Barbados: long-term residence for investors, retirees and high-net-worth families

The Special Entry and Reside Permit is granted under the Immigration Act (Cap. 190) and is applied for on the Immigration Department's Form B, which allows the Chief Immigration Officer to vary a non-national's permitted period and conditions of stay. The permit is organised in categories. Category 1 is aimed at high-net-worth individuals who invest at least US$2 million in Barbados from funds brought in from abroad, without a mortgage, and who can show net worth above US$5 million; holders may also obtain a work permit for a separate fee. Category 2 is for retirees and others of independent means who own Barbados property worth at least US$300,000, acquired with foreign-sourced funds; it does not permit work. Further categories cover people whose skills are considered important to the country's development and parents or grandparents aged 60 or over of Barbadian citizens. As the SERP rests on policy rather than detailed legislation, thresholds and fees can change.

Validity depends on the category and age of the applicant. Permits are generally issued for five-year periods and renewed until the holder reaches 60, after which status may be granted indefinitely. There is no fixed minimum number of days that must be spent on the island, although the permit is intended for people who genuinely make Barbados a home. Applicants must hold health insurance valid in Barbados, show sufficient means to support themselves and their dependants, and provide police certificates from every country where they have lived for six months or more in the last three years.

Tax residence in Barbados depends on presence and domicile. An individual present for 182 days or more in an income year is generally treated as resident. A resident who is also domiciled in Barbados is taxed on worldwide income, while a resident who is not domiciled is taxed on Barbados-source income and on foreign income only to the extent that a benefit from it is obtained in Barbados. For 2026, personal income tax is charged at 11.5% on the first BBD 50,000 of taxable income and 27.5% above that. Barbados levies no capital gains tax and no inheritance or estate tax, but property transfer taxes, land tax and 17.5% VAT apply. Holders of the 12-month Welcome Stamp who work for employers outside Barbados are not liable to Barbados income tax on that employment income.

A spouse and dependent children may be included in the SERP, with a modest fee per dependant and proof of schooling for older children. The SERP does not itself lead to citizenship. Long-term residents can apply separately for immigrant status, which is the Barbadian form of permanent residence, and later for citizenship by naturalisation or registration under the Barbados Citizenship Act. Both decisions are discretionary and depend on a period of lawful residence, good character and continuous residence in the period before application. Barbados, a parliamentary republic since November 2021, allows dual citizenship.