Permanent Residence - Economic

To qualify for permanent residency in the Bahamas as an investor or financially independent individual, the applicant must either: - Own a residence in the Bahamas purchased for a minimum of $1,000,000; OR invest in Zero Coupon Bonds issued by the Central Bank of The Bahamas worth at least $1,000,000. - Own or hold a beneficial interest in a “growth-category” business in the Bahamas that supports the employment of Bahamians.

Own a residence in the Bahamas purchased for a minimum of $1,000,000; OR invest in Zero Coupon Bonds issued by the Central Bank of The Bahamas worth at least $1,000,000.

Applicants must maintain their property or qualified investments for ten years and file a declaration every decade confirming that the information contained in the application they relied upon to obtain EPR remains unchanged.

To maintain the permanent status, investors must spend at least 90 days each year in the Bahamas.

may. upon application to the Board in prescribed form and upon payment of the prescribed fee, be granted an economic permanent residence certificate permitting him to reside permanently in The Bahamas and to engage in gainful occupation where that gainful occupation is in his own business.

Pursuant to the grant of an economic permanent residence certificate, the Board may then, or upon a subsequent application in the prescribed form, endorse the certificate in respect of the spouse and any dependant ordinarily resident with him. An endorsement under subsection (3) may be made subject to such conditions as the Board may impose, including a condition that the spouse shall not engage in gainful occupation without permission granted under this Part. Notwithstanding the duration of the economic permanent residence certificate, any endorsement in favour of a dependant shall be valid until he ceases to be a dependant. The death of the holder of an economic permanent residence certificate shall not affect the validity of an endorsement made under subsection (3) subject to the determination of an application for legal status by the surviving spouse and the dependant within three months of his death.

Amendment of section 17A of the principal Act. Second 17A of the principal Act is amended by the deletion of the words permitting him to reside permanently in The Bahamas and to engage in gainful occupation in his own business” and the substitution of the words — “ permitting him to reside permanently in The Bahamas — (a) with the right to engage in gainful occupation in his own business; or (b) without the right to engage in gainful occupation.”.

Amendment of section 17A of Ch. 191. Section 17A of Immigration Act is amended — (a) (b) by the deletion of paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and the substitution of the following — “(a) has made an investment of one million dollars for a minimum period of ten years— (i) in real estate in The Bahamas; or (ii) in Zero Coupon Bonds issued by the Central Bank of The Bahamas; and”. by the insertion, immediately after subsection (1), of the following new subsections (1A) and (1B) as follows — “(1A) Where a person makes an application to the Board under subsection (1) and fails to pay the prescribed fee within ninety days from the submission of the application, the application shall be deemed to have lapsed and may be reinstated on the payment of a reinstatement fee. (1B) For the purposes of paragraph (a) of subsection (1), a Deed of Gift shall not constitute, qualify or be used by any person as an investment in real estate for an economic permanent residence certificate. Page - 2 (c) (1C) A person making application pursuant to subsection (1) shall submit the following documents to the Board with the application — (a) in the case of an applicant making an investment in real property— (i) a copy of the conveyance of the property; (ii) evidence that VAT was paid on the conveyance and the document has been lodged for recording; (iii) the sales agreement; (iv) the Real Property Tax Assessment number; (v) evidence that real property tax has been paid; and (vi) an appraisal of the property by a licensed appraiser confirming the value of the property; and (b) in the case of an applicant investing in Zero Coupon Bonds, a_ receipt from the Central Bank of The Bahamas confining purchase of Zero Coupon Bonds to the value of one million dollars. (1D) The economic permanent residence certificate shall contain the real property tax assessment number of the property.”. by the insertion, immediately after subsection (8), of the following new subsection (9) as follows —

Insertion of new sections 49A, 49B and 49C into the principal Act. The principal Act is amended by the insertion, immediately after section 49 of

Amendment of section 17A of the principal Act... 4. Insertion of new section 33A into the principal Ac No. 31 of 2026 IMMIGRATION (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2026 AN ACT TO AMEND THE IMMIGRATION ACT [Date of Assent - 30" June, 2026] Enacted by the Parliament of The Bahamas Short title and commencement. (1) This Act, which amends the Immigration Act (Ch. 191), may be cited as the Immigration (Amendment) Act, 2026. (2) This Act shall come into force on the 1“ day of July, 2026. Amendment of section 2 of the principal Act. Section 2 of the principal Act is amended by the insertion, of the following definition, in the appropriate alphabetical order — “ “net proceeds” means the difference — (a) _ paid on interest paid to bond holders; and (b) — earned from investment on bond proceeds;”. Amendment of section 17A of the principal Act. Section 17A(9) of the principal Act is amended by the deletion of the word “proceeds” and the substitution of the words “net proceeds”.

The Bahamas Economic Permanent Residence program grants permanent residence status to applicants immediately upon approval. Retention of the PR is contingent upon the applicant’s spending no fewer than 90 days per year in The Bahamas.

After having held PR for ten years, during six of which the applicant must have been a de facto resident in the country, the investor can apply to naturalize as a Bahamian citizen.

The decision on whether to grant citizenship is a discretionary one.