With all these travel restrictions placed on certain passports, not only is the urgency for a second passport clear, but the pricing in the Caribbean is incredible.

August 4, 2020

By: Bobby Casey, Managing Director GWP

We we saw last week, the US passport tanked in value. Not in cost, but in value. After all, what good is it to have a passport only a handful of countries will accept?

The economic toll of the global response to the pandemic has yet to fully actualize. But with all the political jockeying and fear mongering, the sad response has been for government officials to decide who works and who doesn’t.

Even with Americans being denied access to Bermuda, Bermudans don’t want that. Why would they? Is it worth their job to not host paying Americans? I wouldn’t think so.

Globally, tourism is expected to have lost nearly $1.2 trillion. If these lock downs, bans, and restrictions persist, it could get as high as $3.3 trillion in 2021. Developing nations will be the hardest hit, but let’s not fool ourselves: plenty of areas within developed countries are already hurting from this.

Unlike the US, however, many Caribbean countries have passports that offer much more access to the rest of the world.

These islands have a few key industries: for some it is agriculture, others are offshore havens, but for all it is tourism.

Governments around the world have put the kibosh on tourism. Some have restricted people coming from particular countries, while others have made travel conditional upon test results and quarantine.

The best work-around isn’t to wait for the powers that be to sort it out. It’s to carve out alternative options for yourself and your family. If you are an American, especially, and your passport isn’t getting you where you’d like to go: now is the time to act.

Passports are a low cost product every country can provide. It’s a permission slip for something that requires little overhead.

This is a far more respectable way to offset losses or raise revenue as a country. The US pumped trillions in thin-air stimulus money into the economy with their sights on doing it again. These Caribbean nations are competing to sell something of high value to many foreigners around the world.

Check out some of the passport deals happening right now:

St. Kitts and Nevis: These guys are the trailblazers of citizenship by investment. $150,000 (plus fees) to their “Sustainable Growth Fund” gets passports for a family of four. (Regular price is $195,000.)

We’ve written about St. Kitt’s quite a bit, but just as a reminder, here’s what makes their passports so desirable, and that price tag such a bargain:

Dominica: They are offering their citizenship by investment for $175,000 (plus fees) for a family of four. That is their regular price for a single applicant.

Antigua and Barbuda: They cut their CBI by 50%, from $200,000 to $100,000 for a family of four (plus a $30,000 processing fee). This country is a marvelous place to consider as your “tax home”. We go into greater depth for our GWP Insiders.

St. Lucia: Their current offering is aggressive as well, with a $100,000 price tag for a single applicant.

Grenada: They are offering $150,000 for an individual and $200,000 for a family of four plus fees.

Many people are taking advantage of what seems to be a “COVID-19” window. Dominica, for example, expects to hold their price for the balance of this year at minimum. They are waiting for the pandemic to officially be over, which might carry into next year, but the economic effects will be felt long afterward.

Countries with passports that are not very versatile, have citizens eager to get a second passport. Right now, in fact, these offerings are popular with Chinese and Middle Eastern individuals.

While temporary, these are incredible deals for the level of freedom you can get. Their turn around times generally fall within three to five months. They are even being quite accommodating to the circumstances. In some cases, like with St. Lucia, everything can be done virtually. That’s the trifecta: affordability, quick turn, and ease of process! (I say that relative to how expensive, time-consuming, and difficult other countries can be, of course.)

The investment doesn’t just have to be the cost of the passport. They also have other options such as a minimum purchase of bonds or real estate. Those have a higher threshold, but you do get more in return.

If you are interested in getting a second citizenship, let’s set up a call to discuss your goals! Even better, sign up for GWPInsiders. You get unlimited consultations with me, plus unlimited access to all the inside scoop of other countries to consider for residency, passports, and citizenship!