EU warns five Caribbean states to end golden-passport schemes

The European Commission says operating a citizenship-by-investment programme is in itself grounds to suspend visa-free Schengen access, raising the pressure on the Eastern Caribbean.

In its December 2025 visa-suspension report, the Commission named Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Lucia. The five have collectively issued more than 100,000 investment passports, with 10,573 applications in 2024.

The Commission cited weak vetting, noting Antigua and Barbuda rejected just 1.7% of 2024 applications, and demanded progress without delay pending the programmes' discontinuation. For states where the schemes fund a large share of the budget, the stakes are fiscal as much as diplomatic.