ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC—The Grenada government has earned nearly half a billion dollars (One EC dollar = 0.37 cents) from the Citizenship by Investment program (CBI) after the country approved 4861 new citizens from January to September this year.
Under the CBI program, foreign investors are granted citizenship for substantially investing in the country’s socio-economic development.
The 2024 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure projected that for the period January to December, the revenue from the CBI would be EC$280.6 million, but data in the August fiscal report shows that the government’s revenue for the period January to August was EC$372.2 million.
However, according to the latest data released on Friday, the government’s revenue from the program from July to September was EC$202,394,508.11, with September earnings alone estimated at EC$76,845,490.05.
As a result, the total revenue for the year so far is approximately EC$448.2 million, exclusive of October earnings.
One local agent said the government’s revenue crossed EC$500 million in October but that the data will be publicly released in the final quarter of 2024.
During the period July to September, Nigerians and Chinese nationals represented 48.2 percent of those granted citizenship through the program, which is managed by the Investment Migration Agency (IMA).
Data released on the IMA website shows that 1827 people were granted citizenship, while 44 were denied it.
According to the data, 23.8 percent of Nigerians, or 435 people, and 24.4 percent of Chinese nationals, or 445 people, were granted citizenship.
The other nationalities receiving approval were 90 from the United States and 108 from Ukraine. Nationals from Vietnam, Syria, Armenia, Turkey, India, Lebanon, Iraq, and South Africa also received citizenship.
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