An IMGW News Report
Brussels sharpens its stance on golden passports, threatening visa-free travel for five island states
The European Union has taken a significant step toward reining in the global trade in ‘golden passports’, with a parliamentary committee endorsing measures that could revoke visa-free access for countries offering citizenship in exchange for cash.
“The amendment, part of a revision to Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, introduces a new suspension mechanism allowing the EU to strip visa waivers from countries granting citizenship without a ‘genuine link’ to the applicant.”
In a 41–10 vote, the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs approved amendments to the bloc’s visa regime, targeting third countries with Citizenship-by-Investment (CBI) schemes. The move risks straining relations with five Caribbean nations—Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia—whose economic models rely heavily on selling citizenship to foreign investors.
“The much-anticipated verdict could be handed down at any point this year, potentially shaping the EU’s approach to similar schemes across the bloc”
But these Caribbean states are far from alone in facing EU pressure. Malta, an EU member state, has also been under intense scrutiny for its investor citizenship programme. In March 2025, the European Court of Justice began deliberations on Case C-181/23, in which the European Commission challenges Malta’s ‘citizenship-by-investment’ model on legal grounds. The much-anticipated verdict could be handed down at any point this year, potentially shaping the EU’s approach to similar schemes across the bloc. (Read more here)
The amendment, part of a revision to Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, introduces a new suspension mechanism allowing the EU to strip visa waivers from countries granting citizenship without a ‘genuine link’ to the applicant. The justification is both political and practical: such schemes, the report notes, undermine border integrity and pose risks linked to corruption, money laundering and lax due diligence.
The new framework gives the Commission the ability to act in cases of serious criminal activity tied to nationals of a CBI country, deteriorating bilateral relations, or signs that such schemes are being used as backdoor access to the EU.
What began as a tool for economic survival in small states may now become a liability—one that Brussels no longer seems inclined to tolerate.
