CBI — Business investment (individual / joint)

AG-INV-03 is the business-investment limb of Antigua and Barbuda's Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme — one of the four headline qualifying-investment options under the programme (alongside the National Development Fund (NDF) donation, approved real estate, and the higher-education / University of the West Indies (UWI) Fund). It serves high-net-worth applicants who wish to acquire Antiguan and Barbudan citizenship by registration by deploying capital into an approved business in Antigua and Barbuda — either alone (sole investment) or as part of a joint investment by two or more applicants into a single approved business. It is, by capital quantum, the most demanding of the four options: the sole threshold of EC$4,000,000 (= US$1,481,481, marketed by the CIU as "US$1.5M") sits well above the NDF donation (US$230,000, reg 7) and the full real-estate purchase (US$300,000, reg 6). The route is distinctive in that the qualifying vehicle is a productive enterprise approved by the Minister and published in the Gazette, not a fund contribution or a property purchase; and in that the joint-investment structure expressly permits a consortium of applicants to aggregate into one approved business while each preserves an individual minimum contribution. The route is administered, like all CBI options, by the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) and may be entered only through a licensed Agent. Because it is capital-intensive and discretionary at the business-approval stage, it is in practice the least-used of the four options, but it remains continuously operative under the 2013 Act as amended.

Core applicant qualification (reg 5(1)). A main applicant must be "at least eighteen years of age," "propose to make an investment," and "meet the application requirements" (2016 Regulations reg 5(1)(a)–(c)). Approved business (reg 9(1)). The investment must be in a business that "the Minister shall approve … whether existing or proposed, for the purposes of investment in business under the Act," and which is "publish[ed] … in the Gazette." Approval is therefore a discretionary, published designation — an applicant cannot self-select an arbitrary enterprise. Minimum quantum — the resolved EC$ figure (= US$ via peg): | Structure | Gazetted (reg 9, EC$) | US$ equivalent (peg 2.70) | CIU-published US$ | |---|---|---|---| | Individual (sole) investment | EC$4,000,000 | US$1,481,481 | marketed "US$1.5M" | | Joint investment (total, ≥ 2 persons) | EC$13,500,000 | US$5,000,000 (exact) | US$5,000,000 | | Per-applicant minimum (joint) | EC$1,080,000 each | US$400,000 (exact) each | US$400,000 each | The gazette (EC$) and the CIU site (US$) state the same threshold in two currencies; there is no competing figure. A practitioner structuring to the EC$ gazette quantum (or its peg-exact US$ equivalent) satisfies the requirement under both the statutory text and the administering authority's published guidance. Joint-application structure (reg 9(2)(b)). Two or more persons may pool into a single approved business provided the aggregate meets the joint threshold (EC$13,500,000 / US$5,000,000) AND each individual contributes at least the per-applicant minimum (EC$1,080,000 / US$400,000). This is the distinctive feature of the business option: a consortium is recognised, but with an individual floor so that each co-applicant has genuine "skin in the game." General ineligibility (reg 10). Regardless of capital, an applicant "shall not be approved" if he has provided false information; has (without free pardon) been convicted in any country of an offence carrying a maximum custodial penalty over six months; is the subject of a criminal investigation; is a potential national-security risk to Antigua and Barbuda or any other country; is involved in activity likely to cause disrepute to Antigua and Barbuda; or "has been denied a visa to a country with which Antigua and Barbuda has visa-free travel and … has not subsequently obtained a visa to the country that issued the denial" (2016 Regulations reg 10(a)–(f); the visa-denial limb is an AG-distinctive disqualification carried in from the amendment chain). Financial-means demonstration (reg 6(9), applied via guidelines). For investment routes the Unit requires the applicant to demonstrate "to the satisfaction of the Unit that he has the financial means" to carry out the investment, in accordance with published guidelines. Post-grant physical presence (CBI Act 2013 s.4(1), as amended 2016). A citizen by investment who "does not spend a minimum of five (5) days in Antigua and Barbuda during the period of five calendar years after his registration" may be deprived of citizenship by Ministerial Order (the 2016 Amendment reduced the original 35-day requirement to 5 days). Section 4(5) (inserted by the 2020 Amendment, No. 25 of 2020) lets the Minister "by Order suspend the application of section 4(1)(a) on the ground of preventing the spread of a dangerous infectious disease."

• Application forms completed in English (or with an authenticated translation), completed personally by the main applicant or Agent and signed by the applicant and any dependant over 18 (reg 5(5), (7)). - Medical certificate (prescribed form) confirming the main applicant and dependants are free of contagious disease and otherwise in good health (reg 5(2)(c)(i)). - Police certificate for each country of residence of the applicant and dependants; may be submitted later but before approval (reg 5(2)(c)(ii), 5(9)). - Proof of the qualifying business investment — evidence the target enterprise is a Gazette-published approved business and documentation executing the payment/investment of all sums due for implementation (reg 9; reg 5(15)(c)). - Evidence of financial means to carry out the investment, per Unit guidelines (analogue of reg 6(9)). - Joint-investment documentation (where applicable) showing the aggregate into a single approved business (EC$13,500,000 / US$5,000,000) and each co-applicant's individual contribution meeting the per-applicant floor (EC$1,080,000 / US$400,000) (reg 9(2)(b)). - Sworn affidavit of support for each dependant over 18 (reg 5(6)); certified/authenticated copies marked with the certifier's full name, capacity, address, telephone and email (reg 5(13)). - Dependant documentation per the current dependant definition (SI 2024 No. 50 reg 3) where dependants are included.

1. Engage a licensed Agent (mandatory). "An application for Citizenship by Investment shall only be submitted by an Agent who is the holder of an Agent's Licence" (2016 Regulations reg 4(1)). Direct applicant submission is not permitted. An Agent must be a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda who was lawfully ordinarily resident there for at least seven years before applying, maintains a local place of business, and holds professional indemnity insurance of at least $3,000,000.00 (reg 4(2)–(3)). 2. Confirm an approved business. The target enterprise must be (or become) a business approved by the Minister and published in the Gazette (reg 9(1)). 3. File the application via the Agent. Submitted to the CIU on prescribed forms, "accompanied by a non-refundable deposit comprising ten percent of the applicable processing fees and the full amount of the due diligence fees as specified in the Schedule of Fees" plus a medical certificate and police certificate (reg 5(2)). 4. Due diligence. "The Unit shall perform, or cause to be performed, due diligence checks in respect of every applicant and every dependant over eleven years of age," and may require an interview in Antigua and Barbuda or at a mission abroad (reg 5(11)). 5. Decision (statutory 3-month notification). "Within three months of the submission of an application … the Unit shall notify the Agent … that the application has been— (a) approved; (b) denied; or (c) delayed for cause and is still being processed" (reg 5(14)). Registration itself remains at the discretion of the Minister and subject to Cabinet approval (CBI Act s.3(2)(a)). 6. Settlement on approval (30 days). "Within thirty days of notification of the approval … the applicant or applicants shall pay the balance of the processing fee and— … (c) complete and execute all necessary documentation for the payment or investment of all sums due for the implementation of the proposed investment in business in accordance with the guidelines established by the Unit" (reg 5(15)(c)). 7. Oath of allegiance. "Every successful applicant shall attend … to take the oath of allegiance or affirmation in the form contained in the Third Schedule to the Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship Act" (reg 5(16)). Fees (SI 2024 No. 50, Schedule of Fees, as of 25 July 2024; US$). Processing fee: single applicant US$10,000; family of up to four US$20,000; +US$10,000 per additional member. Due-diligence fee: principal US$8,500; spouse US$5,000; dependant child 0–11 FREE; 12–17 US$2,000; 18+ US$4,000; benefactor US$5,000; enhanced DD (denied application) double the DD fee. Passport US$300 per person. Five-year-renewal fee: US$1,000 (18) / US$500 (17 and under). These processing and due-diligence fees are option-neutral (they apply across all four investment options) and are stated by the 2024 SI expressly in US$; the business-investment quantum is separate and governed by reg 9 (the resolved EC$4M / EC$13.5M / EC$1.08M figure above, = US$1,481,481 / US$5,000,000 / US$400,000). The denial of an application does not refund the deposit (reg 5(2): the deposit "shall not be refunded in the event of an application not being granted").