Saint Lucia is seeking direct engagement with the European Union after Brussels demanded that Caribbean countries operating Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programmes abolish them by 2028 or face the loss of visa-free access to the Schengen Area.
The issue has intensified following a series of actions by European governments. On December 19, 2025, the European Union warned that citizenship by investment schemes could lead to the suspension of visa-free travel.
That warning was followed on March 5, 2026, when the United Kingdom revoked visa-free entry for Saint Lucian passport holders, citing concerns surrounding the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP) and asylum claims. Ireland subsequently adopted a similar policy. Now, the European Commission has formally instructed Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, and Saint Kitts and Nevis to phase out their programmes by June 1, 2028.
Tourism and Investment Minister Dr Ernest Hilaire, in a pre-cabinet presser on July 13, said the Government continues to engage with European officials but acknowledged that some of the concerns raised by international partners have been difficult to reconcile.
“I had the occasion once to try to explain to a technocrat from one of those international partners,” Dr Hilaire said. “Their understanding of it was so challenging for me. Because they said, look, if you are doing 300 a year and you move now to 2,000 a year, it means it’s too much work for the unit to do and they’re likely to make mistakes.”
Dr Hilaire said he rejected that argument, noting that governments increase staffing levels as programme demand grows.
“And I said to myself, but if to do 300 I have 15 workers, and now I have 2,000, I’ll employ 50 workers,” he said.
“So nobody is overworked and overburdened because operations is about the necessary resources to maintain your efficiency and your output. So if I’m doing more, I enlarge my staff.”
He added that some European officials remained unconvinced.
“And for them, no, if you’re doing more, it means you’ll make more mistakes. You know, that kind of logic.”
The minister also defended the region’s due diligence framework, pointing out that the companies responsible for conducting background checks are based in Europe and North America.
“The due diligence firms are located in their countries,” Dr Hilaire said.
“And we said to them, if you believe we make judgments on the basis of due diligence firms or what they tell us, you regulate them. Because in your jurisdictions, you supervise them.”
He argued that if concerns exist about the quality or reliability of due diligence reports, responsibility also rests with the countries where those firms operate.
“Because they are using the information we get might not be totally correct. Then you supervise them, because they’re located in your jurisdictions,” he said.
“These are not firms in our islands. These are firms in London, in New York, in other European capitals.”
Despite the mounting pressure, Dr Hilaire said the Government would continue discussions with the European Union before determining its next course of action.
“When the time reaches the end of that process of engagement, we’ll make the best decision,” he said.
“And we trust we can go and explain it to the people of Saint Lucia.”
He added that the Government intends to demonstrate that it has made every effort to address the concerns raised by the European Union.
“All that we have gone through, you know, to meet all the concerns of the EU. And if it comes to that, then we will tell the people of Saint Lucia we believe we made the best decision.”
Saint Lucia and the other Eastern Caribbean countries operating Citizenship by Investment programmes are now seeking a face-to-face meeting with European Union officials in an effort to negotiate what they describe as a sustainable path forward while protecting both their economic interests and longstanding travel arrangements with Europe.