There are eighteen projects listed on the government website as approved for citizenship by investment.
Some are active. Some are finished. A few never got started at all. I am not going to walk you through all eighteen, because most of that list would be padding, and because Tandem will only put its name to projects we actually believe in. That means we believe in the business plan, we believe in the developer, and we believe the thing has a real chance of being built.
So this is a short article about two projects, and a longer argument about how to tell the difference.
One thing first, because it shapes everything below. Tandem is a licensed marketing agent and we are only paid when a client invests in a project and is approved under that project. The two we recommend are the only two we work with. I am telling you that at the top rather than in small print at the bottom, because an article where somebody recommends the thing they sell is worth less if you find out the connection afterwards. Read the reasoning and judge it on its merits.
Want our honest read on a project somebody has shown you? Talk to Tandem.
Hideaway True Blue: the project we prefer
This is our preferred project at the moment, and I will come back at the end to why I would choose it personally.
It has been around for a few years, which in this market counts for a great deal. It is already constructed and already operating, with student rentals running successfully. It is not a render, it is not a plan, it is a building with people in it.
The location is the reason it works. It sits right beside the main university and it was designed for student accommodation, so it is positioned exactly where its market is. That is not luck, it is design.
The developer is experienced and has a very good reputation. They have run the business well, they are still running it, and they are about to enter another phase of expansion, which we are working on with them.
Pricing. You can buy a shareholding or a fractional ownership, a share of a unit, at the government minimum investment amount of $270,000. That satisfies the requirement and lets you apply for citizenship. Whole-ownership condominiums start at $400,000.
Range at La Sagesse: property to use and keep
The other project we are comfortable pointing people towards.
Range have an excellent reputation across the Caribbean and they build genuinely good things. At La Sagesse they are putting condominiums on the beach, and for somebody who does not just want to hit a minimum investment number but actually wants a substantial property to use, enjoy and pass to their children, it is a good answer.
On location I will be straight with you. La Sagesse is a lovely beach but it is a little further out of town, so it is not the very best position on the island for a beach resort. But it is still a good one. I would rather say that than pretend every project we like is perfect.
Ora Caribbean: nothing available right now
Worth mentioning because people ask about them.
Ora Caribbean is one of our key partners and their current project is sold out. They are waiting to bring a new one to market. We like working with them, there is simply nothing available right now, and I would rather tell you that than steer you there and then leave you waiting on a project that has not launched. As soon as it is available we will let all of our network know.
Why we do not recommend all eighteen
Some are completed. A few never got off the ground. Some are projects we wish well but do not work with.
That is not a criticism of all of them. It is a statement about where we are willing to put our name and our reputation.
Fractional ownership or whole ownership?
This is the distinction that matters most and the one most people arrive without understanding.
A fraction, or a share of a unit, at $270,000. It meets the government's requirement and it gets you to a citizenship application. What it does not do is give you full ownership of a property. You do not hold the title. And because of that, the potential for returns is limited.
Whole ownership, from $400,000. You own a specific piece of real estate and you hold the title to it. It is yours in perpetuity, you can use it, and you can pass it down.
Tandem's view, in this day and age, is that whole ownership suits a lot of people better. The difference in cost is real, but so is the difference in what you are holding at the end. One is a route to a passport. The other is a route to a passport and an asset. If you can reach the higher number, we usually think you should.
How to tell whether a citizenship investment project will actually happen
With any hospitality development the golden rules are location, location, location, and experience. This market is no different.
Hideaway works because it is beside the university and built for that market. Range works because it is on a good beach, even if not the best one, and because it sits next to Six Senses and InterContinental. Those are answerable questions and you can go and stand on the site yourself.
Then there is the arithmetic, which is where I would spend your scepticism.
Grenada is an island of a hundred thousand people. The International Monetary Fund puts the whole country's GDP at somewhere around one and a half billion US dollars.
So when a developer advertises a multi-billion-dollar project that will bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to this island, it is worth pausing. That single development would be larger than the economy of the country it is being built in. It may still happen. But you are entitled to ask how, and to notice that some projects here are simply far too big for the market they are aimed at, and some are in locations that will never support what is being promised.
Send us the project somebody has pitched you and we will tell you what we think, including when the answer is that we would not touch it. Talk to Tandem.
When we tell a client not to invest
Yes, we have advised clients against a particular project. And yes, we have lost clients by doing it.
Some people are attracted by the big numbers. Some are drawn in by promises of quick processing, or of rules being bent in their favour. We do not subscribe to any of that and we will not pretend otherwise to keep somebody on the books.
We would rather lose a client or two than say something we do not believe.
Who actually runs these places once they open
This is an easier question in Grenada than in a lot of markets, because there is history to point at.
Mount Cinnamon, one of the earliest projects, was built successfully and is now owned and operated by a local management company doing a very good job.
Ora Caribbean's project is run by their in-house Silversands brand and is trading strongly at the top end of the Grenada hotel market.
Hideaway is run and operated by the developer itself, which is working very well and is about to expand with a second phase.
An operator with a track record on this island is worth more than a famous brand name on a contract. You can go and look at all three of those.
Resale and buyback: read the contract
This used to be the weak point of the whole model and it is considerably better now than it was.
The law changed in 2019. Owners of shares and fractions can now resell them to new investors, who can in turn apply for citizenship themselves. That opened up the resale market substantially and it is the single most useful change the programme has made for investors.
Beyond that general position, individual projects have their own arrangements.
Ora Caribbean's Beach House had a buyback written into the contract, and that process is beginning now. Investors will be redeeming their shares over the next few years, and for them it is a straightforward exit.
Hideaway is coming up to that point now. Its buyback is at fair market value, independently assessed. We are confident those investors will be satisfied with the outcome.
What I would not do is treat any of this as a promise of a particular figure. Read the contract, understand which arrangement applies to the specific project, and have somebody independent look at it.
Where I would put my own money
You have probably worked out the answer already. It would be Hideaway. I have a high level of confidence in the developer and in the project, I think it is there for the long term, and I would feel entirely comfortable putting my own money into it. That is my view, with the connection I declared at the top of this article in full view.
Nobody should be choosing a project from a brochure
Everything above is an opinion formed by living here, watching these developments go up, and knowing the people building them. It is not a substitute for you seeing them.
Come and stand on the sites. Look at what is finished and what is still a construction site. Talk to people who already own in them. We will arrange the trip through our own travel and concierge team, and we will show you the projects we do not recommend alongside the ones we do, because the comparison is the point.
If a project is wrong for you we would far rather you found that out on a five-day visit than after the money has moved.
Eighteen approved projects, two we will put our name to, and a lot of noise in between. The useful conversation is not which project is best in the abstract. It is which one fits what you are actually trying to achieve, and whether it will still be standing in ten years.
If you want that read on your own situation, Talk to Tandem. We will tell you what we think of any project on that government list, whether or not we earn anything from it. You can also reach us on WhatsApp only or through our Contact page.
Which Grenada projects are approved for citizenship by investment?
The article discusses the government's list of eighteen approved projects and explains why Tandem currently recommends Hideaway True Blue and Range at La Sagesse. Approval alone is not a guarantee of construction, rental income or investment recovery.
What is the minimum investment for Grenada citizenship through real estate?
The qualifying shared-investment minimum discussed here is US$270,000. Whole-ownership condominiums currently offered by Tandem start at US$400,000; that is a market starting price, not a separate statutory minimum. Government and other applicable fees are additional.
What is the difference between fractional and whole ownership?
A share or fraction does not give you full ownership and title to an entire property. Whole ownership gives you title to a specific piece of real estate. Use rights, returns and resale arrangements depend on the particular contract.
Can you sell a Grenada citizenship investment after five years?
The article describes the 2019 changes that opened resale to new citizenship applicants. Disposal and a resale's qualifying status are subject to the applicable holding period, approved-project rules and the specific contract. A buyback is not a guarantee of a particular return; obtain independent advice before relying on an exit arrangement.