Bahamas probe Anna Nicole's citizenship

updated 12:08 p.m. ET Oct. 26, 2006

NASSAU, Bahamas - Authorities are investigating whether Anna Nicole Smith legally obtained permanent residency in the Bahamas, the country's immigration director said Thursday.

The probe centers on a $1 million house that Smith's law firm said she had purchased, meeting a requirement for permanent residency in the island chain, said immigration director Vernon Burrows.

Gaither B. Thompson, a developer from Myrtle Beach, S.C., has told The Associated Press that he owns the house where the 38-year-old reality star moved while pregnant with her daughter. Thompson declined to comment further.

Smith's daughter, Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern, was born Sept. 7. Three days later, Smith's 20-year-old son, Daniel, died while visiting her in a Nassau hospital.

"Of course the only thing that would have qualified her for permanent residence was the home, so if that's no longer the case then of course we would probably ask her to show cause why it should not be revoked," Burrows said.

A Bahamian lawyer for Smith has said the former Playboy Playmate owns the home.

"I've physically seen the document that showed the property being conveyed to her," attorney Wayne Munroe told The Associated Press. "It's not something where I'm depending on what someone told me. It was something I saw."

Hubert Ingraham, head of the main opposition Free National Movement, called on the government Wednesday to investigate whether Smith has legal residency status in the Bahamas.

Daniel Smith was buried Oct. 19. The results of official toxicology tests and a police investigation have not been publicly released.

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