Most Eastern Caribbean nations, which allow global citizens to buy local passports and citizenship by injecting cash in various schemes in the countries, have spiked their base prices in the wake of unrelenting pressure from the European Union (EU).
The latest to do so is Antigua, which this week moved to align base rates to apply for a passport and obtain citizenship by, in some cases, doubling the minimum cash needed to qualify. Prime ministers from Antigua, St. Kitts, Grenada, Dominica and St. Lucia had met in recent weeks to harmonize approaches to the Citizenship by Investment (CIP) scheme amid concerns from the EU and also because of the need to increase earnings from the program.
Agents worldwide who procure applicants for CIP nations have already been informed of the new changes, the government said. Governments have repeatedly stated that revenues from CIP schemes have in some cases, made up for losses of import taxes from CARICOM’s single largely duty free trading market and related free trade arrangements from bilateral deals with various countries.
