By NAN Business Editor
News Americas, New York, NY, July 8, 2024: On the heels of Hurricane Beryl, officials in Grenada have extended the fee increase deadline for applicants to its Citizenship by Investment (CBI) program.
A family stands outside their home destroyed by Hurricane Beryl in Grenada. ( UNICEF/Sam Ogilvie image)
A statement issued by the Investment Migration Agency (IMA), which manages the program, noted that a revised pricing structure was scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2024. However, Grenada, along with other countries in the Windward Islands, was impacted by the category 4 storm, which caused widespread damage and disruption on the same day the new pricing structure was due to be implemented.
“Acknowledging the unforeseen challenges faced by our valued partners during this period, the Agency has decided to extend the application submission deadline to July 12, 2024,” the IMA said. “This extension aims to provide agents and the bank adequate time to effectively manage their responsibilities considering recent events, thereby ensuring the smooth processing of applications under the updated pricing framework.”
The IMA emphasized that the hurricane impacted the ability of agents and the Grenada Co-operative Bank to meet the original application submission deadline, as it required time for preparation, recovery, and subsequent operational adjustments.
Grenada, alongside Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Kitts-Nevis, and St. Lucia, is part of the sub-regional Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States that signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishing a minimum investment threshold of US$200,000, effective July 1, 2024.
Grenada’s revised pricing structure, published in an extraordinary government gazette on June 26, sets the threshold for a single applicant under the National Transformation Fund at US$235,000. For those investing in an approved project, the cost is US$270,000 for a single applicant or a family of up to four.
The IMA clarified that only fully completed applications submitted to Grenada Co-operative Bank Limited by June 30, 2024, with all required documents, will be accepted under the old price structure. Applications submitted by this date but incomplete will be processed under the new price structure once all required documents are provided.
Furthermore, any applications accepted under the old price structure but pending bank clearance must resolve all matters to the bank’s satisfaction and have funds received and cleared for submission to the IMA by July 31, 2024.
This extension is intended to ensure that all stakeholders can manage their responsibilities effectively in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, thus supporting the continued success of Grenada’s CBI program.
