Moving to Grenada in 2026: citizenship by investment and access to the US E-2 visa

Grenadian tax law defines a resident, for a given tax year, by a combination of presence and domicile criteria, the presence threshold being set at 183 days².

The income tax schedule is short and includes a first exempt band, at 0%³, by way of an allowance applied to cumulative remuneration. Above that, individuals are taxed under a progressive scale.

This schedule should be read for what it is: a tax system designed for locally earned income. It is not an attractive feature for a high-income expatriate, and it is not what draws people to Grenada.

We do not publish rates for capital gains or inheritance. The absence of such taxation is regularly put forward for Grenada; we have not found an official page establishing it explicitly and with a date, and we do not repeat a claim that we have been unable to verify.

As with the other Eastern Caribbean states, the decisive point for a French national is not Grenadian domestic law but ending French tax domicile. As long as the household or the centre of economic interests remains in France, Article 4 B of the French General Tax Code continues to apply, whatever nationality has been acquired.

Indirect taxation — value added tax and excise duties on imported goods — accounts for a significant share of revenue. For an actual resident, it weighs on the cost of living far more than the income tax schedule.

Grenada runs a citizenship by investment programme managed by a dedicated agency, the Investment Migration Agency, which publishes its fee schedules.

The National Transformation Fund

The donation route requires a contribution to the National Transformation Fund of $235,000⁴ for a single applicant. The same amount applies to a couple made up of the main applicant and their spouse.

This fee structure is worth noting: the marginal cost of a spouse is nil up to a certain point, which makes the option clearly more advantageous for a couple than for a single person, relative to the number of beneficiaries.

The real estate route

The real estate option requires an investment in an approved project, for which the minimum amount applicable to a single applicant is from $270,000⁵ depending on the formula chosen, to which government fees are added.

What sets Grenada apart

One element distinguishes this programme from its regional competitors: Grenada is party to a treaty with the United States allowing its nationals to apply for an E-2 investor visa. This is why part of the demand comes from applicants whose ultimate goal is not Grenada but a professional move to the United States.

This route, however, also requires meeting all the conditions specific to the US visa — a substantial investment, a genuine business, and the intention to depart. Grenadian citizenship is only the prerequisite, never the guarantee.

Government fees, due diligence fees and the amounts applicable to large families are not reproduced here: they do not appear in full in our extracts and should be requested from an authorised agent.

Acquisition by a foreigner in principle requires an alien landholding licence, except under the citizenship programme, which carries its own regime.

The market open to applicants consists of approved projects, mainly hotels or managed residences, whose resale is most often aimed at another applicant to the programme. Liquidity therefore depends on the continuity of the scheme, not on local demand.

A minimum holding period is generally imposed before a resale can in turn qualify for citizenship. This period ties up capital and must be built into the cash-flow plan, just like the amount invested.

Holding costs on an island — insurance against climate risks, upkeep in a tropical climate, remote management — also weigh on net yield more than any tax differential.

We publish neither Grenadian transfer duties, nor property tax, nor the minimum holding period imposed on property acquired through the programme: they do not appear in our sources.

Grenada is a small island economy that relies heavily on imports. Processed food, equipment and fuel arrive by ship, and their prices include freight and excise duties.

We do not publish a typical monthly budget: we have not found an official Grenadian series measuring a basket of expenses comparable to that of an expatriate.

Three items dominate the budget of an actual resident. Electricity, produced from imported fuels. Healthcare, where serious cases require evacuation to a regional centre, which makes international insurance essential. And schooling, for an international curriculum.

The island, on the other hand, produces its own spices, fruit and part of its fish: fresh local food is inexpensive, and the gap with Europe depends entirely on what one chooses to consume.

As with the other Caribbean programmes, however, the question does not arise for most holders: they do not live there. Grenada differs from its neighbours here in having no residence requirement, which makes it a purely wealth-planning citizenship.

1. Go through an authorised agent, as direct filing is not provided for;
2. choose between donation and real estate according to the make-up of the household and the holding horizon: the donation is permanently lost, whereas the investment is tied up and then potentially recoverable;
3. budget for the whole — contribution or investment, government fees, due diligence, professional fees — and not only the advertised threshold;
4. if the aim is the US E-2 visa, have a competent adviser confirm beforehand that the intended business project is eligible;
5. treat leaving France as a separate matter: nationality does not amount to a transfer of tax residence.

The fourth point is the one that most often disappoints. Obtaining Grenadian citizenship is a well-defined procedure; obtaining a US E-2 is a discretionary review of a business project. The two differ both in difficulty and in predictability.

We do not publish processing times: we have no official, quantified and dated source for the Grenadian programme.

• Citizenship brings neither tax residence nor an exit from French tax domicile.
• Access to the US E-2 visa is a possibility opened by the treaty, never a right: it requires a business file that is examined separately.
• Property acquired through the programme is traded on a sub-market whose liquidity depends on the programme itself.
• The advertised amounts are not the full cost: government fees, due diligence and professional fees come on top.
• A Grenadian passport gives visa-free access to about 148⁶ — markedly fewer than a European Union passport.

Finally, Eastern Caribbean programmes are under continuing international pressure: coordinated increases in thresholds, tighter due diligence requirements, and periodic review of visa exemptions by major partners. For a French national, the value of a Grenadian passport therefore lies neither in mobility, which it reduces, nor in taxation, which it does not resolve: it lies in the treaty with the United States, and in that alone. That is the point on which the operation should be judged.