Antigua and Barbuda - Apply for Residency Permit

Advertisement

Procedure

1. To apply for a residency permit you will need to personally appear to the Immigration Department. Check if you will need to make an appointment first with the Immigration Department before going (see contact info under 'Office Locations & Contacts').
2. Submit an application using the prescribed form together with all the required documents. (see requirements below)
3. Pay the application fee.

Advertisement

Required Documents

Married to a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda:

• a copy of the marriage certificate
• Accompanied by spouse
• Proof of spouse’s citizenship
• His/Her Passport
• A police certificate of Character
• A health Certificate
• Proof of insurance ***

A student attending an educational institution:

• The acceptance letter from the school
• Report from School (after one year of attendance)
• A place of residence
• A sponsorship letter – notarized.
• A letter of Financial support which states that the applicant is financially able of supporting himself while residing and attending school.
• His/her passport
• A police certificate of Character
• A health Certificate
• Proof of insurance ***

Note: *** Students are not permitted to work while holding this status***

Employees within the Public sector of Antigua and Barbuda:

• A letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry that he is attached.
• His/her passport
• Police record
• A return ticket

Persons who are no longer employed by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda must return to the department to cancel the endorsement.

Work Permit Holders: (Must be residing in Antigua and Barbuda for a minimum of four (4) years):

• Has an approved work permit signed by the Minister at the time of application
• Receipts showing his/her contribution of taxes.
• A police certificate of Character
• A health Certificate
• Proof of insurance ***
• A return ticket
• His/her passport

Entrepreneurs or investors:

• Must be residing in Antigua and Barbuda for a minimum of two (2)years
• Must be in possession of his/her passport
• Must be in possession of his business registration certificate
• A police record
• Receipts showing his/her contribution of taxes.
• A police certificate of Character
• A health Certificate
• Proof of insurance ***

Persons of Independent Means: (Have lawfully resides in Antigua and Barbuda for a minimum of five (5) years):

• Passport
• Proof of property ownership
• Proof of financial sustainability.
• Receipts showing his/her contribution of taxes.
• A police certificate of Character
• A health Certificate
• Proof of insurance ***

Office Locations & Contacts

Department of Immigration
Long and Thames Streets, St. John’s, Antigua
Tel: (268)-562-1387, 562-1389
Fax Local: (268)-562-1388
Fax Overseas: (268)-562-1388
Email: [email protected]

Eligibility

A Resident Permit can be granted to a person who, by virtue of a residency, has lawfully resided in Antigua and Barbuda for four years without interruption.

Furthermore, the applicant must meet the requirements set for the granting of a resident permit.

Resident permit may be granted to other classification of persons such as follows:

• A student after one year of attending a tertiary educational institution,
• A person of independent means after residing in Antigua and Barbuda for two years;
• A government employee
• An entrepreneur or investors who has acquired two years of work permit in Antigua and Barbuda
• A person after one year of marriage to a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda.

Fees

Explain the fees structure which is required for obtaining the certificate/document.

Validity

A Residency Permit is granted for three (3) years.

If the reason for the stay in Antigua and Barbuda is for studies, which will be completed within a certain period of time known in advance, the permit can be granted, on discretion, for a shorter period; however, not for more than three (3) years.

Extension of stay: A person who has a continuous residence permit may be granted a Resident Permit of no more than three (3) years at a time. A person who has a student resident permit may be granted a resident permit of one year at a time or a Resident Permit to cover the remaining time for studies if known.

Documents to Use

Please attach documents that can be used by people. e.g. links

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Processing Time

Please explain processing time taken in obtaining the document/certificate.

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. 
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites. 	
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver, 
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Instructions

Applications for Resident Permits must be submitted to the Immigration Department on the prescribed form. The Chief Immigration officer will decide on the granting of a permit.

Required Information

A list which displays the kind of information which is required to complete the procedure.
e.g.
1. Date of Birth.
2. City or County of Birth.

Need for the Document

Please provide the need for the procedure. e.g. Birth Certificate - why do we need to have a birth certificate? 
 

Information which might help

A Residence Permit is revoked if the person who has been granted the permit:

• has moved away from Antigua and Barbuda on a permanent basis, or
• organises or engages in subversive political activity, or organises, causes or promotes racism within Antigua and Barbuda;
• gives, in the application for permission to remain in Antigua and Barbuda, information that the Chief Immigration Officer has reasons to believe is false in a material particular or concealed a material fact;
• is convicted of an offence against the laws of Antigua and Barbuda including serious offence reasonably believed to be facilitating the commission of any serious offence in Antigua and Barbuda;
• is convicted of an offence under the laws of another country, the nature of which offence would, in the opinion of the Chief Immigration Officer, make his or her continued presence in Antigua and Barbuda contrary to the public interest;
• becomes a charge on the Consolidated Fund;
• is reasonably believed to be living on or receiving the proceeds of crimes;
• is deemed by the Cabinet to be an undesirable resident of Antigua and Barbuda;
• resides outside Antigua and Barbuda continuously for a period of 6 months or more; or

(i) is reasonably believed to be, or has been, engaging in activities that are or are likely to be prejudicial to the national security of Antigua and Barbuda or the maintenance of law, public

• A Resident Permit can also be revoked if the grounds for granting the permit no longer exist.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

Department of Immigration

Others

More information which might help people.