 with no enrolment condition. Children ages 23 and 25 both qualify. Fee schedule from SI 2024 No.50 Schedule of Fees: processing US$10k single / US$20k family-of-4. DD: US$5k spouse, US$4k per dependant 18+. AG-INV-05 confirms these expansions effective 1 Aug 2024.
ELIGIBLE — AG-INV-01. No pre-application visit required. The 5-day physical-presence obligation does not begin until AFTER registration as a CBI citizen and runs over the FIRST FIVE CALENDAR YEARS post-registration (aggregate 5 days). A single visit post-registration satisfies the obligation. No pre-application residence required.
CBI (Amendment) Act 2016 s.4 (as amended): 5-day minimum in the period of five calendar years AFTER registration. The presence obligation is post-registration, not pre-application. Confirmed in AG-XCT-03 route doc which identifies the 5-year window commencing from the date of registration.
AT RISK — AG-XCT-03 applies. The citizen has not met the 5-day presence threshold (zero days in 4 years). With one year remaining in the 5-year window (starting from registration date), they must visit for at least 5 aggregate days before the 5-year period expires. Failure exposes them to Ministerial deprivation Order under CBI Act s.4(1) as amended. No refund of NDF contribution if deprived (s.4(2) — no-refund rule). Immediate visit strongly advised.
CBI Act s.4(1) amended by CBI (Amendment) Act 2016 s.4: 5-day minimum in first 5 calendar years from registration. CBI Act s.4(2): no-refund rule is automatic on deprivation. No discretionary exception for business pressure absent a s.4(5) Ministerial suspension Order (which applies only to infectious disease or similar). COVID suspension is no longer active.
INELIGIBLE for E-2 via AG — The US E-2 treaty investor visa is NOT available to citizens of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Barbuda does not have a bilateral investment treaty with the United States that qualifies for E-2 status. The E-2 treaty benefit is available via certain other Caribbean CBI programmes but NOT through AG. If E-2 access is a primary objective, AG-INV-01 does not provide it.
AG Country Scoping Rule and AG-INV-01 route doc positively disconfirm US E-2 treaty status for AG. E-2 eligibility is jurisdiction-specific and cannot be inferred across Caribbean CBI programmes. [ISOLATION NOTE: The E-2 benefit in question belongs to a sibling CBI jurisdiction; attribution of that benefit to AG would be a fatal cross-contamination error.]
ALL 9 ELIGIBLE as dependants — AG-INV-01 + AG-INV-05. Under SI 2024 No.50 reg 3: (i) Spouse qualifies; (ii) Children 5 and 12 qualify (≤30); (iii) Child 22 qualifies (≤30); (iv) Parents ages 68 and 70 qualify (parent/grandparent >55, fully supported and living with applicant); (v) Siblings 35 and 38 qualify IF unmarried (SI 2024 No.50 reg 3(vii): unmarried sibling over 18, no upper age limit). NDF contribution: US$230,000. Processing fees: family >4 at US$20k for 4 + US$10k per additional member (additional 5 members = US$50k). Total processing: approximately US$70,000. Plus DD fees for each member.
AG-INV-05 / SI 2024 No.50 reg 3: dependant categories (i)-(vii). Parents >55: reg 3(iv). Adult unmarried siblings: reg 3(vii) — no upper age limit, solely must be UNMARRIED. Processing fee: US$20k family-of-4 + US$10k per additional (per AG-INV-01 fee schedule). DD fees scale per person. The sibling inclusion is AG-distinctive and unique among Caribbean CBI programmes.
Informational summary compiled from primary legal sources — not legal advice. Citizenship law changes; verify with the competent authority before acting. Last verified 2026-06-15.
Track changes to this route
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