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Antigua CIU Announces New Price Thresholds But Delays Implementation of MoA by 30 Days · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: The Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment Unit has issued a memo to stakeholders outlining upcoming changes to the country's Citizenship by Investment Program.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: The memo, signed and issued yesterday by the CIU's chief executive, Charmaine Quinlan Donovan, details the new proposed investment thresholds and provides guidance on file submission.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: The changes are part of a memorandum of agreement executed between five heads of governments of OECS territories operating CIPs.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: The MOA aimed to implement a minimum investment threshold of$200,000 by June 30th.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: The OECS issued a statement on June 23rd, confirming that Caribbean CIP countries were pressing ahead with the MOA's stipulations and that July 1st would be the cutoff date for the old pricing model.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Antigua and Barbuda, however, requested an additional 30 days to complete the necessary parliamentary approval process.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Patrick Peters, CEO of Client Referrals, previously expressed doubts about the 80th June deadline during an interview at Global Citizen Week Cairo.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Speaking to IMI about the changes, Peters commended Antigua and Barbuda decision makers and confirmed they, quote, really tried to meet the June 30th deadline, but circumstances out of their control forced their hand, end quote.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: The delay did not surprise.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Kevin Hosum, founder and chairman of EC Holdings, who, quote, expected something like this to happen, end quote.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Subject to parliamentary approval, the proposed amendments to the investment thresholds by option are as follows.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: For a family of 1 to 4, the minimum threshold for contribution to the National Development Fund will be$230,000.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: For a family size of$5 or more, the minimum threshold will be$245,000.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: For contribution to the University of the West Indies Fund, the minimum threshold will be$300,000.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: The minimum threshold for real estate will be$325,000.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: And finally, the business investment thresholds remain unchanged at$1.5 million US dollars for sole applicants and at$400,000 from a total of$5 million in a joint venture.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Hosum is, quote, very happy that Antigua has taken the initiative to shed some light on the future prices, end quote.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: And he looks forward to, quote, seeing what the other countries are probably going to be doing, end quote.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: He expects the other Caribbean countries to implement their price hike on July 1st, quote.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Because nothing is preventing them from proceeding, end quote.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Hosom did urge the remaining countries to, quote, also issue memos so that potential investors and stakeholders have the opportunity to advise their clients better.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: End quote.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Hosum anticipates the other countries' new investment thresholds to, quote, be in the same vicinity as Antigua's, end quote.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: The memo also provides clear guidance on the minimum acceptable documentation required for application submission, including fully completed and signed forms, identification documents, proof of address, source of income verification, net worth confirmation, and investment agreements.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Physical documents and initial fees are required to be submitted to the unit within 21 days of the electronic upload, the memo reads.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: Processing fees remain at$30,000 for a single applicant up to a family of four, except for the UWI option, which includes processing fees in the investment amount.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: For families of five or more, the government has reduced processing fees to$10,000, compared to$15,000 for each additional dependent.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: The CIU emphasizes that, quote, applications will be vetted in order of receipt of physical documents and fees, end quote, and urges licensed agents and authorized representatives to advise their clients of the minimum requirements for onboarding an applicant.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: The CIU affirmed that it would not accept files without the required documents, and the memo encourages clients to acquire all additional documentation diligently to avoid delays in the assessment process.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Peters applauded the memo because, quote, it provides clear guidance for the current rush of applications.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: It allows us to plan for the next 80 days, and it allows new applicants a small window to gather their missing documents, end quote.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: He declined to comment on the proposed prices because it is too early and emphasized that, quote, we have a singular raison d'être.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: Ensure all applicants meet this fast approaching deadline.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: Hosum also sees this as a positive quote, since we now have some sort of indication and some answers regarding the future of the Antiguan program.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: End quote.com.
• 5:34
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• 5:41
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