Moving to Antigua and Barbuda 2026, Step by Step

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA · ST. JOHN'S · EXPAT GUIDE

Moving to Antigua and Barbuda is easy for Americans to begin and harder to turn into a passport. US citizens arrive without a visa, and remote workers can apply for a two-year Nomad Digital Residence, but a local job needs an employer-sponsored work permit. The country's citizenship-by-investment programme is now under pressure from both Washington and Brussels.

Antigua and Barbuda is a two-island state in the eastern Caribbean, led by Prime Minister Gaston Browne, that uses the Eastern Caribbean dollar. This guide sets out the steps in order, using official sources: the Citizenship by Investment Unit, the country's High Commission in London, the US State Department and the US Federal Register. Investment amounts are set in US dollars by the government itself.

What It Means for You

If you are a US citizen, moving is straightforward: no visa, a Level 1 safety rating and a US consular agent in St. John's. Your US tax bill does not change. The IRS taxes citizens on their worldwide income wherever they live, and for tax year 2026 up to US$132,900 of foreign earned income can be excluded.

If you are thinking of buying Antiguan citizenship, read the US rules first. Proclamation 10998, signed by President Donald Trump on 16 December 2025, suspended the entry of Antiguan nationals as immigrants and on B-1/B-2 visitor, F and M student and J exchange visas, noting that Antigua “has historically had CBI without residency”. The suspension covers Antiguan nationals however they became citizens, and Antigua's ambassador in Washington, Sir Ronald Sanders, said the biometric data checks agreed with US officials will apply to all citizens, “including citizens by birth, descent, naturalisation, or investment”. An Antiguan passport bought today is therefore not a route to a US visitor visa.

The effect has been sharp. The Antigua Observer, citing State Department monthly statistics, reported that US visitor visas issued to Antiguans fell from 249 in January 2025 to none in January 2026. In early August, Browne wrote to President Trump asking for a review of the restrictions and of a related visa-bond programme, and for Antigua to be taken off both, the Jamaica Gleaner reported on 3 August.

If you are British, Canadian or European, the same entry rules apply to you as visitors. The European Union's warning matters most for anyone who wants an Antiguan passport for travel to Europe.

Step 1: Arrive as a Visitor

The State Department says your passport must be valid for 180 days after your departure date, with one blank page, and that you need proof of an onward ticket, accommodation and enough money for your stay. US passport cards are not accepted. Antigua's High Commission in London says visitors get an initial three months, up to a maximum of six.

Use this first stay to compare areas, from St. John's, the capital, to the English Harbour and Jolly Harbour areas, and to line up housing before you commit. A visitor may not take a local job.

Step 2: Remote Workers Can Apply for the Nomad Digital Residence

The Nomad Digital Residence programme is the main long-stay route for people who earn their living abroad. According to the High Commission in London, it gives:

• Length: up to two years in the first instance.
• Income: a declared expected income of at least US$50,000 for each year of the stay.
• Fees: US$1,500 for a single applicant, US$2,000 for a couple and US$3,000 for a family of three or more, paid by credit card with the application.
• Insurance: a certificate of medical insurance covering the whole stay.

Ask before you apply whether you may take any local work under it; the High Commission's summary does not say.

Step 3: A Local Job Means an Employer-Sponsored Work Permit

You cannot apply for a work permit on your own. The High Commission says employers must first advertise the vacancy locally and contact the Commissioner of Labour only if no suitable local candidate is found. In practice, that means securing a job offer before you move and letting the employer run the application.

The Immigration Department's website, which carries residence and permit details, could not be reached when this guide was checked on 7 October, so confirm current fees and residence rules directly with the department or the nearest Antiguan mission.

Step 4: Citizenship by Investment, If You Still Want a Passport

The Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU), the government office that runs the programme, lists four routes:

• National Development Fund: a US$230,000 contribution per application, plus a processing fee of US$10,000 for a single applicant or US$20,000 for a family of up to four, and US$10,000 more for each further dependant.
• Approved real estate: property worth at least US$300,000 in an approved project, which cannot be resold for five years except into another approved property, with the same processing fees.
• Business: US$1.5 million in an approved business, or a joint investment of at least US$5 million by two or more people, each putting in at least US$400,000.
• University of the West Indies Fund: US$260,000 for a family of six, including processing fees, with US$10,000 for each additional dependant.

Due diligence costs US$8,500 for the main applicant, US$5,000 for a spouse, US$2,000 for each dependant aged 12 to 17 and US$4,000 for each aged 18 or over, plus passport fees. A single applicant on the fund route therefore pays at least US$248,500, and a couple at least US$263,500, before agents' fees. Applications are handled by agents licensed by the CIU, and the contribution is due within 30 days of approval.

The rules are tightening. A bill Browne presented to Parliament in July raises the time new citizens must spend in the country from five days to 30, adds annual independent financial audits and requires reports to a new regional regulator, the Eastern Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Regulatory Authority. Browne said the 30-day rule was already being applied, the Antigua Observer reported on 15 July.

The European Deadline

In a letter of 25 June 2026, Magnus Brunner, the EU commissioner for internal affairs and migration, asked Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia to phase out their programmes by 1 June 2028. The letter, made public by Browne's office, warns that visa-free access to the Schengen area could otherwise be suspended under the EU's revised visa suspension mechanism, according to Searchlight, a newspaper in neighbouring St. Vincent.

For movers, the practical message is simple: residence in Antigua does not depend on the programme, but the value of an Antiguan passport for travel to Europe and the United States is now in question.

Step 5: Plan for Health, Storms and Daily Life

The State Department says medical facilities do not meet US standards, that there is no hyperbaric chamber for diving injuries and that supplemental insurance for medical evacuation is strongly recommended. It notes that the country “regularly experiences hurricanes” and that drug and firearms offences carry long jail sentences and heavy fines.

For help, the US consular agent is at Jasmine Court, Suite 2, Friars Hill Road, St. John's (+1 268 463-6531), and the US Embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados, covers the country (+1 246 227-4000). Ask any bank in writing which documents it needs from a foreign customer before you move money.

What Is Not Known

• Residence and work-permit fees. The Immigration Department's site could not be reached, and no official fee list was available elsewhere.
• Whether the July bill has become law, and how the 30-day stay must be completed.
• The outcome of Antigua's request to Washington to lift the visa restrictions, and of talks with Brussels on the 2028 deadline.
• How a foreign resident's income is taxed. The Inland Revenue Department's website does not set out a resident's personal tax position clearly; ask the department before you move.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Americans need a visa to move to Antigua and Barbuda?

Not to arrive. US citizens need no visa, but the State Department says their passport must be valid for 180 days after departure. Visitors get an initial three months, up to a maximum of six, and may not take a local job.

Is there a digital nomad visa in Antigua and Barbuda?

Yes. The Nomad Digital Residence allows stays of up to two years for people expecting at least US$50,000 a year. The fee is US$1,500 for a single applicant, US$2,000 for a couple and US$3,000 for a family of three or more, and medical insurance is required.

How much does Antigua citizenship by investment cost in 2026?

The National Development Fund route costs US$230,000 plus a US$10,000 processing fee for a single applicant and US$8,500 in due diligence, so at least US$248,500 before passport and agent fees. Approved real estate starts at US$300,000.

Can an Antiguan passport be used to get a US visa?

Not for most purposes at present. Since 1 January 2026, US Proclamation 10998 has suspended entry of Antiguan nationals as immigrants and on visitor, student and exchange visas, and the suspension covers citizens by investment as well as by birth.

Is Antigua’s citizenship-by-investment programme ending?

Not yet. The European Commission has asked Antigua and four neighbours to phase out their programmes by 1 June 2028 or risk losing visa-free travel to the Schengen area, while a July 2026 bill raises the required stay for new citizens to 30 days.

Sources: Citizenship by Investment Unit, National Development Fund, CIU, real estate, CIU, business investment, CIU, UWI Fund, CIU, schedule of fees, Statement by Ambassador Sir Ronald Sanders, 19 December 2025, Statement on US visa bonds, 7 January 2026, High Commission for Antigua and Barbuda in London, Nomad Digital Residence, High Commission in London, FAQs, US State Department, country information, US State Department, travel advisory, 20 May 2026, US Federal Register, Proclamation 10998, IRS, foreign earned income exclusion, Antigua Observer, US visitor visas, 8 September 2026, Antigua Observer, CIP amendments, 15 July 2026, Jamaica Gleaner, 3 August 2026, Searchlight, EU deadline, 10 July 2026. All retrieved 7 October 2026.

Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error