{"id":1306,"date":"2026-07-18T14:04:46","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T14:04:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/?p=1306"},"modified":"2026-07-18T14:04:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T14:04:46","slug":"tiny-nations-offer-citizenship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/tiny-nations-offer-citizenship\/","title":{"rendered":"TINY NATIONS OFFER CITIZENSHIP!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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E.U. tells Caribbean nations: Stop selling citizenship or we\u2019ll require visas<\/h1>\n

The bloc is giving five nations two years to phase out citizenship by investment or lose visa-free travel to the 29-country Schengen area.<\/p>\n

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July 18, 2026 at 5:00 a.m. EDT<\/span>Today at 5:00 a.m. EDT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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9 min<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Basseterre Bay in Saint Kitts and Nevis. (Jeffrey Greenberg\/Universal Images Group\/<\/p><\/div>\n

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The European Union is giving five nations in the Eastern Caribbean two years to end their lucrative citizenship-by-investment programs or lose visa-free travel to the bloc, their leaders say.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The nations \u2014 Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia \u2014 generate significant revenue through their programs. Foreigners who invest in their economies, buy real estate or pay their governments directly gain passports that allow visa-free travel to more than 140 countries<\/a> and territories, including much of Europe. Costs begin at $200,000.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Each of the five received a letter from Brussels last month advising that new E.U. rules make the existence of such programs grounds for suspending visa-free access, according to the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States<\/a>. The bloc gave them until June 1, 2028, to phase out their programs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Their prime ministers are coordinating a \u201ccollective response,\u201d they said in a statement<\/a>. After meeting last week in Dominica, they are planning \u201ca high-level mission to Brussels\u201d at the \u201cearliest appropriate opportunity\u201d to meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Ant\u00f3nio Costa and other senior E.U. officials.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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E.U. officials did not respond to requests for comment. The bloc has long been wary of citizenship-by-investment programs. Critics say insufficient vetting of applicants can enable money laundering and terrorist financing and increase the risks of identity fraud and illegal immigration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Several E.U. member states offer residence-by-investment programs that can lead to citizenship. President Donald Trump last year introduced a $1 million \u201cTrump gold card<\/a>\u201d promising a direct path to U.S. citizenship<\/a> within weeks \u201cfor all qualified and vetted people<\/a>.\u201d (As of May, one person had been approved<\/a>, the Department of Homeland Security said in a legal filing.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cInvestment migration is a well-established global practice, not a Caribbean peculiarity,\u201d Didacus Jules, director general of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, told The Washington Post. \u201cMore than half of the world\u2019s states offer some form of access to residence or citizenship through investment.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The European Commission acknowledged<\/a> in December that the five nations had taken steps \u201cto strengthen due diligence and information-sharing,\u201d but said the programs \u201ccontinue to raise concerns due to high volumes, short processing times and low rejection rates.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Together, the five have issued more than 100,000 passports, according to the commission<\/a>. Prospective citizens generally are not required to be present in the country to apply; only Antigua and Barbuda requires them to ever visit. Passports are typically issued within a year, and rejection rates are typically in the single digits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Such programs have long suffered a \u201cbad image,\u201d said Jean\u2011Fran\u00e7ois Harvey, an attorney whose multinational firm specializes in business immigration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Harvey Law Group serves more than 100 clients seeking Caribbean citizenship each year. Some want to live there, Harvey said, \u201cbut the vast majority \u2026 want a second citizenship for estate and tax planning, and for safety.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hugh Jorgensen, program lead for corrupt money flows at Transparency International, said such programs can also be exploited by criminals. The main risk, he said, is that \u201cwhat is being sold is not the actual citizenship in the country itself, it\u2019s what the citizenship offers in getting access to other countries.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Citizens of the five nations enjoy visa-free travel to the Schengen area, which includes 25 of the 27 E.U. member states. The majority of applicants to at least four of the five in 2024 came from countries for whom the bloc requires visas (Grenada released only partial data), the commission reported. They included China, Syria, Iraq and Nigeria.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Criminals can use citizenship by investment to \u201claunder their proceeds in these countries, or simply escape their own jurisdiction where they are facing criminal charges or at risk being arrested,\u201d Jorgensen said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cMany countries have tried these in the past and brought them to a conclusion because it\u2019s not worth the risk,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is not a long-term economic solution.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Harvey said his firm turns away applicants who have undisclosed criminal convictions or are unable to explain the source of their funds. \u201cAt least a dozen times a year, we refuse clients because we\u2019re not comfortable representing them,\u201d he said. \u201cSometimes, clients have a bad profile.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Jules of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States defended the integrity of the five nations\u2019 programs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cInvestment migration, in its various forms, is a widespread and legitimate instrument of economic policy,\u201d he said in written responses to The Post\u2019s questions. The region\u2019s programs \u201care distinguished less by what they offer than by their fiscal significance for small island developing states \u2014 and, increasingly, by the depth of the regulatory architecture that governs them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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