Grenada’s citizenship by investment requirements start with an applicant who is at least 18, can pass criminal, financial, and medical screening, and is willing to commit either a $235,000 donation to the National Transformation Fund or a $270,000 purchase in an approved real estate project. Every person on the application, including dependents, goes through the same vetting, and the file must be submitted by a licensed local agent rather than by the applicant directly. There is no requirement to live in or even visit Grenada.
Who Can Apply
The main applicant must be 18 or older and meet the background, health, and financial standards set out in the Grenada Citizenship by Investment Act of 2013.{1Investment Migration Agency (IMA) Grenada. Application Guide} Due diligence involves checks with international law enforcement. Applications are rejected for anyone who has been convicted of a crime carrying more than six months of imprisonment, is under criminal investigation, poses a national security concern, or has been denied a visa to a country Grenada has visa-free access to without later obtaining that visa.{2IMI Daily. Grenada Citizenship by Investment Act 2013}
Every applicant also completes a medical examination by a licensed physician. The exam screens for communicable diseases including tuberculosis, hepatitis, and HIV, with HIV testing performed within three months of the examination date.{3Investment Migration Agency (IMA) Grenada. Grenada Citizenship by Investment – Form 4 Medical}
Who You Can Include as a Dependent
A single application can cover:
- A legally married spouse.
- Children who are 29 or younger at the time of submission.
- Parents or grandparents of the main applicant or the spouse, with no minimum age.
- Unmarried siblings of the main applicant who are 18 or older, have no children, and are financially dependent on the applicant.
Every dependent goes through the same background and medical screening. Dependents aged 17 and over pay their own due diligence fees and sit for the mandatory identity interview.
The Two Investment Options
Applicants qualify through one of two routes. Both minimums are set by regulation and have risen since the program launched, so older guides tend to understate the numbers.
National Transformation Fund Donation
The straightforward option is a non-refundable donation to the National Transformation Fund. The minimum is $235,000 for a single applicant or a family of up to four, with $25,000 added for each additional dependent beyond four.{4Investment Migration Agency (IMA) Grenada. Citizenship by Investment} The money does not come back.
Approved Real Estate Purchase
The second route is buying property in a government-approved development. The minimum purchase is $270,000, plus a separate non-refundable government fee of $50,000 for a single applicant or family of up to four. Adding relatives increases that government fee: $50,000 per parent or grandparent under 55, $75,000 per sibling, and $25,000 per additional child or per parent or grandparent aged 55 or older from the fifth applicant on.
If you want to resell the property later to another CBI applicant, you must hold it for at least five years. Selling to a regular buyer who is not using the property for citizenship carries no mandatory holding period. You keep actual ownership either way, which is the main practical difference from the donation route.
Fees on Top of the Investment
Government fees add meaningfully to the total:
- Due diligence fee: $5,000 per applicant aged 17 and older.
- Interview fee: $1,000 per person aged 17 and older.
- Application processing fee: $1,500 per family member over 18, $500 per family member under 18.
- Passport fee: $350 per applicant over 18, $250 per applicant under 18.
For a family of four with two adult parents and two young children, government fees alone come to roughly $14,500 above the investment. Budget separately for your agent’s professional fees, translation, notarization, apostille certification, and courier costs, which add several thousand more.
Documents You Need to Gather
The paperwork is heavy, and missing or misformatted documents are one of the most common causes of delay.
On the personal side, each applicant needs a valid passport copy, a certified birth certificate, a marriage certificate or divorce decree where applicable, professional photographs meeting Grenada’s passport specifications, and police clearance certificates from every country where they have lived for more than six months during the past ten years. The police clearance requirement catches people off guard. Some countries take weeks or months to issue them, so start early.
On the financial side, you submit a detailed Source of Funds statement explaining where the investment money came from, supported by bank statements, employment contracts, business ownership records, or sale documentation. Gifted funds require a sworn affidavit from the donor along with the donor’s own financial records.{1Investment Migration Agency (IMA) Grenada. Application Guide} The point is to confirm the wealth was earned legitimately, not just that it exists.
Every supporting document must be in English; anything originally in another language needs a certified translation. Foreign-issued documents need proper authentication, and because both the United States and Grenada are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention, U.S. documents are authenticated with an apostille from the issuing state’s Secretary of State rather than through full embassy legalization.
How the Application Moves
You cannot file with the Grenada government yourself. The law requires every application to go through a licensed Authorized Local Agent, who prepares and reviews the package before submission.{4Investment Migration Agency (IMA) Grenada. Citizenship by Investment} An experienced agent catches document problems before the government does, which can save months.
Once the agent submits the dossier to the Citizenship by Investment Committee, the government runs its multi-tiered vetting, cross-referencing information against international law enforcement databases and conducting independent checks. Standard processing takes three to four months.{4Investment Migration Agency (IMA) Grenada. Citizenship by Investment}
Every applicant aged 17 and older must complete a two-part identity verification: an automated online questionnaire in the applicant’s preferred language, followed by a live virtual interview. Both must be completed without assistance, and failure to do so can result in denial.
Clearing due diligence produces an “approval in principle” letter, which conditionally approves the application pending the actual transfer of funds. You typically have 30 days to deposit the investment into the government escrow account.{4Investment Migration Agency (IMA) Grenada. Citizenship by Investment} Once receipt is confirmed, the government issues the Certificate of Naturalization and processes passports for each approved person.
What Gets an Application Denied
The Act sets out six grounds for rejection: providing false information, a criminal conviction carrying a potential sentence over six months, an active criminal investigation, being a national security risk to Grenada or any other country, involvement in activity likely to damage Grenada’s reputation, and having been denied a visa to a country Grenada has visa-free access to without subsequently obtaining that visa.{2IMI Daily. Grenada Citizenship by Investment Act 2013}
That last ground surprises people. A prior Schengen or UK refusal that has not since been resolved with an approved visa will sink a Grenada application, and the due diligence fees are non-refundable. Citizenship can also be revoked after it is granted if the government later finds that information was falsified or eligibility no longer holds. In practice, revocation most commonly follows discovery of concealed criminal history or misrepresented source of funds.
What You Get in Return
A Grenada passport provides visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to more than 130 countries and territories, including all European Union member states for stays up to 90 days, the United Kingdom with an electronic travel authorization for up to 180 days, and China for up to 30 days.{5Passport Index. Grenada Passport Dashboard}
Grenada is also the only country that combines a citizenship by investment program with an E-2 investor treaty with the United States, in force since March 3, 1989.{6U.S. Department of State. Treaty Countries} The E-2 visa lets a treaty national live and work in the U.S. while running a business they have substantially invested in, and it is renewable indefinitely while the business remains active. For investors from countries without their own E-2 treaty, Grenada citizenship opens a route to long-term U.S. residency that would otherwise be closed.
Grenada places no restrictions on dual citizenship, and there is no minimum stay required before, during, or after the application. You keep your original nationality and never have to relocate.
A Tax Note for U.S. Citizens
Grenada does not tax citizens on worldwide income, so citizenship alone creates no new Grenadian tax obligation. U.S. citizens and permanent residents, however, remain fully subject to U.S. tax on worldwide income regardless of any second citizenship.
Holding financial assets in Grenada can trigger U.S. reporting. Individuals living abroad must file IRS Form 8938 when foreign financial assets exceed $200,000 at year-end or $300,000 at any point during the year for single filers or married filing separately; those thresholds double to $400,000 and $600,000 for married couples filing jointly. Separate FinCEN foreign bank account reporting applies at a much lower $10,000 threshold. Penalties for missing these filings are steep, so working with a tax professional experienced in international reporting is worth the cost.