Antigua's Land Holders Licence Application Process by Septimus A. Rhudd, Attorney-at-Law

Autumn - Antigua & Barbuda

A person who is not a Citizen or National of Antigua & Barbuda, and who is desirous of purchasing, or otherwise acquiring, land in Antigua is required to apply for and obtain a Non-Citizen’s Land Holding Licence. This is a statutory requirement.

The process involves the completion of a Licence Application form, in which the Applicant is required to provide certain information about him/herself, details of the land or property being purchased and information about the Vendor. The application form has to be accompanied by two personal reference letters, two bank reference letters, certified copies of the passport pages of the applicant, copies of a survey plan and the pertinent land Register along with a certified copy of a passport sized photograph.

The application documents, along with the accompanying documentation, are then submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands & Marine Resources where they are reviewed and vetted prior to being sent on to the Ministry of Legal Affairs. At the Ministry of Legal Affairs, the application and supporting documents are further reviewed and vetted by the Government’s Legal Officers prior to them being submitted to the Cabinet for its consideration and ultimate approval.

Once the Cabinet Ministers approve the application, appropriate paperwork is then sent onto the Governor General for the issuance of the appropriate Licence. The Applicant is then notified so that the appropriate Licence fee can be paid. The Licence fee payable is 5% of the appraised value of the land being purchased; such appraisal being carried out by the Property Valuation Section of the Inland Revenue Department.

The Licence, once issued, has to be registered within 3 months of the date of issuance in order for it to be deemed valid.

The process is somewhat different if the applicant for the licence is a company. If the company is owned (or is to be owned), substantially by Non-Citizens, and the Directors are Non-Citizens, then those shareholders and directors will need Licences to hold shares in and to be directors of, the company. The company itself will also need a Licence to own the land or property in question. On approval, the stipulated Government fees will then have to be paid for the respective licences. Appropriate corporate documents will have to be provided in support of the application.

The entire process can take anywhere between 3 and 6 months depending on whether all the paperwork is in order. The process may appear unnecessarily complicated but this is attributable to the several administrative steps that have to be taken in order to ensure that the applications are properly processed.

The Law stipulates that, ‘land or property purchased without the necessary Licence can be forfeited by the Government’.

The Government still has a liberal policy in considering licence applications. Only in very rare instances are applications refused.

Antigua still has a lot of prime real estate available for sale so that anyone who is interested in purchasing need only contact one of the many real estate agents on the island who will assist in finding the property that is just right for the prospective purchaser.

Septimus A. Rhudd is an Attorney-at-Law with over 20 years experience, during which time he has been actively engaged in conveyancing and other real estate matters.
He can be reached at TEL: (268) 460 6184 or
FAX: (268) 460 6183 or by e-mail at lawrhudd@candw.ag