Bahamas: annual residence more accessible than permanent residence

Economic permanent residence requires a minimum investment of from $1,000,000¹, or about about €1,000,000², made in real estate or through the purchase of zero-coupon bonds issued by the central bank.

In both cases, the asset must be held for a minimum period of from 10 years³. The capital is therefore tied up for a decade.

The threshold was raised on 1 January 2025; it was previously set at a much lower level, which makes all earlier documentation out of date.

A renewable annual residence also exists for financially independent people. It is based on proof of means and a home in the archipelago, without any comparable tying-up of capital.

We do not publish the conditions of this annual residence, the means required, or the application fees and processing times: they do not appear in the official sources we have been able to verify. They must be confirmed with the Bahamas Department of Immigration.

An annual status has to be renewed, and each renewal is a decision. A permanent status, once acquired, no longer depends on a recurring administrative assessment.

This difference is decisive for a family move: enrolling children in school, signing a long lease or buying a property requires a degree of visibility that annual renewal does not offer.

The permanent residence certificate also confers, in the terms used by the Department of Immigration, the right to reside and to work — which sets the Bahamas apart from many comparable schemes.

Finally, there is an intermediate route: the government states that buying a residence worth at least $1,500,000⁴ gives access to accelerated consideration of the application. This is processing priority, not an automatic right.

One last factor distinguishes the two routes: the real cost. Annual residence is paid for in recurring fees and rent; permanent residence is paid for in capital tied up, whose cost is measured by the return forgone over a decade.

Depending on the level of wealth and the project's time horizon, either may come out ahead. For a stay of a few years, the annual route is almost always the more rational choice.

The Bahamas has never introduced personal income tax, and corporate profits are not taxed: the applicable rate is 0%⁵, excluding the top-up minimum tax aimed at large groups.

But the absence of local tax does not end French tax domicile. Article 4 B of the code général des impôts (French General Tax Code) sets out four alternative criteria, and just one is enough to maintain it.

There is also no tax treaty between France and the Bahamas: no treaty mechanism is available to resolve dual residency, and the only protection lies in an actual, documented severance of ties.

Finally, leaving triggers the exit tax above more than €800,000⁶ of securities, and since the archipelago is not part of the European Economic Area, deferral requires guarantees and a tax representative, applied for at least from 90 days⁷ before the transfer.

Finally, the absence of income tax masks a real indirect tax burden: consumption tax in a country where almost everything is imported, annual property tax, and stamp duty on transfers.

• Annual residence is accessible but must be renewed, which limits visibility.
• Permanent residence requires from $1,000,000¹ tied up for from 10 years³.
• Neither one moves French tax domicile.
• There is no tax treaty between France and the Bahamas.
• The proximity of Florida creates a risk of US tax residency through physical presence.

Finally, hurricane risk is the major practical constraint: it makes insurance expensive and sometimes hard to obtain, depending on the property's construction and exposure. For an annual status with a rented rather than purchased home, this risk is borne by the landlord — which, paradoxically, is an advantage of the less committing route.