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How to get a second passport in the Caribbean

Debanjali Bose   

How to get a second passport in the Caribbean
You can get a second passport in some countries in the Caribbean for $100,000.By CKP1001 / Shuttersock
  • Before the pandemic, travelers with a US passport enjoyed visa-free access to a whopping 185 countries.
  • Now, the status of the American passport is slightly diminished as more and more countries turn away people from the US due to the country's high infection rates.
  • Five Caribbean countries — St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Dominica, Grenada, and Antigua & Barbuda — offer citizenship through investment programs for $150,000 or less, plus filing and processing fees.
  • Here's how you can get a second passport for those five Caribbean countries.

At the beginning of 2020, the US passport enjoyed a relatively high ranking on the Henley Passport Index, an annual report that ranks the strength of passports based on how many countries it grants holders visa-free access to. A person with US citizenship could gain visa-free access to 185 countries.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed that. Now, the US passport is rapidly losing some of its status. In July, CNN reported that the US passport is about as powerful as the Mexican one, which is currently ranked 25th in the world and allows visa-free entry to 159 countries.

For US citizens looking to explore secondary passport options, Caribbean countries present an appealing opportunity. Of the 13 Caribbean countries, it's possible to obtain citizenship for the cost of $150,000 or less in five of them: St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Dominica, Grenada, and Antigua & Barbuda.

The Dominican Republic offers the next-most-affordable option for people seeking second passports; permanent resident status there can be obtained through an investment of $200,000 in a local business.

For comparison, as of November 2019, obtaining an EB-5 immigration visa to the US could set you back by about $1.8 million.

Jennifer Malin, an attorney and citizenship-by-investment expert based in St. Kitts and Nevis, told Business Insider that since the beginning of the pandemic, she has seen has an increase in interest from US citizens exploring second citizenship options.

"There's recently been an increase in applicants that are applying, particularly because they lowered the price for a family of four, and many of the citizenship programs have made changes to their programs that are more beneficial to applicants," Malin told Business Insider. The amount was reduced to $150,000 from almost $200,000 in July 2020.

How to get a second passport

Paddy Brewer, Public Relations Director with Henley & Partners, told Business Insider that one of the first steps in obtaining a passport via a citizenship-by-investment program in the Caribbean is proving that you have the capital to make that investment. Applicants will also have to go through a rigorous background check.

The result, Brewer said, is that applicants tend to be wealthy.

"Almost certainly the people that acquire alternative citizenship are quite wealthy because you're talking about having at least just over a hundred thousand us dollars to make this investment, at the very least," Brewer said. "The reality is, is it may well be more because it won't necessarily just be for you. So it very quickly racks up into early six figures."

The whole process takes two to three months.

Citizenship by investment is not the only way to get a second passport, however. You can also become a citizen through descent, marriage, and naturalization.

Here's everything you need to know if you're thinking of getting second citizenship in St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Dominica, Grenada, and Antigua & Barbuda. Note that the US and each of these five Caribbean countries allows dual citizenship, which means you do not have to give up the passport of one country in order to become a citizen of the other.

How to become a citizen of Dominica

How to become a citizen of Dominica
: An aerial view of Dominica in November 2017.      Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Passport Rank: 38 (per Henley Passport Index)

Visa-Free Access: 140 countries

Citizenship by investment: Dominica's citizenship-by-investment program includes a $100,000 contribution to the National Transformation Fund or a $200,000 real estate investment.

Dominica offers citizenship by four other possible avenues — birth, descent, marriage, and based on the number of years someone has lived in the country.

  • Anyone born in Dominica — whether their parents are citizens of Dominica or not — are granted citizenship.
  • You're also eligible to apply for citizenship if you were born abroad to parents who're citizens.
  • Anyone who has been married to a Dominica citizen and has lived with them in the country for at least three years with work and residence permit is eligible to apply for citizenship.
  • People who have lived in the country for at least five years can apply for a passport and citizenship.

How to become a citizen of Grenada

How to become a citizen of Grenada

Passport Rank: 35 (per Henley Passport Index)

Visa-Free Access: 143 countries countries

Citizenship by investment: You can gain citizenship-by-investment in Grenada by either making a contribution of at least $150,000 to the National Development Fund or investing in real estate for at least $350,000. For a family of four, the required contribution to the National Development Fund increases to $200,000.

There are a few different options available if you're interested in becoming a citizen of Grenada

  • People born in the country after February 5, 1974, are automatically citizens of Grenada. This doesn't apply to children born to diplomats.
  • You might be eligible to claim citizenship if you were born to parents who are citizens of Grenada.
  • The spouse of a citizen of Grenada is also eligible to apply for citizenship, as long as they were married after February 5, 1974.
  • For people interested in naturalization, you are required to have lived in Grenada without a break for at least a year before applying and for an additional four years before that for citizens of Caribbean countries and seven years for citizens of non-Caribbean countries.

How to become a citizen of St. Lucia

How to become a citizen of St. Lucia
Shutterstock/Jackie Smithson

Passport Rank: 33 (per Henley Passport Index)

Visa-Free Access: 146 countries

Citizenship by investment: You can participate in the country's citizenship-by-investment plan by contributing $100,000 to the National Economic Fund. Gaining citizenship through investment is also open to those who choose one of the three following investment options — $300,000 in real estate, $3.5 million in an enterprise project that creates jobs, or half a million dollars in no-interest bearing government bonds.

Nestor Alfred, the CEO of St. Lucia CIP, told Business Insider that they get around 200 applications each year and they haven't seen any increase in applications from Americans during the pandemic.

St. Lucia also grants citizenship through birth, descent, marriage, naturalization, and investment.

  • People born in St. Lucia are automatically granted citizenship.
  • You are eligible to apply for citizenship if one or both of your parents are citizens of the country.
  • Spouses of citizens of St. Lucia can apply to become citizens themselves.

How to become a citizen of Antigua & Barbuda

How to become a citizen of Antigua & Barbuda
Medioimages/Photodisc / Getty Images

Passport Rank: 29 (per Henley Passport Index)

Visa-Free Access: 151 countries

Citizenship by Investment: You can gain citizenship by making a contribution to the National Development fund at the cost of $100,000 for one person or a family of four under the citizenship-by-investment program. The citizenship-by-investment program also includes buying approved real estate for at least $400,000 or buying a business for at least $1.5 million.

The department that oversees immigration to Antigua & Barbuda says that anyone who has lived in the country legally for at least four years or has been married to a citizen for over a year can apply to become a resident.

There are a couple of different ways to gain citizenship to Antigua & Barbuda:

  • Anyone who was born in the country before November 1, 1981, is automatically granted citizenship by birth. People born after that cutoff date might also be eligible but this does not apply to children of diplomatic personnel.
  • You are also eligible to apply for citizenship if you were born outside the country before November 1981 but had a parent or grandparent who was an Antiguan citizen. For those born after that date, you need at least one parent who was a citizen in order to qualify.
  • Spouses of citizens who've been married for three or more years and commonwealth citizens and other people living in the country for at least seven years.

How to become a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis

How to become a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis
Shutterstock/Sean Pavone

Passport Rank: 26 (per Henley Passport Index)

Visa-Free Access: 156 countries

Citizenship by investment: A citizenship-by-investment to the country requires at least $150,000 in contribution to the Sustainable Growth Fund and a $200,000 investment in real estate.

A person might also be eligible to apply for citizenship for St. Kitts and Nevis through birth, descent, and marriage, with the cut-off date of September 19, 1983, determining eligibility in a lot of these cases.

  • A person born in the country after the cut-off date is automatically granted citizenship.
  • You're eligible to apply for citizenship if one or both of your parents are citizens.
  • Those married to a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis are eligible to apply — there is no waiting period.

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