EU Gives Five Caribbean Nations Until 2028 to End Citizenship-by-Investment Programs or Lose Visa-Free Access

The European Union has issued an ultimatum to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia, demanding they phase out their citizenship-by-investment programs by June 1, 2028, or lose visa-free Schengen access. The EU cites security and money-laundering risks under a revised visa-suspension framework. Caribbean leaders, heavily reliant on these programs which account for up to 37% of Dominica's GDP and have generated over 100,000 passports, plan to send a high-level delegation to Brussels to negotiate.

EU CBI termination deadline

• ▪On June 25, 2026, the European Commission sent formal letters to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia, signed by EU Commissioner Magnus Brunner, demanding they phase out their citizenship-by-investment programs by June 1, 2028.
• ▪The European Commission's letter required the five Caribbean nations to implement interim safeguards by September 2026, including the full exclusion of individuals subject to EU restrictive measures and reinforced vetting procedures for all nationalities.
• ▪Under the revised EU Visa Suspension Mechanism, an initial suspension of Schengen access may last 12 months, with a possible extension of up to 24 months; in some cases the EU may apply targeted measures first affecting government officials or holders of diplomatic passports.

Revised visa-suspension framework

• ▪The European Union considers citizenship-by-investment programs a security threat because they grant third-country nationals EU-roaming nationality with limited genuine links to the issuing country, and because they can be used by Europeans to conceal assets — independent of how rigorous each program's due diligence is.
• ▪The revised EU Visa Suspension Mechanism, adopted in November 2025 and in force from December 30, 2025, added the mere operation of a citizenship-by-investment program as a self-standing ground for suspending a country's visa-free Schengen access — irrespective of how rigorously the program is managed.

Caribbean CBI revenue dependence

• ▪Citizenship-by-investment revenues accounted for an average of 6.5 percent of gross domestic product for the participating Caribbean nations between 2019 and 2023.
• ▪Citizenship-by-investment revenues reached approximately 30 percent of Dominica's gross domestic product in 2022, and up to 37 percent in peak years.
• ▪Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne called the CBI program "a critical pillar of Antigua and Barbuda's non-tax revenue base," generating approximately 15% of annual government revenue (~$100 million), and vowed the government "will not be pressured into a unilateral phase-out that would cause irreparable harm."

Regional diplomatic Brussels mission

• ▪Saint Lucia Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre stated after a July 10, 2026, meeting that the Caribbean nations remain committed to respectful and constructive dialogue with the European Union.
• ▪Heads of government of the five Eastern Caribbean CBI states — chaired by Dominica's PM Roosevelt Skerrit — met in Roseau, Dominica, on July 10, 2026, and agreed to send a high-level mission to Brussels to negotiate with European Union officials.

Eastern Caribbean CBI scale

• ▪The Eastern Caribbean nations established a regional minimum investment threshold of US$200,000 for their citizenship-by-investment programs, as part of the ECCIRA harmonization reforms.
• ▪The five Eastern Caribbean nations had issued more than 100,000 passports through their citizenship-by-investment programs in total, according to the European Commission's eighth report under the Visa Suspension Mechanism.

Regional regulatory authority establishment

• ▪The five Caribbean nations established the Eastern Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Regulatory Authority (ECCIRA) in late 2025 to harmonize standards, increase transparency, and provide a regional minimum investment threshold of US$200,000.
• ▪The United Kingdom removed visa-free access for Dominica and Vanuatu in 2023 and for Saint Lucia in 2025, citing concerns about their citizenship-by-investment programs; the United States imposed partial visa restrictions on Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica in January 2026.