Fighting to save their Citizen By Investment schemes

Under mounting pressure, especially from the European Union(EU), over their Citizen By Investment(CBI)/Citizen Investment Programme(CIP) passport scheme, leaders of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States(OECS) have announced that they are setting up a unified strategy to hopefully resolve the issue with the EU.

The decision was made a few days ago at a specially convened meeting in Dominica of OECS leaders in the wake of the CARICOM(Caribbean Community) annual summit, which they had just attended in St Lucia.

The CBI/CIP matter was not on the formal agenda of the CARICOM summit, although it was raised during the post-summit press conference.

During the week of the summit, the European Union issued an ultimatum to countries in the region operating the scheme to phase it out by 2028 or risk having their visa privileges severely curtailed.

A joint statement issued by the participating leaders following the urgently called Dominica meeting confirmed that it was called in response to the EU’s ultimatum to end their CBI/CIP schemes by 2028. It stated that the objective was “to consider recent developments concerning Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programmes and the implications of the European Union’s revised visa suspension mechanism.”

They claim that adjustments have already been made to previous concerns raised by the EU to tighten up security and transparency.

“The Citizenship by Investment programmes have become an important pillar of economic resilience and development financing for small island developing states,” the OECS leaders say. “Revenues generated through these programmes have supported critical investments in climate resilience, disaster recovery, infrastructure, housing, healthcare, education, and fiscal stability. These programmes have enabled our countries to respond to extraordinary external shocks while reducing dependence on unsustainable borrowing and preserving macroeconomic stability.”

ASSISTANCE VERSUS ULTIMATUM

According to the OECS leaders, any future adjustments to the existing arrangements “must take full account of the economic realities and development vulnerabilities of small island developing states…Any transition affecting a significant source of national development financing must be accompanied by a comprehensive framework that safeguards economic stability, protects development gains already achieved, and supports the creation of sustainable alternative sources of financing.”

The United States is already implementing drastic visa restrictions on some Caribbean countries, citing the BCI/CIP scheme as one reason for tightening its policy.

The OECS leaders say they welcome the European Commission’s commitment to continued engagement and technical dialogue and have agreed to pursue a coordinated programme of diplomatic engagement.

However, they have outlined their own list of demands in light of the importance of the CBI/CIP schemes to their respective economies.

The statement says talks with the EU should “encompass opportunities for enhanced development cooperation, strategic investment partnerships, climate resilience financing, economic diversification initiatives, and other appropriate support measures capable of strengthening long-term economic resilience and facilitating any future arrangements that may be agreed between the parties.”

PASSPORTS WITH BENEFITS

The CBI/CIP scheme is a foreign direct investment opportunity which offers national passports to persons investing specified sums in the country. Investment amounts start at around US$200,000 and vary from country to country.

These passports also grant recipients visa-free access to countries where their homeland might not have cordial diplomatic relations or where visa access is severely restricted.

The scheme also allows individuals who obtain Caribbean citizenship through an authorised CBI programme to get freedom of movement and entry to all 15 CARICOM member states for up to six months without a visa using the Caribbean passport, as well as other benefits.

Currently, five of the seven full members of the OECS use the system as an investment vehicle. They are Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts & Nevis, and St. Lucia. The government of St Vincent is reported to be looking into launching its own CBI/CIP version.

However, it is not offered by the larger CARICOM countries of Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. It is also not available in the UK’s Overseas Territories or the French and Dutch EU outposts in the region.

The EU and the US are known to be particularly concerned about national security and border control risks. The United Kingdom, while not directly objecting to the scheme, has however intensified its scrutiny of visa applicants from CBI/CIP countries.

The urgently convened OECS meeting in Dominica to discuss the looming threats facing their CBI/CIP schemes was chaired by Dominica’s Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit. Taking part were Philip J Pierre - Prime Minister of Saint Lucia; Gaston Browne - Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda; Dickon Mitchell - Prime Minister of Grenada; and Dr Terrance Drew - Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Also present was Godwin Friday, the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, whose country does not yet have a CBI/CIP scheme but is said to be considering it.