United States: Retirement in Florida or the Caribbean

Foreign nationals can generally purchase real estate in the United States without any restrictions. However, owning real estate does not automatically give you the right to live there. Unfortunately no visas are available for people wishing simply to retire to the United States. If you wish to settle there, a minimum requirement would be to organise your investments as a business and agree to act in some capacity to manage and develop it. This would generally suffice for an E-2 Treaty Investor visa which would enable you to live and work in the United States on an indefinite basis providing the investment remained in place.

Alternatively, you could of course obtain a visitor’s visa which allows you to spend considerable time in the United States but does not really let you retire there. Each individual trip on a B-1 or B-2 visa is limited to a maximum admission period of six months. This can be extended by up to another six months. I do not, as a general rule, see any real problem in an individual going to the United States on a yearly basis to enjoy the winter months in Florida, providing he does not establish his main residence in the United States. Visitors who spend prolonged periods of time in the United States may have difficulty in convincing the immigration authorities that they are not planning to stay there permanently. So it is important that you can produce evidence of residence abroad and of your intent to return there at the end of your stay when applying for admission to the United States.

However, you may consider The Bahamas as an alternative to Florida. This is a very attractive country for private residence, its nearest island being located just 60 miles from Miami. It has a good infrastructure, particularly on the main islands of New Providence and Grand Bahama, as well as excellent flight connections to the United States and Europe. There is no personal or corporate income tax, no capital gains tax, no sales tax, no withholding tax, no employment tax, no gift tax, and no inheritance tax. The International Persons Landholding Act, 1993, has made it easier for non-Bahamians to own property in The Bahamas. Foreign nationals are now encouraged to acquire residential real estate. Applications for residence by major investors and by qualified owners of residential property valued in excess of US$ 500,000 are given special consideration. So if you invest this amount in a property in the Bahamas, you may indeed acquire the right to reside there.

A residence permit may be obtained quite easily throughout the Caribbean, and some islands have set up special residence programmes to attract wealthy foreigners. Of particular interest is Grenada, also known as the Isle of Spice, an independent English-speaking island state located 1,500 miles south-east of Miami and only about 100 miles north of Venezuela. The country comprises three main islands, Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. St. George's, the capital, is generally regarded as having one of the most beautiful harbours in the Caribbean. Grenada has a very pleasant Caribbean climate and is located outside the major hurricane zone. It has an international airport with direct flights to Europe and the United States. You can easily obtain a residence permit, but more interestingly, the Government of Grenada has introduced a very successful Economic Citizenship Programme as part of an overall initiative to develop the country and attract foreign investment. The 1997 Amendment to the Citizenship Act, Section 5A (1), permits eligible investors to qualify for full citizenship of Grenada. It allows the Minister to register a person as a citizen upon making a suitable investment in the country (currently set at US$ 39,000). Acquisition of citizenship naturally gives you the lifelong right to take up residence in Grenada whenever you wish and for any length of time. Grenada is certainly one of the most attractive places in the Caribbean for those who wish to retire and are seeking a tranquil environment.