Children born to Grenadian parents, children adopted by Grenadians, spouses of Grenadian citizens, foreigners living in Grenada for a long time, and foreign investors can qualify for citizenship of Grenada. Naturalization is a long process but it does not require a large one-time sum of money. On the other hand, citizenship of Grenada can be obtained in a fast manner if you invest in the country’s economy but the amount of investment is going to be significant. The Citizenship Act regulates citizenship acquisition in Grenada.
Grenada is an independent country but it’s a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. For this reason, a Grenadian passport gives free access to Great Britain and the Schengen Zone. Besides, Grenada is a popular tourist destination (it’s the number one honeymoon destination in the Caribbean) and the tourist industry brings almost 70% of the national revenue.
Advantages that a Grenadian passport brings
A passport of Grenada gives its holder the following main advantages:
- Visa-free access to 136 countries of the world including the UK, EU, Singapore, China, and many other popular destinations;
- An opportunity to do business in a favorable fiscal environment;
- An opportunity to enroll in British universities on preferential terms;
- An opportunity to keep your home country’s passport.
What you have to do to become a citizen of Grenada
The conditions of acquiring Grenadian citizenship will depend on the method of legalization that you choose. Becoming a naturalized citizen of Grenada is possible but it takes a rather long time. We will begin by describing the fastest method of acquiring citizenship of Grenada.
Citizenship by investment
Along with a few other Caribbean states, Grenada offers citizenship-by-investment opportunities. Until recently, a passport of Grenada ‘cost’ US$ 150,000 but now the price has risen to US$ 230,000. This is how much you have to donate to the national fund to qualify for citizenship of the country. (However, there is a more attractive alternative that we will describe below.) We provide only a brief description of the Grenadian citizenship-by-investment program and you can find more details if you follow the link.
You should realize that the price rise is not going to make the Grenadian citizenship-by-investment program less popular. Why? Because all other Caribbean countries administering similar programs have also risen their prices.
In addition to the financial contribution, you have to meet some other requirements to qualify for Grenadian citizenship by investment. First of all, you have to have no criminal past. If you are unable to supply a clean police record, you cannot become a citizen of Grenada. Pointblank.
Second, you have to submit quite a large package of documents when applying for citizenship of Grenada. The good news is that you are going to be assisted in collecting the application documents. We will say even more: you will have to be assisted in the matter. In accordance with the legislation, applications for citizenship of Grenada by investment can be filed only via a licensed immigration agent. The agent charges a substantial fee but he or she is going to help you with the application documents.
Third, you have to be able to prove that the money that you are investing in Grenadian citizenship comes from legal sources. If you are unable to supply documents that clearly demonstrate it, you cannot become a citizen of Grenada.
Fourth, you have to be in good health. You have to add recent medical tests to the application document package. The immigration agent will tell you what tests are required.
Finally, you have to have a personal interview with an officer of the Citizenship-by-Investment Committee. The good thing about the interview is that it is held online.
You can add your family members to the application for citizenship of Grenada and get second passports for them too. However, it is possible to do so in any Caribbean country that ‘sells’ passports to foreigners. That is to say, this fact does not allow Grenada to stand out.
There is another fact that does though and now we are going to point out the more attractive opportunity that we have mentioned above. You can also qualify for citizenship of Grenada if you invest at least US$ 270,000 in real estate in the country. The development project has to be approved by the Government for CBI purposes so you cannot buy any piece of property in Grenada to qualify for citizenship.
However, look how small the difference between the donation amount and the investment amount is! Donate (give away) US$ 230,000 or invest US$ 270,000 and return the investment after 5 years? The choice is simple, we believe.
Other ways of acquiring a passport of Grenada
You can also become a citizen of Grenada by the right of blood (being born to Grenadian parents), by adoption, by registration, and by naturalization. Please note that the right of soil is not applied in Grenada so a child born in the country to citizens of another country does not become a Grenadian.
Citizenship by birth or adoption
A child born to Grenadian parents automatically becomes a citizen of the country. A Grenadian citizen can also adopt a foreign child and the child would become a Grenadian on the date the adoption documents are signed.
Citizenship by registration
You can also register as a citizen of Grenada. This opportunity is available only to citizens of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Republic of Ireland, and spouses of Grenadian citizens. The requirements and the procedures are different in each case. Citizens of the aforementioned jurisdictions have to meet the following requirements:
- Be of good character and have clean police records;
- Have sufficient knowledge of the English language;
- Have lived and worked in Grenada for 5 years (the period can be shortened by the Citizenship Committee but it cannot be less than 12 months);
- Confirm their intention to keep on living in Grenada.
Foreign spouses of Grenadian citizens are registered as Grenadians regardless of their character, knowledge of English, the period of living in Grenada, and intention to stay in the country. When registering as a citizen of Grenada, the foreign national has to take an oath of allegiance.
Citizenship by naturalization
It is also possible to become a naturalized citizen of Grenada. In a standard case, you have to live in the country for 8 years before you can apply for citizenship by naturalization. In some exceptional cases, however, the period can be shortened.
The requirements are not too tough if you want to naturalize in Grenada: you don’t even have to take a language test. You can legally stay in Grenada for a long time on one of the following grounds:
- Employment;
- Business;
- Family reunification;
- Other grounds consistent with immigration law.
We would like to make an important note in conclusion. If you become a citizen of Grenada by investment and then commit a crime, the Government of the country reserves the right to cancel your Grenadian passport. So please behave yourself after obtaining citizenship of Grenada.
