Antigua and Barbuda

Living in Antigua and Barbuda, and being taxed by Antigua and Barbuda

These are decided by different authorities, under different rules, on different clocks. The one people get wrong is the second.

There is no second clock here, and that is the point people get wrong in the other direction. The passport does not make you a tax resident, and it does not stop you being one somewhere else. Whatever country taxes you today keeps taxing you until you meet ITS rules for leaving, which this route does nothing to satisfy.

The facts, each cited

• No residency

  The Citizenship by Investment Programme grants citizenship to applicants and their families in exchange for a significant economic contribution, subject to background checks, with no prior-residency requirement.

• US$230,000

  The National Development Fund route requires a contribution to the National Development Fund of at least US$230,000 per application.

• US$300,000

  The real estate route requires the purchase of property in an approved real estate project valued at a minimum of US$300,000.

• US$260,000

  The University of the West Indies Fund route requires a contribution of US$260,000 for a family of six or more.

• US$1,500,000

  The business route requires a principal applicant, on their own behalf, to make an investment in an approved business of at least US$1,500,000.

• No income tax

  Antigua and Barbuda charges no personal income tax on individuals. The Personal Income Tax (Amendment) Act 2016 wound the tax down through income year 2016, reducing that year's personal allowance to EC$21,000 and fixing the final filing and remittance dates in 2016.

What an expert actually does, and when

Moving to Antigua and Barbuda is four different jobs for four different people, and the order matters more than the choice of any one of them. Here is the sequence, what each person settles, and what to hold them to in writing.

1. First

   A cross-border tax adviser in the country you are leaving

   Before you sell anything, move your family, or claim to have left

   This is the one whose answer can make the rest of the plan pointless, so it is worth knowing before you spend anything on the rest. A residence permit somewhere else is not the same thing as having stopped being tax-resident where you are.

   What only they can settle

   • →Whether and when your tax residence at home actually ends
   • →Which ties (home, family, accounts, memberships, company control) have to be dealt with, and in what order
   • →What you owe on the way out, and what you can elect or defer
   • →Which transactions to complete before you go rather than after

   Ask for it in writing. A written residence and departure-date memo, with the tax on leaving set out asset by asset, and a list of the evidence your position depends on.

2. Second

   An immigration lawyer in the destination

   Six to twelve months before you intend to move

   Routes look interchangeable from outside and are not. Which one you qualify for depends on evidence you may not have gathered yet, and gathering it is often the long pole.

   What only they can settle

   • →Which route your actual income, work history, and assets satisfy
   • →Which authority handles each stage, and whether your entry status has to change first
   • →What proof each requirement takes, and what is missing today
   • →How a partner and children are included, and when

   Ask for it in writing. A route recommendation with the eligibility tested against your documents, plus a dated checklist of what is still missing.

3. Third

   Document authentication and translation

   Only after the lawyer has frozen the list

   Ordering apostilles and translations before the list is settled is the most common way to pay twice. Certified documents also expire, so starting early can be worse than starting late.

   What only they can settle

   • →Which authentication chain each document needs, in its issuing country
   • →What has to be translated, by whom, and to what standard
   • →The order to obtain things in, so nothing expires while waiting for something else

   Ask for it in writing. Authenticated originals and accepted translations, tracked so you know where every document physically is.

4. Fourth

   Local advisers where you land

   Once your status is approved

   Approval is not the same as a working life. Banking, health cover, and a tenancy each have their own requirements, and several of them want the paperwork from the earlier stages.

   What only they can settle

   • →What banking will require of you, and what to prepare before you ask
   • →Which health cover satisfies the local requirement
   • →What a lease commits you to, and what your obligations are on registering it
   • →What you now have to file locally, and when

   Ask for it in writing. A working household: identity documents, an address, cover, banking, and a calendar of what renews when.

OmniFlag is not a law firm or a tax adviser. Experts are retained independently and their engagement letter defines what they advise on, what they file, and what they deliver.

What nobody puts on the Antigua and Barbuda brochure

• US citizens and green-card holders keep filing US federal tax after taking a second passport. Antigua and Barbuda citizenship does not reduce US federal tax, because US federal tax follows the person, not the residence.

• Citizenship carries a presence expectation of at least 5 days in the country across the first five years, so the passport is not fully hands-off.

• Published investment minimums exclude government due-diligence fees, application fees, and processing costs, so budget above the headline figure.

  Indicator, not law · OmniFlag desk research, 2026

Common questions

Do I need to live in Antigua and Barbuda before citizenship?

No. Citizenship is granted on an approved investment with no prior residency. After citizenship, the programme expects at least 5 days spent in the country across the first five years.

What is the lowest-cost route to citizenship?

The National Development Fund donation, at a minimum of US$230,000 per application.

Does Antigua and Barbuda tax personal income?

No. Personal income tax on individuals was wound down through income year 2016 by the Personal Income Tax (Amendment) Act 2016.