St. John’s, Antigua; Tuesday, April, 12, 2016: The Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) wishes to present the facts as it relates to granting of citizenship to nationals of Iraq.
To date, four individuals have been granted Antigua and Barbuda citizenship under the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP).
They are as follows:
– A single applicant, residing in Saudi Arabia whose application was submitted to the Unit in March 2014, and approved in July, 2014.
– A family of three, residing in Saudi Arabia, who applied in April, 2015, and was approved in July, 2015.
These applications were accepted based on the fact that the applicants resided outside of Iraq and their income generated, resulted from economic activity outside of that country.
According to a decision by the Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda, at its meeting held on Thursday, 11th December 2014, the Restricted Country List and Current Policy are as follows:
- Iran
- Afghanistan
- Iraq
- North Korea
- Somalia
- Yemen
As an exception, nationals of the above-mentioned countries who are lawful permanent residents of Canada, the United States of America or the United Kingdom, will be allowed to make application providing that their status as lawful residents is established.
In addition, all applicants are required to fully comply with the Programme’s due diligence requirements.
Applications that have been submitted for consideration prior to this decision will be honoured by the Unit.
The Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda has taken this position to safeguard the integrity of the Antigua and Barbuda passport and ensure that only persons whose past behaviour will not threaten the very well-being of the Citizenship Programme, can be accepted.
