What it costs to buy property in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
A foreign buyer should budget roughly 11.3% of the purchase price on top of the price itself. A licence is required before you can take title.
What you pay
- Alien Land-Holding Licence6.3% of the price$31,481
- Stamp duty on the conveyance — your share5.0% of the price$25,000
- Stamp duty on the licence0.0% of the price$2
| On a purchase of | $250,000 | $500,000 | $1,000,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alien Land-Holding Licence | $16,481 | $31,481 | $61,481 |
| Stamp duty on the licence | $2 | $2 | $2 |
| Stamp duty on the conveyanceyour share of a split fee | $12,500 | $25,000 | $50,000 |
| Total on top of the price | 11.6% | 11.3% | 11.1% |
Who carries the taxes and fees
What the seller pays — not you
- Stamp duty on the conveyance — 10%10% of the value under the Stamp Act (Cap 440), 5% from the buyer and 5% from the seller.
Guides that add every tax together and present the total as a buyer's bill overstate the cost. These are the seller's.
Can you buy as a foreigner?
Licence required
An alien needs a licence from the Governor-General, and it takes effect only once registered with the Registrar of Deeds — land held by an unlicensed alien is forfeit to the Crown. Nationals of Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the BVI, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia are not aliens for this purpose where reciprocity applies, subject to security clearance; economic-citizenship holders are excluded from that exemption.
Allow 3–4 months
Applied for through the Office of the Prime Minister via a local attorney. Registering the deed and moving funds adds a further week or two once granted.
Take it with you
These figures as a PDF, worked out at the price you enter, with every source and the date it was checked.
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Nearby markets compared
What a foreign buyer pays on top of a $500,000 price, here and in the markets around it nearest in cost.
- GuadeloupeNo licence7.0%–7.8%
- MartiniqueNo licence7.5%–8.3%
- Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesLicence needed11.3%
- GrenadaLicence needed13.3%
- DominicaLicence needed16.9%
An estimate for budgeting, not legal or tax advice. These rates are traced to published sources but have not been reviewed by a practitioner in this jurisdiction. Confirm the current position with an attorney before you commit.
Licence costs are taken from the Act; the conveyance's 10% stamp duty, split evenly, from a Vincentian law firm's account of the Stamp Act. Conveyancing and registration are additional and were not itemised to a statutory source, so budget above this figure. An unlicensed alien may hold up to five acres on an annual tenancy without a licence, which is the one route around the licence fee.