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Property buyers looking to purchase a home in Ajman can now avail of citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda, it was reported.

Sweet Homes Holding, a UAE-based developer, is offering citizenship of the Caribbean nation to those looking to invest in its upcoming $681 million Ajman Uptown master development, as per a recent report.

“People who buy four-bedroom villas in our… development qualify to apply for citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda with their new passports, following due diligence, being issued in three months’ time,” Fahad Sattar Dero, CEO of the firm, told Emirates 24×7.

According to Emirates 24×7, the government of Antigua and Barbuda has agreed on November 19 “to extend its territorial jurisdiction towards the Ajman Uptown project pursuant to Section 42 of the Finance Administration Act 2006, for the purpose of providing funding to the National Development Fund under the Citizenship by Investment Project law.”

“It is quite a costly process if one applies directly for citizenship with Antigua and Barbuda,” Dero added. “But if you buy a property in Ajman Uptown, you save a lot.”

Dero also said that the developer is expecting a good response from citizens of countries such as Pakistan, Iran, Syria, and Afghanistan to avail of the offer.

The Ajman Uptown project is a 3.5 million sq. m mixed-use development consisting of 1,504 villas and townhouses. The first phase, comprising 300 villas, will be handed over by March 2015, with the entire project expected to be complete by 2020, the chief executive said.