Whether you have US$200,000 or US$1.5 million to spend, investment in a luxury, beach-front, sea-facing apartment or villa in the Tamarind Hills resort, one of Antigua & Barbuda’s most successful CBI programme developments, will give you not just a tangible return on investment, but citizenship of this incredible Caribbean island (and an Antiguan passport).
The first investment project to be approved under Antigua’s Citizenship by Investment programme in 2013, Tamarind Hills has certainly had the years of practice it needs to prove its investment value, and is now considered to be one of the most successful CIP developments on the Caribbean island of Antigua with investors receiving between a 2-3% return on investment.
However, as Rufus Gobat, director of Island Heights Ltd, the development company behind Tamarind Hills, told CBI Guide, “For CIP buyers, once we are through Covid and with a fully functioning resort, we would anticipate this to increase”.
As an investment option via Antigua’s successful Citizenship by Investment Programme, which requires a minimum investment of US$200,000 for a single applicant, investors can spend the minimum of US$200,000 and obtain Antiguan citizenship (and a passport) for one along with shares (1/10th) in a beachfront villa (including all transfer taxes, legal and escrow fees), which includes two en-suite bedrooms, infinity-edge pool, terrace with barbecue, and access straight onto the powder-soft beach.
A larger investment of US$525,000 will give investors full ownership of one of Tamarind Hills’
1-bed Kingfisher apartments (there are 12 currently available to invest in) along with Antiguan citizenship and passports family of four (minimum investment outlay is US$400,000 for a family of four).
Investable apartments and villas
There are currently 12 Kingfisher apartments and five Stingray oceanfront villas ripe for investment. Of the apartments, two are completed and 10 are off plan, and range between US$525,000 for a 1-bed apartment (US$610,000 for a 1-bed with a pool) to US$950,000 for a two-bed apartment with a pool.
The five Stingray beachfront villas, currently under construction, range from two-bed, three-bathroom villas for US$1,585.000 at 1,646 sq-ft to a 4-bedroom, 5-bathroom villa for US$3,170.000 at 3,64 sq-ft, though only one (the Stingray O20) is available for via shares investment.
Investment in these sea-facing, beach-accessible, architect-designed freehold properties will not just provide you with all the benefits of citizenship (tax benefits, visa-free travel to 151 countries including the EU and Brazil, free and good education/healthcare), but also tangible ROI.
And Tamarind Hills offer a full rental management and maintenance programme across all its properties so investors can be secure in the knowledge that their investment is being looked after, managed and promoted.
The Tamarind Hills resort
Not that Tamarinds Hills needs much promotion. The resort speaks for itself, both in terms of its location and offering. Set on a sunset-facing bluff on Antigua’s glorious west coast, overlooking the Caribbean sea, Tamarind Hills resort is located between two of the best beaches on Antigua – Ffryes and Darkwood (a boardwalk connects them), yet is also close to Jolly Harbour Marina with its selection of services and shops, and just a 25-minute drive to the airport and a 15-minute drive to the capital St Johns.
Designed by some of the region’s most acclaimed architects (the award-winning Lane Pettigrew), most of the properties feature retractable walls of glass that lead out to infinity-edge pools, private terraces with barbecues and enchanting gazebos, giving owners stunning views of the ocean and access to the powder-soft sand below. They offer simple yet contemporary design that fuses natural wood and stone and deliver exquisitely finished European kitchens and bathrooms, along with high-speed wi-fi and cable TV.
Servicing the five-star properties are the five-star facilities, including dining options, pools, a spa and wellness facility, gym, Pilates and yoga studios, tennis courts and a shopping complex. A 24-hour butler and concierge services area are also available, while private chefs can be booked, and there’s private secure parking for guests.
To find out more about the Tamarind Hills Resort and properties, click here
The pull of Antigua & Barbuda
And then there’s the fact that Tamarind Hills resort is situated on the stunning Caribbean island of Antigua & Barbuda, an in-demand five-star tourist destination that has lured many of a famous financial investment in the past, including fashion designer Giorgio Armani, entrepreneur Richard Branson and musician Eric Clapton.
Boasting an incredible 365 separate beaches across its two islands, including Barbuda’s extraordinary Pink Sand Beach (made of crushed coral) which was listed in Conde Nast Traveller’s 30 Best Beaches in the World 2020, this dual island nation has also been recognised as 2021’s Emerging Sustainable Destination of the Year in Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel Awards.
This is in recognition of the nation’s green goals, how it has used funds accrued from its CBI Programme to help fund the reconstruction of Barbuda, which was hit hard by Hurricane Irma in 2017, and how it is pioneering sustainable initiatives to ensure its islands are preserved and nurtured for generations to come.
And the twin-island nation has certainly maintained, and continues to embrace, its natural beauty, from its lush green rainforest and the largest expanse of freshwater in the Caribbean, to its intricate coastline heavily indented with lagoons and natural harbours rimmed by reefs and shoals rich with sea life.
Whatever the financial investment outlay, all investments must be maintained for at least five years in line with the rules of Antigua’s Citizenship by Investment Programme.
Antigua’s Citizenship by Investment Programme
Antigua & Barbuda unveiled its CBI programme in 2013 as a way, like most of its Caribbean counterparts, to boost its economy and provide funds to help sustain its public services, which the programme has certainly achieved.
Even with the current international climate, Antigua has continued to ensure the attractiveness of its CBI programme, having recently restructured its fees for its University of the West Indies Fund (UWI) to make it highly affordable for large families.
And the programme has continued to “attract high-net-worth individuals” Prime Minister Gaston Browne added, and “interest has remained high and is continuously increasing”. In fact, applications to the programme are now back to pre-pandemic levels, according to the CEO of the CIU, Charmaine Quinland-Donovan.
Delivering four investment options, including one of the lowest-cost contribution options at US$100,000, and a powerful passport, giving visa-free access to 147 countries, Antigua’s citizenship by investment programme has proven both popular and reliable over the past seven years. In fact, since its launch in 2013, the programme has become renowned for its strict due diligence, security and stability within the industry and recently was lauded by the CBI Index 2020 in particular for its “ability to adapt to meet the needs of investors”.
Antigua’s CBI Programme offers four different investment options and is the only CBI program to offer a scholarship to a university place to one family member as part of its citizenship by investment programme.
Applicants can choose between a non-refundable contribution to the National Development Fund (NDF), to The University of the West Indies Fund, purchase property in a pre-approved real development, or in an approved business venture, with costs ranging from $100,000 for a donation to the NDF for a single applicant, to investment of $400,000 in a property or $1.5m in a pre-approved business.
Find out more about the Antigua & Barbuda’s citizenship by investment programme from our country profile by clicking here
To find out more about the Tamarind Hills Resort and properties, click here