If you buy property to qualify for citizenship by investment (CBI), you cannot sell it whenever you like. Every program with a real estate route sets a minimum holding period, and as of October 2026 those periods run from three years in Dominica and Turkey to seven years in St Kitts and Nevis.
The length is only half the story. Programs also differ on when the clock starts (on purchase, on the grant of citizenship, or on registration of title) and on whether a unit that has already qualified one family can qualify a second buyer. Those two details shape how easy it will be to sell the property later.
This guide compares the rules country by country, explains what early resale can mean, and lists the questions buyers commonly put to developers and agents before they sign.
Key takeaways
- Holding periods for CBI property range from three years (Dominica, Turkey) to seven years (St Kitts and Nevis). Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada and Saint Lucia sit at five years.
- The start date differs. Antigua and Barbuda counts from the purchase. Dominica and Saint Lucia count from the grant of citizenship, which can be months later.
- Resale to another CBI applicant is often more restricted than resale to an ordinary buyer, which affects exit value.
- Saint Lucia changed its real estate rules in March 2026, with a new US$500,000 route for completed apartments and villas.
- The EU has asked the five Caribbean programs to phase out by June 2028, so some holding periods will outlast the programs' current timeline.
Why CBI programs set a holding period
A holding period exists to make the investment real. Without one, an applicant could buy a unit, receive a passport, and sell the unit straight back to the developer or to the next applicant. The same property would then circulate through the program again and again, and the country would gain little lasting investment.
Governments manage this risk with two separate tools. The first limits when the owner may sell at all. The second limits whether a unit that has already been used for citizenship can qualify another applicant. A buyer can face one rule, both rules, or a mix with different time limits. Reading only the headline figure on a program website can hide the second rule.
All five Caribbean programs also restrict the property route to government-approved projects. In most cases that means hotel units, resort villas or shares in a resort, not any house on the open market. St Kitts and Nevis is the main exception, with a separate route for approved private homes.
Holding periods by program in 2026
The table below summarizes the rules as published by each program as of October 2026. Minimum amounts are for the main applicant and exclude government fees, due diligence fees and transfer costs.
| Program | Minimum property investment | Holding period | When the clock starts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antigua and Barbuda | US$300,000 in an approved property | 5 years | Date of purchase |
| Dominica | US$200,000 in an approved project | 3 years (5 years if the next buyer is a CBI applicant) | Grant of citizenship |
| Grenada | US$270,000 or US$350,000 in an approved project, plus a US$50,000 government fee | 5 years (as commonly reported) | Not stated on the program site; confirm for the specific unit |
| Saint Lucia | US$300,000 in an approved project; US$500,000 in an approved built apartment or villa | 5 years | Grant of citizenship |
| St Kitts and Nevis | US$325,000 in an approved development; US$600,000 for an approved private home | 7 years | Not stated on the program site; check the contract and regulations |
| Turkey | US$400,000 | 3 years | Registration of the title deed annotation |
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda requires an approved property worth at least US$300,000. According to the Citizenship by Investment Unit, the property cannot be resold until five years after the purchase. The one exception is a sale combined with the purchase of another approved property in Antigua and Barbuda, which keeps the qualifying investment in place.
Because the clock runs from purchase rather than from citizenship, Antigua's five years can end sooner in practice than a five-year rule counted from the grant. The site does not say whether purchase means the signing of the sale agreement or the registration of title, so buyers often ask for that date to be confirmed in writing.
Dominica
Dominica sets the lowest property threshold in the region at US$200,000, plus government fees that start at US$75,000 for a single applicant. The Dominica CBI Unit states two periods, both counted from the grant of citizenship: three years before a sale in general, and five years if the buyer will use the unit for their own CBI application.
This split matters for exit planning. An owner who wants to sell in year four can do so, but only to a buyer who does not need the unit for citizenship. That narrows the pool of buyers for a hotel unit that may have been priced with CBI demand in mind.
Grenada
Grenada's Investment Migration Agency lists two real estate levels, US$270,000 and US$350,000 in an approved project, plus a US$50,000 government fee. The agency's pages do not state the holding period. Industry sources describe a five-year period, usually counted from the grant of citizenship, so the exact rule for a given unit is best confirmed directly with the program or an authorized agent.
Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia's rules sit in its Citizenship by Investment Regulations, published on the program's legislation page. Regulation 10(8) of the 2015 regulations says an approved real estate investment shall not be sold or transferred for at least five years after the granting of citizenship.
In March 2026 Saint Lucia amended these rules through Statutory Instrument No. 57 of 2026. Developers could not apply for approval of new real estate projects under the old regulation after December 1, 2025. A new route for approved built real estate projects, meaning completed apartments and villas, now requires at least US$500,000 for the applicant and qualifying dependants. The same five-year rule applies, and new citizens must take steps to register their interest in the property within ninety days of receiving their certificate of registration.
St Kitts and Nevis
St Kitts and Nevis has the longest holding period at seven years. According to the Citizenship Unit, an investment of US$325,000 in an approved development becomes resaleable after seven years, and the property must stay within an approved development while it qualifies the owner. Approved private homes require at least US$600,000.
The private home route adds a reuse rule. The Citizenship Unit's private home page says a home sold before seven years does not qualify for a later CBI application unless the Federal Cabinet is satisfied that substantial further investment, such as construction or renovation, has been made in the unit.
Turkey
Turkey is the main non-Caribbean program with a property route. According to the Investment Office of Türkiye, the minimum is US$400,000, and the buyer must accept an annotation on the title deed that commits them not to sell the property for three years. Turkey has no list of approved projects, but it does apply standard rules on where foreigners may buy, and the property must pass an official valuation. Since a December 2023 change to the implementing regulation, the property must be a unit in a building, or land with a building on it, so bare land and farmland no longer qualify, according to Turkish press reports.
What happens if you sell during the holding period
The consequences of an early sale depend on each country's laws and on the contract you signed. Some regulations treat a premature sale as a breach of the conditions on which citizenship was granted. In several programs, a breach of investment conditions or false information in the application can be a basis for deprivation proceedings. Other programs say little about penalties in their published rules.
In practice, the land registry or the program unit may also block a transfer that breaks the rules. For a broader view of how and when countries take citizenship back, see our guide to citizenship by investment revocation risk.
Whatever the penalty structure, a buyer who expects to need the money back within a few years faces a real liquidity problem. A holding period is a lock-up, and the property may be hard to sell even after it ends.
How holding rules affect resale value
Many CBI developments are priced with citizenship demand built in. When the holding period ends, the most natural buyer is often another CBI applicant, because that buyer values the unit for its qualifying status as well as its rental income. Where the rules limit or delay reuse, the resale market shrinks to ordinary buyers who pay only for the property itself.
Several points influence what an owner may recover:
- Reuse rules. A unit that cannot qualify a second applicant, or can do so only after extra years or Cabinet approval, has fewer potential buyers.
- Type of interest. Fractional shares in a hotel or resort usually trade in a thinner market than whole units or private homes.
- Rental performance. Hotel units in a rental pool are often valued on their income. Weak occupancy can depress the price.
- Buyback promises. Some developers offer to buy units back. Such promises are commercial terms between buyer and developer, not program commitments, and they depend on the developer's finances.
- Transfer costs. Stamp duty, legal fees and taxes on sale reduce the net figure in every country.
The EU phase-out request and long holding periods
The European Commission has asked Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia to phase out their programs by June 1, 2028, citing the EU's revised visa suspension mechanism. The five governments are negotiating, and none had announced a closure as of October 2026. Our news report on the EU pressure on Caribbean CBI covers the talks.
A seven-year holding period that starts in 2026 would end in 2033, well after the date the EU has requested. How a closure or a transition would affect owners who are still inside a holding period is not yet known. Buyers who are weighing a long lock-up often ask their adviser how the property would be valued if the CBI resale market disappeared. The wider background is in our overview of the EU crackdown on golden passports.
Questions buyers commonly ask before signing
Before committing to a CBI property, buyers and their lawyers typically confirm these points in writing:
- Which regulation sets the holding period for this unit, and has it been amended recently?
- On what exact date does the clock start: contract, payment, title registration or the grant of citizenship?
- Has this unit, or this share of the development, already been used for a CBI application?
- Can the unit qualify a future CBI buyer when the holding period ends, and on what conditions?
- What does the contract say about rental income, management fees and any buyback offer?
- What taxes and fees apply on resale, and who pays them?
Comparing these answers across programs often changes which option looks cheapest. Our Caribbean citizenship by investment comparison and our list of the cheapest citizenship by investment programs set the property route against the donation routes, which have no resale value but also no lock-up.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell my CBI property after I receive my passport?
Not straight away. Every program with a property route requires you to hold the investment for a minimum period, from three to seven years depending on the country. Receiving a passport does not end that obligation, and in Dominica and Saint Lucia the period only starts when citizenship is granted.
Does the holding period start at purchase or at citizenship?
It depends on the program. Antigua and Barbuda counts five years from the purchase. Dominica and Saint Lucia count from the grant of citizenship. Turkey's three-year restriction is tied to the annotation on the title deed. St Kitts and Nevis does not state the start date on its website, so buyers usually confirm it in the contract.
Which CBI program has the shortest property holding period?
Dominica and Turkey have the shortest periods at three years. Dominica's rule rises to five years if the buyer is another CBI applicant, and Turkey requires a much larger investment of US$400,000.
Can I rent out the property during the holding period?
In general, yes. Most approved Caribbean projects are hotel or resort units designed to be rented, often through a management agreement. The terms, fees and expected returns come from the developer's contract, not from the program, so they vary widely.
What if I need to sell early because of an emergency?
Programs rarely provide a hardship exception. Antigua and Barbuda allows an early sale only if the owner buys another approved property. In other programs, an early sale can put the citizenship at risk. Anyone in this position usually takes legal advice in the country concerned before acting.
Important: This article is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Rules change often and depend on your personal circumstances. Speak with a qualified professional in each relevant country before you act.