Moving to the Bahamas
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What are the Bahamas?
The Bahamas is a sunny Atlantic archipelago with no income tax
The Bahamas consists of over 3000 islands, cays and islets, and is located very close to Miami (southeast of Florida) and north of Cuba.
It’s a former British colony which became independent in 1973. As such, the official language is English.
The Bahamas is one of the most prosperous countries in the Americas (behind US and Canada) and has an economy which is largely based on tourism (50% of its GDP and provides jobs for half the country) and offshore finance.
This should come as no surprise, because the Bahamas is considered a tax haven: no income tax, corporate tax, capital gains tax, or wealth tax.
However, its currency (the Bahamian dollar) is tied to the USD, which at the moment can be viewed as a major economic stabilizer.
Because the majority of its tourists and trade come directly from the US, pegging the currency eliminates exchange rate risk, controls inflation, and facilitates seamless commerce.
However – if you keep in the mind that the Western world, and thus the US is on a strong downward spiral and will collapse within our lifetimes, this factor isn’t an ideal situation at all.
In addition, it maintains strong bilateral relationships with the US and the UK. Currently that’s great, but in the near future? I wouldn’t bet on this being a positive thing.
The capital is Nassau, and the total population is around 400.000 people, of which 90% are of African descent.
The Bahamas is a very sunny country, with an average of 300 days of sunlight per year. Yeah, that’s a lot.
Its climate can be described as a warm and winterless tropical savannah climate, with a hot and wet season.
Unfortunately, its location also means that tropical storms and hurricanes do occur, and this is definitely something you should take into account.
Some of the Bahamian islands are absolutely stunning, with loads of beaches, coral reefs and pristine waters.
How To Move To The Bahamas? Requirements For Moving To The Bahamas
How to move to the Bahamas? Moving to the Bahamas isn’t hard at all.
First off, for Americans and Canadians there’s the proximity factor: The Bahamas lies to the southeast of Florida, and you can just take a boat to get there.
You are also granted up to 8 months visa-free.
For Europeans it’s a much farther trip, but we can “only” stay up to 90 days visa free upon arrival.
The Bahamas visa requirements are thus extremely light for most Westerners. After your first stay, you can then extend your stay, or apply for Annual Residency which costs around $1,000 per year.
If you invest in Bahamas property, you can also get a Home Owner’s card.
Real estate is moderately expensive here, so buying Bahamas property might not be an option for everyone.
As of January 1, 2025, the minimum qualifying real estate investment for Economic Permanent Residency is $1,000,000 USD. Investing $1.5M+ unlocks fast-track processing.
Once you make this real estate your home, you can apply for permanent residency.
In addition, once you get permanent residency, citizenship becomes an option.
However, that doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed.
Permanent Residency in the Bahamas does not automatically grant a direct path to citizenship.
In fact, naturalization is notoriously difficult for non-spousal foreigners, requiring long periods of legal residence (often 10–20+ years depending on circumstances), and approval is entirely at the discretion of the government with no guaranteed rights.
The only real, practical requirement for moving to the Bahamas is thus having (multiple sources of) international, location independent income.
You won’t have to pay taxes on this income when you’re living here, which is a massive advantage.
However, the cost of living in the Bahamas is highly elevated compared to many of the other countries I’ve talked about.
I also wouldn’t go looking for jobs in Bahamas for expats – they’re usually not that well paid, unless it’s a higher-up position. Working for a local Bahamian company also requires a work permit.
What is the cost of living in Bahamas?
Want to move to Bahamas to live a cheap lifestyle? Unfortunately, that’s not an option.
The cost of living in the Bahamas lies around $$3,500 per month for a single person, but that’s extremely tight, so I would advise you to at least make double that if you intend to move here (about $100,000 a year would be an accurate number to go for).
Roughly $5,000 a month will allow you to live here reasonably comfortably, but you wouldn’t enjoy the carefree life such an amount would get you in countries like Paraguay or Thailand.
The cost of living in Bahamas is thus pretty damn elevated.
In addition, if you live in a cheaper but less-prosperous neighborhood, you will be faced with higher crime rates.
Benefits of living in the Bahamas
Downsides of living in the Bahamas
Moving to Bahamas - by the numbers
Climate: 7/10
| Hours of sunshine (9/10) | Temperature (10/10) | Rainy days (6/10) | Humidity (3/10) |
|---|---|---|---|
26 C – 78 F |
16 |
78% |
Level of English: 10/10
Cost of Living: 3/10
| Minimum Annual Wage | Average monthly cost single person |
|---|---|
Taxes on international income: 10/10
0%
There is no income tax in the Bahamas.
Economic growth: 3/10
Average GDP growth over the last 10 years: 1%
While the average is very low, this is mainly due to a massive -24% in 2020 due to Covid. The years after that have seen +14%, 11%, 4,3% and 3,4%, so it’s really doing much better right now than the very low average suggests.
Usually the average growth hovers around the 2%.
Safety: 5.3/10
| Global Terrorism Index (10/10) | Intentional homicide rate (0/10) | Rape rate (6/10) |
|---|---|---|
22.7 |
Visa: 4.3/10
How is living in the Bahamas?
Living in the Bahamas can be a dream come true.
If you’re looking for a sunny island to move to upon escaping the West – but you don’t want to go too far from the US or Canada, then the Bahamas should be near the top of your list.
IF you earn a substantial income. This cannot be overstated enough, the Bahamas is NOT cheap.
There’s the very enjoyable climate (although a bit too humid), the beautiful beaches and the high biocapacity (which means the country is doing well for the environment compared to the rest of the world).
Having English as its primary language definitely comes as an advantage if you are unwilling or unable to learn another language. There’s a pretty strong Bahamas expat community too.
The major benefit of course is its status as a tax haven, and if you dislike paying taxes, you’ll be very happy here.
However, the downsides of the Bahamas shouldn’t be taken lightly.
If you plan to move there, you do have to keep in mind the higher cost of living compared to other options, the similarly higher crime rates, and the fact that this country has strong ties to the collapsing United States.
In short, the Bahamas is pretty awesome, but I would not live there.
If you want to start a business, basing it in the Bahamas isn’t a bad idea at all – tax wise.
While the Bahamas visa requirements to just visit are light, you can also go for residence or open a bank account, I wouldn’t go further than that.
Getting permanent residency is possible, but citizenship is out of the question for me – because you’d have to give up your other nationalities.
Avoid too strong ties to the nation, because unlike countries such as Paraguay, when the West starts to enter later phases of its collapse, The Bahamas will certainly feel the effects.
