Antigua and Barbuda is likely to suspend its Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP) to keep its citizens' visa-free access to the Schengen Area, IMI Daily reports. Prime Minister Gaston Browne said on Saturday, 24 October, that the government has until 12 November to commit. According to the report, preliminary Cabinet discussions favour suspension, but no final decision has been made.
The deadline came out of a technical meeting with EU representatives in the week of 19 October. Eastern Caribbean officials were offered two options: keep their programmes and risk losing visa-free access, or commit by 12 November to suspend them. The date falls before the European Commission's December 2026 report under the visa suspension mechanism.
IMI Daily recalls that a letter from EU Commissioner Magnus Brunner dated 25 June 2026 had asked for the programmes to be phased out by 1 June 2028, with a 24-month transition. The other Caribbean states with such programmes reportedly received similar letters. The Commission relies on Regulation (EU) 2025/2441, in force since 30 December 2025, under which an investor citizenship programme is in itself a ground for suspending visa-free travel.
According to Browne, the programme has brought in more than EC$1.4 billion (about US$518 million) over 11 years, and the 2026 budget counts on EC$157 million (about US$58 million) from it. Losing Schengen access would mean visas for all citizens of Antigua and Barbuda for 29 European countries.
Five OECS members run such programmes: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia. Browne has called for a meeting of OECS heads of government in the week of 26 October to seek a common response. It is not yet clear whether a commitment by 12 November would stop new applications at once or start the phase-out the EU proposed until June 2028.
What it means
Dominica is one of the five Caribbean countries with a citizenship by investment programme and, according to the report, faces the same EU position; the OECS meeting in the coming days and the 12 November date are the next official milestones.
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