A number of nations now offer citizenship through government approved property investment. International Property & Travel magazine has launched International Property Citizenship Services and teamed up with experts to highlight the many benefits. This issue, we meet a couple who have turned their dream into reality by gaining second citizenship in Antigua
Dag and Katrina are a European couple in their early 40s. Through working in telecommunications, Dag has made a comfortable life for themselves and their two children. He regularly travels internationally and has been a fan of the eastern Caribbean since his early 20s when crewing on a friend’s sailboat during a two-week cruise.
When Dag heard about the Antigua citizenship program which rewards property investment with an opportunity to become a citizen in 2015, it was the push he needed to make the commitment he had been dreaming about. “It had always been a fantasy of mine to own something in the islands”, says Dag, “but it had always seemed too extravagant. When I started to think about the benefits of our family having a second citizenship along with the property I had dreamed of, it was a much easier decision.”
After making two visits over the autumn and winter, the couple bought an oceanfront, three-bedroom villa on the west coast of the island. This was approved under the Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP) and Dag and Katrina believe they have done well with its capital appreciation since. However, far more important for the family is the lifestyle change. They are now averaging over four months per year in Antigua and the children split their school year between home in the autumn and winter at the Island Academy. Popular with the international residents of Antigua, this is one of the two international baccalaureate schools in the eastern Caribbean.
