The Bahamas · Residency by investment
Economic Certificate of Permanent Residence
Reformed
Last verified July 2026
Open but repriced. The minimum investment rose from BSD 750,000 to BSD 1,000,000 with effect from 1 January 2025, and a 10-year holding condition now applies — the Immigration Board may revoke residency if the investment is disposed of earlier. BSD is pegged 1:1 to USD.
This is one of very few places on earth offering lifetime residency, genuine zero taxation on income, capital gains and estates, and a 50-minute flight to Miami. For a US-adjacent family that wants the tax result and does not need another passport, it is close to unbeatable. But it is a residency play only: no dual citizenship means the naturalisation endgame is closed for essentially every UHNW client.
Qualifying routes
$1M
Bahamian real estate
BSD 1,000,000 minimum, held for at least 10 years. Raised from BSD 750,000 on 1 January 2025.
$1M
Central Bank zero-coupon bonds
BSD 1,000,000 in zero-coupon bonds issued by the Central Bank of The Bahamas, held for at least 10 years.
The facts
- Minimum investment
- $1M
- Total landed cost
- The government fee is BSD 20,000 without the right to work or BSD 25,000 with it, plus BSD 300 per endorsed spouse or minor child and a BSD 200 processing fee. The real cost driver is the 10% VAT on real estate conveyance, charged on the full purchase price and customarily split 50/50 between buyer and seller — on a BSD 1m qualifying purchase that is BSD 100,000 of VAT, roughly BSD 50,000 borne by the buyer. Budget BSD 1.08–1.10m all-in on the property route, before legal fees.
- Timeline
- 6–18 months — Interview typically at 2–3 months. An accelerated-consideration tier at a higher investment level is widely cited by law firms and brokers but we could NOT verify it against any primary source and it may have moved with the 2025 repricing — see watchOuts.
- Physical presence
- No statutory minimum to hold the certificate, but an intention to reside is required and roughly 90 days per year is the practical expectation. A tax residency certificate specifically requires 90+ days in The Bahamas and no more than 183 days in any other single country.
- Family
- spouse (see the gender defect in watchOuts)dependent children under 18
- Permanent residency
- immediate — this IS permanent residency, valid for life unless revoked
- Citizenship
- 10 years of legal permanent residence, including the 12 months immediately preceding application, plus residence of at least 6 years in the preceding period. Realistically 11–13 years from arrival.
- Language test
- none
- Dual citizenship
- Not permitted — you would have to renounce
- Requirements
- BSD 1,000,000 minimum investment in real estate or Central Bank zero-coupon bonds, held 10 yearsclean police certificatemedical certificatecharacter referencesfinancial self-sufficiencyintention to reside
What can go wrong
- Repricing risk is proven, not theoretical: BSD 500,000 to 750,000 to 1,000,000. A client underwriting on today's number should assume it moves again.
- The 10-year holding condition is new (post-1 January 2025) and converts 'residency' into a decade-long illiquid position. Sell in year six and the Immigration Board MAY revoke your status. Pre-2025 grantees are on different terms.
- The 10% conveyance VAT is the real entry cost, not the government fee. On a BSD 1m purchase it is BSD 100,000, customarily split with the seller. Nobody advertises this. Model it.
- Permanent residence does NOT automatically carry the right to work. The official fee scale prices the certificate at BSD 20,000 without the right to engage in gainful occupation and BSD 25,000 with it — so the right to work is purchasable for a BSD 5,000 delta, which is remarkably cheap and badly under-advertised. Working in your own Bahamian company additionally requires prior approval-in-principle from the National Economic Council, a political rather than clerical body.
- A gender defect in the statute: certificates are endorsed to 'the wife or any dependent child', and practitioners report that female certificate holders cannot currently endorse a spouse. For a female principal applicant this is a live structural problem and the male spouse may need his own basis of stay. Bahamian constitutional referenda on gender equality failed in 2002 and 2016, so do not assume it is fixed.
- The tax residency certificate is a CRS tripwire, not a CRS shield. It was introduced in response to OECD criticism that the residency programme was being used to defeat CRS. Obtaining it makes your accounts reportable as Bahamian — that is its purpose.
- No dual citizenship after age 21. The endpoint here is permanent foreigner status, however long you stay.
- Permanent residence is granted at the discretion of the Immigration Board with no appeal as of right, and 'good character' is subjectively assessed.
- A proposed 'foreign owner-occupied' real property tax category in the 2026–27 Budget would apply a flat 0.625% with no exemption (capped BSD 200,000/yr), removing the BSD 300,000 exemption that owner-occupiers currently enjoy. Proposed, not yet law — but it targets exactly this client profile.
- The accelerated-consideration tier (widely quoted at BSD 1.5m) could not be verified against any primary source. Confirm with Bahamian counsel before quoting it to a client.
- The Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax Act 2024 introduced a 15% QDMTT from 2024, but only for MNE groups with EUR 750m+ revenue. It is irrelevant to the individual client. The IMF renewed its call for a personal income tax in December 2025; the Davis administration has repeatedly and publicly refused. No personal income tax is drafted or proposed.