The future of Citizenship by Investment (CIP) programmes across the Eastern Caribbean has been thrown into uncertainty after the European Union ordered participating countries to shut down their programmes by June 2028, prompting regional governments to push for urgent face-to-face talks with European officials.
Speaking during Monday’s Pre-Cabinet Press Briefing, Investment Minister Dr. Ernest Hilaire said the OECS was caught off guard by the European Commission’s decision, arguing that Caribbean governments had already implemented every major security reform requested by the bloc.
The latest development follows months of mounting pressure from Europe over concerns that citizenship-by-investment programmes could pose security risks. Earlier this year, the United Kingdom revoked visa-free access for Saint Lucian passport holders, while Ireland introduced visa and transit visa requirements. The European Commission has now gone a step further, warning that countries maintaining active CIPs could lose visa-free access to the Schengen Area within two years.
“We’re aware that for quite a few years the European Union, the U.S., the U.K., our international partners had expressed concern about the growth of the programmes and therefore they had issues with potential threats to national security through the programme,” Dr. Hilaire said.
He stressed that Saint Lucia and its regional partners took those concerns seriously and worked closely with European authorities to strengthen the programmes.
“You would note that we’ve changed our legislation in Saint Lucia to reinforce the programme. We went back to some of the provisions we had in 2016,” he added.
In recent months, five OECS countries agreed to sweeping reforms, including establishing a minimum investment threshold of US$200,000, strengthening due diligence standards, and implementing automated information-sharing systems across participating states. According to Dr. Hilaire, applicants are also vetted by internationally recognised due diligence firms based in Europe and New York before citizenship is ever considered.
The proposed EU measures now place Caribbean governments in a difficult position as they seek to protect a critical source of development financing while preserving visa-free travel for their citizens.
Dr. Hilaire said OECS Heads of Government are seeking direct discussions with the European Union before any decisions are made and insisted Saint Lucians will ultimately be involved in determining the future of the country’s Citizenship by Investment Programme.
“The Heads of Government are right in their approach that they would want an opportunity… to reach out to the E.U. and to really get from them a thorough understanding of what this thing is about.”
No date has yet been announced for the planned OECS delegation to Brussels.
