Grenada in the Caribbean is one of the countries that grant citizenship to foreign investors. You would not have to renounce your current citizenship if you applied for citizenship of Grenada unless dual citizenship is prohibited in your home country. Grenada does allow dual citizenship. If you would like to obtain a second passport, you will have to investment options if you choose Grenada for this purpose:
- Make a donation of US$ 150,000 to the National Transformation Fund (US$ 200,000 for a family of four). The word ‘donation’ suggests that it is going to be non-returnable. On the other hand, you should be aware that your money will be used to finance socially important projects.
- Purchase real estate in Grenada that costs at least US$ 220,000. This is going to be a returnable investment because you will be able to sell your property after 5 years while keeping your Grenadian passport. Please note, however, that you cannot invest into any piece of property that you like: the development project needs to be approved by the local Government for citizenship-by-investment purposes.
Under pressure from the international community, Grenada is toughening the due diligence procedures. A new requirement has been recently introduced that makes the procedure of obtaining a Grenadian passport a bit more complicated. Namely, personal interviews with applicants for Grenadian citizenship have been made mandatory.
At the same time, you still don’t have to visit Grenada to apply for its citizenship because the interview can be held at the Grenadian consulate in your country or even online. With some professional support, obtaining a Grenadian passport is not going to be too difficult. The InternationalWealth portal is a place where you can find a reliable partner. You can also find much more information about the Grenadian citizenship-by-investment program if you visit the website.
Facts about Grenada
Grenada is a rather poor Caribbean country. Nearly 10 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and the unemployment rate is also high. Corruption in the Government is another problem in Grenada even though human rights are securely protected in Grenada, as the country is a true democracy.
The minimum wage depends on the occupation and the lowest wage of 1.57 dollars per hour is what house cleaners earn in Grenada. The entire population of the country has access to medical services but their quality may not be very high. Grenada lacks some medical specialists and certain drugs can be out of stock in the pharmacies.
On the other hand, these problems are typical in the Caribbean. A small island country will naturally suffer from lack of resources and many countries in the region are nothing else but small island countries.
The country has advantages too. For instance, no personal income tax is charged in Grenada. There are no property nor inheritance taxes either. The price of a Grenadian passport is also quite competitive and the term of citizenship acquisition is 4 to 8 months.
Besides, the climate is highly comfortable in Grenada. The temperature is about +25 degrees centigrade all around the year and the cool sea breeze does not let you feel hot. What makes Grenada especially attractive for living there is the fact that it is outside the hurricane belt. Hurricanes bring huge problems to some other Caribbean countries but not to Grenada and to the islands to the south of it. Even though the living standards are not exactly high in Grenada, this is one of the safest islands in the Caribbean as far as personal security is concerned.
Grenada’s economy in figures
Grenada is often referred to as a ‘spice island’ because many spices grow on the island. Grenada exports nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon. The national currency is the East Caribbean dollar (XCD) and it is pegged to the US dollar at the rate of 37 US cents for 1 XCD.
A single person can survive on 500-600 dollars per month excluding the price of residential accommodations. A modest one-bedroom apartment in the city costs about 500 dollars per month while an apartment in a rural area can cost 250-300 dollars per month.
Local food is cheap especially if you buy it at farmers’ markets or small shops. Fruit sells at 50 cents to 1 dollar per kilogram. Below we quote some prices in Grenada in US dollars:
- McCombo in McDonald’s – 7.60
- Diner with drinks at an inexpensive restaurants – 8.30
- A 0.33 l bottle of Coca Cola – 1.70
- Milk, 1 liter – 1.50
- Gasoline, 1 liter – 1.30
- Kindergarten, per month – 115.00
- 1 pair of sneakers – 85.00
- Utilities per month, one-bedroom apartment – 80.00
- Unlimited internet 60 Mb/s, per month – 40.00
Notwithstanding the low rankings of Grenada in international ratings, the local authorities are trying to bring the living standards closer to those in such more prosperous Caribbean countries as Barbados of the Dominican Republic.
In March 2023, the Government of Grenada initiated consultations on raising the minimum wage in the country. Currently, the minimum wage is 1.7 US dollars per hour or 6,556 dollars per year.
The average salary in Grenada in 2023 is about 6,200 XCD (2,300 USD) per month. 25% of the workers are paid less than 4,020 XCD per month.
Economic indicators in Grenada
The economy of Grenada continues to recover from the sharp drop attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic. The economy of the country fell by 13.8% in 2020. In 2021, the economy grew by 4.7% due to the improvements in the sectors of tourism, construction, agriculture, and fishery. In 2022, the growth rate was 6% thanks to the tourism, construction, retail, and wholesale revival.
Prices for food and fuel can be unstable in Grenada due to the fluctuations in the international markets. Nevertheless, the financial sector has been stable and the recent fiscal measures have had a positive effect on business. The number of foreign tourists arriving in Grenada rose significantly in 2022. In particular, there were six times as many tourists from Canada as the year before.
The table below shows Grenada’s GDP in the period between 2019 and 2022.
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| GDP, billion USD | 1.21 | 1.04 | 1.12 | 1.2 |
| Changes in relation to the previous year | 0.68% | — 13.8% | 4.7% | 6% |
| GDP per capita. thousand USD | 9.88 | 8.44 | 9.01 | 9.8 |
| Inflation rate | 0.6% | — 0.7% | 1.2% | 2.7% |
A curious fact about Grenada
In conclusion, we would like to share a curious fact about Grenada with you. Many streets don’t have names and houses don’t have numbers in the country. To address a letter to Grenada, you may have to write something like this, for example: ‘To the left of the police station; next to a large mango tree; house with a red roof’. If you live in Grenada and somebody sends you a parcel from abroad, it will be dropped at the airport or one of the FedEx offices and they will call you on the phone and ask you to pick the parcel.
All in all, Grenada is a pretty nice country and you have to visit it one day. Maybe you will fall in love with it and want to ‘buy’ Grenadian citizenship to live there for the rest of your life… Who knows?