Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa June 2015 | Page 54

FOREIGN

Island Style

Purchasing property in the Caribbean via a
citizenship-by-investment programme
BY ANDREW J. TAYLOR

A

ccording to the 2014 Caribbean Prime
Residential Insight report by Knight Frank
Property Agents, the global financial crisis
adversely affected the luxury residential property
market in the Caribbean, but since 2013 there has been
an increase in sales volumes.
“Critical to this turnaround is the renewed
confidence amongst buyers from the United States and
Europe,” says Kate Everett-Allen of Knight Frank.
To boost their economies through foreign
investment, some countries offer citizenship-byinvestment programs, providing a direct route to
citizenship based on investments in government or
property. South Africans looking to invest in offshore
property can consider this model of investment to
enter the international property market, and to gain a
second passport.
Anyone looking to invest offshore can look
at the opportunities in the Caribbean, amongst
other countries. There are some attractive property
propositions currently available under the citizenshipby-investment program in Antigua.
The twin-island Caribbean nation of Antigua and
Barbuda allows full legal citizenship to be granted
based on an investment in government approved
property, and the application procedure takes around
three months from start to finish. Passport holders
from Antigua and Barbuda gain visa-free travel to over
125 countries including Canada, the United States,
and most European countries.
The citizenship-by-investment programme requires
an investment of at least US$400, 000 (close to R4, 8
million) in property. Residents of Antigua and Barbuda
benefit from no capital gains tax or estate taxes, and are
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JUNE 2015 SA Real Estate Investor

not taxed on their worldwide income, only on income
sourced within Antigua and Barbuda.
Antigua and Barbuda has a long-standing history
of providing luxury tourism, their key industry,
generating around 60% of the island’s income. The
highly-developed tourism industry has created strong
investment opportunities in the form of property
development.

“There are some attractive
property propositions currently
available under the citizenshipby-investment program in
Antigua.”
Nonsuch Bay Resort, set in Antigua, is a hotel
with 62 one, two and three bedroom apartments, 15
townhouses and 19 hill top villa sites, to offer 108
bedrooms under management to the public.
Investors in Nonsuch Bay Resort Phase 1 are seeing
their properties now selling at prices 40% higher than
what they paid. The development of Phase 2 will
provide 188 one bedroom suites.
Owners can rent their properties to capitalize on the
growing demand for rooms at the Resort. Revenues of
an estimated 6% return of the net cost associated with
ownership of the suites can be expected.

RESOURCES
Henley and Partners
www.reimag.co.za