An IMGlobalWealth.com News Report / A Developing Story
The European Union has asked Antigua and Barbuda to phase out its Citizenship by Investment Programme by 1 June 2028, marking a significant escalation in Brussels’ scrutiny of Caribbean investment migration programmes.
The request was disclosed by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, which said it had received a 25 June 2026 communication from European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner. IMGW.News has been advised by trusted industry experts that the communication forms part of a broader EU engagement with Caribbean CBI jurisdictions.
According to Antigua and Barbuda’s government, the Commission also proposed interim safeguards by September 2026, including the exclusion of persons subject to EU restrictive measures and reinforced vetting procedures for applicants of all nationalities. The matter is expected to feature in the EU’s next Visa Suspension Mechanism report, due in December 2026.
The move follows the EU’s revised Visa Suspension Mechanism, which allows visa-free access to be suspended where a visa-exempt third country operates an investor citizenship programme granting nationality in exchange for investment without a genuine link to the country concerned.
The wider context is clear. Brussels has spent years increasing pressure on investment migration programmes, both inside and outside the bloc. Vanuatu lost its EU visa exemption after concerns linked to its investor citizenship programme, while in April 2025 the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled against the investor citizenship framework of the EU island state Malta, finding that it amounted to the commercialisation of Union citizenship and breached EU law.
“Properly managed, and subject to strong due diligence and screening, investment migration programmes have provided significant financing to small island economies. In St Kitts and Nevis, IMF data show CBI fees reached 22.2% of GDP in 2023, after 25.8% in 2022”
For the Caribbean, however, the issue is not only regulatory. Properly managed, and subject to strong due diligence and screening, investment migration programmes have provided significant financing to small island economies. In St Kitts and Nevis, IMF data show CBI fees reached 22.2% of GDP in 2023, after 25.8% in 2022.
An IMF working paper citing research by LSE academic Kristin Surak also noted that Dominica’s programme accounted for more than 50% of government revenue over 2020-21, equivalent to about a quarter of GDP, while Vanuatu’s programme generated just over 40% of government revenue, or 15% of GDP, over the same period.
These figures help explain the sensitivity of the issue. In small island states with limited populations, remote geography, narrow economic bases and high exposure to climate shocks, CBI revenues can support infrastructure, health services, education, disaster recovery and climate resilience.
Antigua and Barbuda has said its programme will continue, and that any transition away from CBI would require credible replacement revenue rather than general development assurances. The development signals a sharper phase in EU engagement with the Caribbean: one that moves beyond due diligence and compliance expectations towards direct pressure over the future of investor citizenship itself.
