UAE property gets you Antigua and Barbuda citizenship

A UAE-based developer is offering citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda to those buying properties in its Ajman project, Emirates 24|7 can reveal.

“People who buy four-bedroom villas in our Dh2.5 billion Ajman Uptown master development qualify to apply for citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda with their new passports, following due diligence, being issued in three months’ time,” Fahad Sattar Dero, Chief Executive Officer, Sweet Homes Holdings, told this website.

The developer claims that Ajman Uptown is the first project in the GCC region that allows a property investor to get a nationality of another country.

The four-bedroom villas are currently priced at Dh2.2 million and over.

The letter issued by the cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda, seen by tis website's correspondent, states that the government agreed on November 19, 2014, to extend its territorial jurisdiction towards the Ajman Uptown project pursuant to Section 42 of the Finance Administration Act 2006, for the purpose of providing funding to the National Development Fund under the Citizenship by Investment Project law.

However, those willing to apply for citizenship will have to pay a non-refundable contribution in the amount of $200,000 (Dh734,000) for each principal applicant including spouses, dependent children and dependent parents over 65 years of age, who form part of the application process, states the letter.

“It is quite a costly process if one applies directly for citizenship with Antigua and Barbuda. But if you buy a property in Ajman Uptown, you save a lot,” says Dero.

Antigua and Barbuda is a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

Its citizens' can travel visa-free or get visa on arrival access in 132 countries and territories all across the world.

“We are expecting nationalities such as Pakistanis, Iranians, Syrians and Afghanis and other nationalities as well to make use of this offer. Overall, we are expecting a good response,” Dero adds.

Ajman Uptown, spread over 3.5 million square metres of land next of Emirates road and Emirates City, comprises 1,504 villas and townhouses, a shopping mall and hotel/hotel apartments.

Work on 300 villas has been completed with the developer having applied for completion certificate from respective authorities.

“We are planning to handover phase one (300 villas) by March 2015,” he says, mentioning, the company is aiming to hand over the entire villas (1,504) in three more phases.

Sweet Homes CEO says they are planning to complete the Ajman Uptown project before 2020.

“We are among the few private developers in Ajman who have survived through the global financial crisis.

“We have worked with our investors all through these years, reducing their liabilities by offering them consolidation schemes.

“The Ajman property market has revived and we are getting a lot of inquiries these days. We are now working to fulfil our commitments,” he states.

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