A Bahamas contractor said the country should consider introducing a Citizenship by Investment program to expand opportunities for direct foreign investment outside the real estate sector.

“I think citizenship by investment is one of the things we can do to get some revenue coming in,” he explained.

“We have an attractive system here. We have a good banking system that a lot of Caribbean countries don’t have, which is first world banking, and a lot of people are more attracted to come here.”

There is currently a residency program on the islands. An investor needs to contribute $750,000 in real estate. However, according to the developer, “If you had a citizenship program to rebuild the country, a person would come in and make a donation. Out of that $750,000, let’s say $300,000 went to rebuild schools and roads, and the other $450,000 went to helping combat the coronavirus, help the National Insurance Board and some of the national issues – all of the things that would benefit the majority of the people rather than the minority.”

Such initiatives are not new and have already been discussed in the past, but they have been rejected. Instead, the former finance minister focused on speeding up applications for permanent residence.

The plans provide citizenship to a limited group of people who meet certain criteria. The amount of investment is several million dollars. That is, the program will be aimed at a very narrow group of people: billionaires and multimillionaires with the resources to advance the economy.

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Is the Citizenship By Investment Program in The Bahamas Possible?