Antigua Nomad Digital Residence

The Antigua and Barbuda Nomad Digital Residence or NDR, was a government remote-work visa for foreign workers who wanted to live in the country while keeping their job or clients abroad. It let eligible applicants and their families stay for up to 24 months, which is a lot longer than a regular tourist stay.

The setup was pretty specific. Applicants needed to earn at least about USD 50,000 a year from outside Antigua and Barbuda and they weren’t allowed to take local employment or do business in the island’s domestic market. That made it a fit for remote professionals, but not for anyone hoping to plug into the local labor market.

It also wasn’t treated like ordinary visitor status. The programme required health insurance, used a separate fee structure and gave holders a special-resident authorization, but it did not count toward immigration residence or permanent residence. In plain terms, it was a temporary base, not a path to settling permanently.

The NDR was created under the Immigration and Passport (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 2020. The official programme description said it allowed a person “to live in and work from Antigua and Barbuda for a period of up to 24 months.”

Current status: The Department of Immigration has discontinued the NDR Programme effective Nov. 15, 2025. No new applications are being accepted, though existing visa holders may stay until their current authorization expires.

• Who it was for: Remote workers and dependants whose income came from outside Antigua and Barbuda
• Income threshold: About USD 50,000 a year
• Stay length: Up to 24 months in the first instance
• Work restriction: No local employment or local business activity
• Key extras: Health insurance and a separate fee structure

It was marketed to remote professionals who wanted a Caribbean base while keeping their tax residence elsewhere. That pitch worked for a few years, but the programme is now closed to new applicants.

The Antigua and Barbuda Nomad Digital Residence was built for remote workers, not job seekers looking to tap the local market. To qualify, you had to earn at least $50,000 a year from outside Antigua and Barbuda, hold a valid passport and carry health insurance for the full NDR period for yourself and any dependants.

The legal test was fairly specific. The Act required proof that your income came from outside Antigua and Barbuda, proof of employment or self-employment and a police certificate or clearance for each applicant over 16. Officials also had to approve the visa, which could be granted for up to 24 months.

Dependants could be included and the official materials mention a spouse and other family members. The catch is that you need proof of the relationship and the rules don’t spell out a nationality restriction in the law or the booklet.

There are also hard limits on what you can do once you’re there. NDR holders weren’t allowed to work for an Antigua and Barbuda employer, offer services for a fee to a local business or person or run a business in the domestic market. If you crossed that line, the visa could be revoked.

One thing the program did not do was build a path to permanent residence. Time spent on an NDR doesn’t count toward residence under section 40, so it won’t help you qualify for a residence permit later.

The bigger catch is timing. The Department of Immigration discontinued the NDR Programme effective 15 Nov. 2025, so no new applications are being accepted now. Existing visa holders may stay until their current authorization runs out.

The Antigua and Barbuda Nomad Digital Residence was built for remote workers with paperwork to prove it. Applicants had to show they earned at least EC$135,000 or US$50,000 a year from outside Antigua and Barbuda and they had to promise they wouldn’t take local jobs or sell services in the country.

The government discontinued the programme effective Nov. 15, 2025, so no new applications are being accepted now. Existing holders can stay until their current authorization runs out, but the programme no longer takes fresh files.

Documents the official form asked for

• Completed Nomad Digital Residence Application Form: The form asked for proposed entry and departure dates, intended address in Antigua and Barbuda and a declaration that the applicant and dependants wouldn’t work locally.
• Passport-sized photograph(s): Required for the main applicant and dependants.
• Passport biodata page(s): Passports had to be valid and copies of the biodata pages were required.
• Proof of relationship for dependants: Needed for family members included in the application.
• Proof of income: Evidence of income at the minimum annual threshold of EC$135,000 or US$50,000.
• Proof of employment: This included self-employment, so freelancers and independent contractors had to document their work too.
• Police certificate or police clearance: Required for each applicant over age 16.
• Valid medical insurance: The official booklet treated this as a prerequisite, not an optional extra.

The government booklet also described the income threshold as £30,000 a year in promotional material, but the operative requirement in the legal schedule was EC$135,000 or US$50,000 annually. That’s the figure applicants should have used.

The official sources don’t spell out any apostille, notarization or certified translation rules for supporting documents. They also don’t list a fixed processing time, so anyone looking for a neat timeline won’t find one in the government paperwork.

The Antigua and Barbuda Nomad Digital Residence wasn't cheap and the fee structure was pretty blunt about it. The government set the application fee by household size and it was non-refundable.

• Single applicant: EC$4,050 or US$1,500
• Couple: EC$5,400 or US$2,000
• Family of three or more: EC$8,100 or US$3,000

Those fees covered the full 24-month residence period. There wasn't a separate renewal charge because the NDR wasn't renewable. If your family had more than three dependants, the official visa page said there was an extra fee of $650 for each additional dependant, though it didn't spell out the currency in that note.

To qualify, you had to earn at least about US$50,000 a year from outside Antigua and Barbuda and you couldn't take a job or run a business in the local market. The program also required health insurance, but the government didn't publish a fixed premium, so that cost depended on the provider you picked.

That lack of detail applies to other extras too. Official immigration materials don't give fixed figures for document translation, legal help or similar admin costs. Approved applicants were told by email within 14 days of submitting completed forms and supporting documents, then paid the fee and received a receipt before the visa was issued on arrival.

One more thing matters now: the Department of Immigration discontinued the NDR Programme effective 15 Nov. 2025, so new applications aren't being accepted. Existing holders could stay until their current authorization expires, but there isn't a new fee schedule to apply under anymore.

The Antigua and Barbuda Nomad Digital Residence was handled by the Immigration Department, not by embassies. The programme asked applicants to apply from abroad, wait for approval, then travel with the approval receipt in hand. That part mattered, because the visa was issued on arrival after payment, not as a standard tourist stamp.

The official booklet says applicants submitted the completed Nomad Digital Residence application form with supporting documents to the NDR Unit within the Immigration Department. It also says the ministry would email approval within 14 days after it received the completed form and all supporting documents. There isn’t a current official fixed processing time beyond that booklet guidance.

• Application form: the completed Nomad Digital Residence application form.
• Identity documents: passport biodata page and photographs.
• Family evidence: proof of relationship for dependants.
• Financial and work evidence: proof of income and employment, showing earnings from outside Antigua and Barbuda.
• Clearance and health coverage: police certificates and medical insurance.

To qualify, the programme targeted remote workers earning at least about $50,000 a year from outside Antigua and Barbuda. It also barred local employment or business activity, so this wasn’t a back door into the domestic job market. The stay was up to 24 months.

After approval, the applicant was told to pay the non-refundable fees. The receipt was then used to get the visa on arrival in Antigua and Barbuda. The official materials also say families with more than three dependants paid extra fees, but the programme’s formal fee schedule has its own separate structure.

There’s one big catch now. The Department of Immigration discontinued the NDR Programme effective Nov. 15, 2025, so new applications aren’t being accepted. Existing holders may remain until their current authorization ends and the Department of Immigration says they can contact it for guidance.

The Antigua and Barbuda Nomad Digital Residence was built as a two-year stay, not a path to settle long term. Section 12A of the Immigration and Passport Act says the visa lets eligible remote workers live and work from Antigua and Barbuda for “a period of up to 24 months,” and the schedule adds that the NDR visa is “valid for 24 months and isn't renewable.”

That makes the answer on renewal pretty blunt: there isn’t one. If you got the visa, you could stay for the full 24 months, but the rules don’t allow an extension beyond that first authorization. The government’s own materials describe it as a special-resident authorization for up to two years in the first instance, which matches the law.

The programme also had a firm end date. The Department of Immigration discontinued the NDR Programme effective 15 November 2025, so no new applications are being accepted now. Existing visa holders may remain until their current authorization expires, but the official notice doesn’t create any extra stay beyond the original 24-month limit.

There’s another catch that matters if you’re thinking about future status. Time spent in Antigua and Barbuda on an NDR visa does not count as residency for a residence permit under section 40, so the visa doesn’t move you toward permanent residence. It also doesn’t, by itself, lead to citizenship.

• Maximum validity: 24 months
• Renewal: Not renewable under the statute
• Programme status: Discontinued for new applicants effective 15 Nov. 2025
• Residency credit: Time on NDR doesn’t count toward residence permit eligibility

One practical takeaway, if you’re reading old guidance or marketing copy, is that the visa was never designed as a repeatable stay. It was a one-shot, time-limited remote-work permit and the law is clear about that.

The tax picture under the Antigua and Barbuda Nomad Digital Residence was pretty simple and that was the point. The government’s booklet says successful applicants and their dependants are expected to pay income tax in the countries where they’re normally resident and that no personal income tax is payable to Antigua and Barbuda.

That doesn’t mean you can treat the program like a tax-free shortcut. The NDR was built for people earning at least about USD 50,000 a year from outside Antigua and Barbuda and the rules specifically barred holders from working for local employers, offering services to Antigua and Barbuda registered businesses or earning income from the local market.

So the tax logic is straightforward, but narrow. If your income stays offshore and your tax home stays elsewhere, the program’s own materials point you back to your home-country tax obligations, not to Antigua and Barbuda’s personal income tax system.

The catch is that the official documents don’t go much further than that. They don’t spell out tax residency thresholds, double-taxation treaty treatment or filing duties for NDR holders, so you’d need to check the general tax rules in your home country and any applicable treaty before you rely on the program’s headline tax line.

There’s also a compliance angle here. The Immigration and Passport (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 2020 says NDR holders can’t take local employment, provide paid services to people or businesses registered in Antigua and Barbuda or run a domestic business and the visa can be revoked if they do.

Bottom line: the NDR wasn’t designed to create a new Antigua and Barbuda tax residency path. It was designed to let remote workers stay for up to 24 months while keeping their income and tax affairs outside the local economy.

• Income tax in Antigua and Barbuda: No personal income tax is payable under the NDR.
• Expected tax home: The country where you’re normally resident.
• Local income: Not allowed under the program.
• Open tax questions: Residency tests, treaty treatment and reporting rules aren’t set out in the NDR booklet.