Grenada CIP Revenue Drops 38% in Q1 Despite Slight Rise in Applications

Fewer dollars came in, but real estate kept Grenada’s citizenship by investment program moving in Q1 2025.

Grenada’s Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP) processed 41% more applications than it received in Q1 2025, extending its backlog reduction streak to five consecutive quarters while new application volume surged 31% from the previous period.

The program received 123 new applications during Q1 2025, up from 94 submissions in Q4 2024, marking the strongest quarterly intake since Q3 2024. Processing continued at 174 files, maintaining the aggressive backlog-clearing pace that has defined program operations since Q1 2024.

January recorded the highest monthly intake with 46 applications, followed by March’s 41 and February’s 36 submissions. Real estate approvals totaled 110, down slightly from Q4’s 116, while National Transformation Fund (NTF) approvals declined 32% to 38.

Real estate investments dominated the quarter, accounting for 74% of all approvals and generating 52% of total revenue at EC$65 million.

Backlog Clearing Continues for Fifth Quarter

Grenada maintained its backlog reduction streak for the fifth consecutive quarter, processing more applications than it received. The program cleared 51 more files than submitted during Q1 2025, though at a slower pace than Q4 2024’s 91-file surplus.

Revenue totaled EC$124 million (US$46 million) in Q1 2025, down from Q4 2024’s EC$200 million.

Despite the quarterly decline, current projections suggest annual revenue could reach EC$500 million, which would represent the third-highest revenue year in program history.

The years 2023 and 2024 benefited from market disruptions when other Caribbean nations suspended Russian applicants, leaving Grenada as the sole regional CBI option for Russian nationals. The country continues processing a backlog that may still include Russian applications.

At EC$65 million, real estate investment accounted for 52% of total revenue in Q1. Government fees and NTF donations amounted EC$30m and EC$29m, respectively.

The phenomenon of fees contributing more revenue than NTF donations reflects three converging factors: Declining NTF applications, real estate’s growing market share, and accelerated backlog clearing.

The program has registered an 18% increase in average revenue per approval, reaching US$309,000 compared to 2024’s annual average of US$261,000.

Q1 2025 applicant nationality distribution shifted notably from 2024 patterns:

• Nigerian applicants claimed the largest share at 14%, displacing Chinese nationals as the largest applicant nationality pool.
• Chinese nationals contributed 12%.
• Iraqi applicants emerged as the third-largest group at 11%.
• Lebanese nationals maintained 7% of applications

Chinese dominated 2024’s applications with 23%. Nigerians were close behind with 19%.

The program naturalized 632 new citizens during Q1 2025, representing the largest average family size in program history at 4.2 members per application.

The implied rejection rate increased to 14% in Q1 2025, over twice as high as 2024’s annual rate of 6%.

While Q1 2025 accounts for only 9% of 2024’s total approvals, it already logged 27% of the year’s total rejections, suggesting either tighter scrutiny or anomalies.