Having second thoughts about Antigua Citizenship by Investment after applying. Please help.

[gmhdssuxef]

Hi everyone.

I am a low-risk (as per OECD) Asian national. I have already applied for an Antigua Citizenship by Investment but I am having a lot of second thoughts.

Note: My home country does not allow dual citizenship.

Objectives​

My primary objectives for getting this citizenship are below, ordered by importance

• Eliminate home country regulatory burdens like foreign asset disclosures and various other forms
  
• Financial privacy & freedom for the future - Where I only need to deal with the country of tax residence and NOT so much with my (too grabby) home country
  
• Optimise my taxes
  
• Ensure easy future cash out (if my holdings grow significantly in value) by residing and/or getting a citizenship in low tax, low compliance countries now (Note: My home country does not have exit tax)
  
• Better travel - My current passport is T3.
  
• Ease/Neutral US travel once a year - Close friends work & live in the US and it would be a shame if I couldn't visit them because of this passport (Note: I have already applied the US tourist VISA using my home country passport and got denied due to lack of ties to current residence UAE)
  

Current financial situation​

• Significant (at least to me) ($1.5m+) Crypto holdings.
  
• Some Real estate ($0.5m+)
  
• Been a UAE resident for 2+ years and have businesses in UAE
  
• No criminal background
  

Long term plans​

• Remain in UAE as long as it remains a low-tax, low-compliance (relative to other reputed counties)
  
• Explore another long term residence in another country as a plan B
  
• Hold on to crypto as long as possible
  
• Slow travel quite a bit and figure out where I want to settle down eventually while building wealth
  

Concerns regarding the Antigua citizenship​

• Getting flagged as HIGH RISK, loss/difficulty of banking around the world/UAE, triggering EDD/more paperwork. Below is from a brief talk with compliance officer (acquaintance of friend) at a bank in UAE
  • 
    
    
• Getting flagged in WorldCheck or similar databases and life becomes a complete mess
  
• Difficulty in getting visas (where applicable) and getting through border controls. CBI citizenship raises immediate red flags
  • One thread in this forum where a US citizen got their bank accounts closed within 3 weeks of receiving their Dominican passport in mail in 2022
    
  • Some unofficial reports of detention and/or deportation due to CBI passport in this forum
    
• Antigua being considered as 7 (high risk OECD) country and what it would mean for me
  

I would appreciate remarks from others who have received the citizenship (especially recently) regarding their current experience in banking/travel/other residence permits/US/EU travel. Remarks from professionals who help their clients do this is also welcome.

 

[aniglo22]

I would definitely wait until the current U.S. administration finally settles its visa policy .‌
As Antigua and Barbuda is supposedly on a Yellow list .
If you have a‍ Southeast Asian passport, I would think twice, as your citizenship offers great potential in real⁠ estate.

 

[void]

why is Grenada missing in the yellow list?

 

[gmhdssuxef]

Makes sense, although traveling to the US is a⁤ concern, it is really not the primary concern for the citizenship.

 

[pesto]

So if you are citizen belonging to the yellow list your chances are good that‌ you can pass the US in the future?

 

[myshufflemix]

this can take years, what he decide today don't need‍ to apply tomorrow!

 

[daniels27]

Better plan early to apply in Nambia for citizenship. Strange that it‍ did not make it onto the list 😉

 

[Gigaburner]

Yes, unfortunately, holding an Antigua passport will likely lead to an automatic denial if you‌ apply for another round of a U.S. visa, especially since your initial application was rejected‍ due to a lack of strong ties to your home country.

 

[Meta]

Hi. You should really mention your home country if possible at all. It looks like‌ you are using this country risk classification of OECD:
https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oe...sk-classification/cre-crc-current-english.pdf
It's about credit default risk,‍ nothing to do with banking due diligence.

So it's not clear what is your current⁠ situation. If you were from Japan (ok, ok, not Japan as you need visa for⁤ US), it's a big mistake. If you are from Pakistan, it's a good move.

Antigua & Barbuda passport will not help with your goals of "Eliminate home country regulatory burdens"⁣ (if you don't renounce your first citizenship), " only need to deal with the country⁢ of tax residence", "Optimise my taxes", "Ease/Neutral US travel once a year".
It doesn't have︀ much negatives though. It many cases with potential downside you just don't mention it and︁ that's it.

I've got CBI passport so speaking from experience.

 

[CrazyPanda]

I already have a valid 10-year B2 USA visa in my home-country passport. Could applying‌ for an Antigua or Grenada passport cause any issues with the United States in the‍ future?

 

[gmhdssuxef]

That is indeed the index I used. My passport is not a high-risk at all︃ in terms of finance at least. However, it doesn't have very good mobility index. But︄ yes, it's most better than Pakistan.

I do plan to renounce. Do you mind elaborating︅ how this citizenship will not help me achieve the following?
only need to deal with︆ the country of tax residence

My idea is that All my financial activities are only︇ reported to my country of citizenship. And my country of residence is only obligated to︈ send it to the country of citizenship if requested. So, renouncing and getting a new︉ citizenship from a country that is not too interested in my financial activities will allow︊ me in a way to get the monkey off my back.

Are you saying the︋ concerns that I have regarding the citizenship in my post is not something I should︌ be worrying about?

I have sent you DM. Hope that is okay.

 

[icecold]

If I were you, I’d go for a passport that’s much more credible.

Of course,‌ they’re harder to get, but I’ve seen services here on OCT claiming they can help‍ with that kind of thing.

A passport from within Europe will give you far more⁠ options when traveling and help you avoid a lot of hassle.

 

[Meta]

Ah yes, if you do renounce it's different story. A bold move though.︄ Re "only need to deal with the country of tax residence": you are probably not︅ taxed back at home anyway, so not sure why the home country would send any︆ requests... But that's the way if you 100% don't want to deal with original country︇ anymore.

If you lose original citizenship, the concerns are valid. You will lose your ability︈ to say "Yep, I'm just citizen of my original country who moved to UAE, low︉ risk", it will always be a eyebrow-rising story of getting Antigua citizenship and getting rid︊ of original one.

 

[lacomaco]

Can you give us information about‍ Namibia citizenship? I heard that they offered residency by investment, which is suspended now and⁠ no citizenship by investment

 

[daniels27]

I think we were talking about Trump's Nambia from his first term.

But I think⁠ if you invest into real estate, you should be able to get a residence permit⁤ and after 20 years or something maybe also citizenship.

 

[Shoresy]

Getting an Antigua CBI flags you on worldcheck?

 

[JackieTsan]

Hi @Meta and everyone here. I am thinking to proceed asap (next days) with a︃ second passport (Dominica or Santa Lucia as I found them both in better price than︄ normal). I hold a EUSSR passport of one of the worst countries (Tax & bureuocrazy︅ wise) in EUSSR. Plan is to be ready to renounce the shityzenship of EUssr when︆ they will mess the taxes more or when they will make me more crazy than︇ I am with their behavior.
I am reading that if I have a second passport︈ in these countries I am automatically becoming a HIGH RISK person?!? is that true????? So,︉ by getting a second passport i create more problems than I currently have?
@Martin Everson︊ you're probably not in this thread but I'd extremely appreciate your opinion.

*PS i DONT'︋ care and never plan to go to the USA so I don't mind for the︌ USA (but I invest there if this affects it)..

Hundreds of thanks !

Thank you!!︍

 

[icecold]

I guess⁠ it depends on where you show it and under what circumstances.

But if you’re that⁤ concerned about what you’re describing, I’d go for a passport with some value from a⁣ country outside the EU.

 

[Cloudbanck]

People pay millions to get⁢ an EU passport. Even if you are a citizen of the EU country with the︀ worst and most aggressive tax agency (Spain), you can still just leave Spain and be︁ completely out of their tax net, and never pay any taxes to Spain again.
Having an EU passport when travelling (even if you never go to the US), doing business,︂ opening bank accounts, getting residency permits, etc etc, is going to be so much easier︃ than having a Caribbean CBI passport. CBI passports are treated worse and worse, with ever︄ more blocks and restriction and loss of access.

Id still say get the CBI passport,︅ but dont resign your EU citizenship. If it is starting looking like the EU as︆ a whole or your particular EU country will impose taxation by citizenship, then you can︇ start thinking about it, but I think that's unlikely, and you will get plenty of︈ advance notice.

France is I guess the EU country most likely to introduce something like︉ this (beside Hungary that has a soft version already), but even the crazy lefties in︊ France have only proposed a taxation by citizenship that applies for French citizens living in︋ low tax countries, and only if they have lived at least the last 3 out︌ of 10 years in France. And such a proposal is anyway unenforcable , unlikely to︍ pass, and avoidable.

 

[aniglo22]

That's not︉ true a lot of EU countries have anti-avoidance rules .
It can be very difficult︊ to leave the EU tax especially if you relocate to a "tax haven" .

But I agree he shouldn't renounce it and wait until they introduce something.