IMMIGRATION

Anyone who is not a Citizen or Resident of Trinidad and Tobago and plans to reside permanently in T&T, will have to apply for Permanent Residency Status or Citizenship.  Thus I recommend that they check their relevant Embassy or Consulate in Trinidad and Tobago, or get in touch with the Trinidad and Tobago Embassy or Consulate in your country.    Trinidad and Tobago has strict Immigration Laws; and if you wish to reside permanently here, I advise that you do not purchase until you have secured at least Permanent Residence Status.  I would also like to point out that owning property in T&T will not play a role for immigration to decide whether or not to grant you Residency Status.  There are three and only three grounds for submitting an application for residence in Trinidad and Tobago:

1.                  Marriage to a T&T National.

2.                  Father or grandfather of a T&T National.

3.                  A professional who has lived in T&T first 5 years.

The only restrictions are: Foreigners cannot purchase over 1 acre of residential, and/or over 5 acres for commercial purposes.  If the property is over those limits, a special permit is required.  Further, the deposit as well as the balance on the purchase price, has to be booked directly from your bank into a local account, in accepted currency like US$, British Pounds, German Marks, etc.

Of course, the above is not applicable if you have Permanent Residency Status; you and/or your spouse are Trinidadian, if you want to purchase and/or build for vacation and investment reasons.  However, once again before making any permanent plans check with the Trinidad and Tobago Embassy/Consulate in your Country or your Embassy/Consulate in Trinidad and Tobago.

GENERAL INFO

Just like most countries Trinidad has a public health service and private nursing homes, which are modern and well equipped.

There are numerous schools which are public or private and as in most Countries, primary, secondary and tertiary education.  Also most religions will be represented whether in private or public schools.  It is up to you to decide which is best for your children.

There is an International School in Port of Spain and a University the University of the West Indies (UWI), which is located at St Augustine.  There you will find students from all over the world.

Shopping can be an exciting experience in one of the many malls.  Besides malls, there are also a lot of smaller shops around, practically on every corner.

The typical household income for a middle class family is about TT$3,000.00 (US$500.00) to TT$5,000.00 (US$850.00) per month and middle to high income will be between TT$5,000.00 (US$850.00) and TT$10,000.00 (US$1,700.00) per month. 

As a point of interest, mention must be made about the lack of a Social Welfare benefit system for the unemployed.

Further, it is important for you to know that in Trinidad and Tobago we drive on the LEFT hand side of the road.

UTILITIES

·                    Electricity supplied by T&TEC and mainly 110 Volts (power outages can occur, usually do not last very long).

·                    Water supplied by WASA (Water and sewerage Authority) and is safe and potable.

·                    Telephone supplied by TSTT (Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago) and in general very reliable.

·                    Cable TV and in urban and Direct TV in rural areas available.

·                    Banks are accessible throughout the National Exchange rate: One (1) U.S. Dollar - $6.21; Trinidad and Tobago (TT) dollars and 1 Euro = 7.23 TT Dollars.  All major credit cards are accepted.

PROCEDURE OF PURCHASING A PROPERTY

The purchasing procedure is for Residents/Citizens as well as Non-Residents are the same.  Once you have made a decision to purchase a property in Trinidad and Tobago, the first step to take is to make a 10% deposit.  At that moment we enter into an AGREEMENT of SALES, in which is stated that both parties (Vendor and Purchaser) have 90 days time to organize each side of the AGREEMENT.

This deposit will be held in Escrow* (*Deposit to be delivered upon fulfillment of a condition) by the Broker/Agent/

We will provide you with a package containing a copy of the Deed, a Receipt of the last paid Land (and Building) Taxes, if available a Cadastral sheet* (*Map which shows the land area) and an original of the AGREEMENT of SALES which will be made in Triplicate, one of the Purchaser, one for the Purchaser, one for the Vendor and one for the Agency.

As Purchaser you will have to call in the services of a local Attorney-at-Law, to prepare the necessary documents for the Conveyance, to do a Title Search and to Register the property in the Red House, at the expense in all respects of the Purchaser.  It is always advised to do a Title Search because you and your Attorney need to be sure there are no encumbrances on the property.

 It is very important for the Purchaser to know that if you change your mind or you cannot make the balance payment or for whatever reason you make default in completion of the sale, your deposit will be forfeited, because you are in breach of Contract.  So before making any deposit you have to be absolutely sure that this is the property you want and that you have the balance payment available within the stipulated time.

However, if your Attorney is unable to complete the transfer, because the property is not free from encumbrances, which cannot be rectified, your deposit will be refunded in full.  If this all sounds complicated, there is no need to be worried, we assist and guide our clients throughout the whole process from the start to the end.

Additionally. A foreigner must, through his Attorney-at-Law, deliver to the Minister of Finance a notice specifying his name, address and nationality, the date and registration particulars of the instrument by which he became the owner of the property and evidence of his payment in foreign currency.