Working from Antigua and Barbuda as a France resident

At a glance

Rule coverage

What the rules say about Antigua and Barbuda

The rules below are the ones most likely to shape a stay in Antigua and Barbuda, in plain words and with the source behind each one. Your own report tells you which of them apply to you.

1. Needs checkingImmigration and visa

   The Nomad Digital Residence visa covers stays past 180 days

   Once your stay runs past the 180 day visa-free ceiling, the Nomad Digital Residence (NDR) is Antigua and Barbuda's dedicated route: a renewable remote-work visa launched in 2020 whose term is not settled between sources, most guides describe 2 years while at least one current index lists 12 months, open to remote workers, self-employed people and business owners whose income comes from outside the country. The commonly cited minimum is US$50,000 in expected annual income, with fees widely reported around US$1,500 for a single applicant, US$2,000 for a couple, and US$3,000 for a family of three or more, processed in 5 to 7 business days. Health insurance is required. The official portal could not be reached to confirm the fee tiers and exact duration directly, so treat the fee tiers and the term as well reported but not primary confirmed, and get your own grant period in writing.

2. Needs checkingPersonal income tax

   US citizens keep owing US tax on worldwide income regardless of Antigua

   The United States taxes its citizens on worldwide income no matter where they live, and there is no US-Antigua tax treaty to soften that. Moving to a zero-tax country like Antigua does not change your US filing or payment obligations at all, you still file and potentially owe US tax exactly as if you had stayed home.

3. Needs checkingRight to work

   Working for the local market needs a separate, employer-sponsored work permit

   Taking up employment with an Antiguan employer or otherwise serving the local market is a different track from remote work for a foreign employer. It requires a work permit, sponsored by the local employer, and is a distinct process from any visitor or nomad status. Neither visa-free entry nor the Nomad Digital Residence covers this.

4. Needs checkingHealthcare coverage

   Public healthcare is contributor-only and covers a short list of conditions

   Public care centers on Mount St John's Medical Centre. The Medical Benefits Scheme reimburses only a defined list of about eleven conditions, and only for contributors, people paying into the scheme through local employment. As a visitor or nomad-visa holder without local contributions, you have no reciprocal access to public healthcare. Private care exists and is generally the practical route.

5. Needs checkingTax residency

   Antigua not taxing you doesn't mean your home country stops

   Zero tax in Antigua is a statement about Antigua, not about your home country. Whether you remain tax resident at home, and keep owing tax there, depends entirely on your home country's own residency rules, physical presence, permanent home and center-of-life factors are what most countries use, and Antigua's zero-tax status has no bearing on that test. There is no Antigua-issued paperwork that automatically settles the question for you elsewhere.

6. Needs checkingResidency routes

   The Nomad visa is a soft landing, not a path to permanent residence

   The Nomad Digital Residence gives you 2 years of renewable remote-work residence with a US$50,000 income requirement, a reasonable way to live in Antigua while you figure out your longer-term plan. What it does not do is convert into permanent residence or citizenship by itself, there is no automatic upgrade path. Movers who want to stay long-term go through Citizenship by Investment or a separate Permanent Residence permit instead.

What tends to surprise people here

• No tax treaty or social security agreement with any tracked nationality outside CARICOM
• US citizens still owe US tax on worldwide income regardless of the move
• The exact overstay penalty schedule is unconfirmed

Tax treaty between France and Antigua and Barbuda