Dominica says the EU wants Caribbean passport schemes wound down by 2028, as Argentina readies its own

On 28 October 2026, the Government of Dominica said in a statement from its press secretary that the European Union had told it and the other Eastern Caribbean states running citizenship by investment (CBI) programmes that they “must transition away from them by June 2028” to keep visa-free access to the Schengen Area. The statement, reported by Dominica Gazette and WIC News, said Dominica would reply to Brussels by 12 November 2026.

Five states are concerned: Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia. The legal basis cited by Roseau is Regulation (EU) 2025/2441, which amends the EU visa regulation (2018/1806) so that operating an investor citizenship scheme is now one of the grounds on which the EU can suspend a country’s visa waiver. The June 2028 date comes from the Dominican government’s account of its exchanges with the EU. We have not seen a published EU document that sets it, and no suspension has been proposed.

What Dominica says it will do

The government did not say it would close its programme. It said CBI revenue has paid for major infrastructure, disaster recovery and national resilience, and that any move away from it needs careful planning to protect public finances and projects already under way. With its partners in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), it is discussing the fiscal cost of ending the schemes with the EU, asking for realistic timeframes and for financial and technical support. In parallel, the five states are setting up the Eastern Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Regulatory Authority (ECCIRA), a shared body meant to apply common standards of oversight and due diligence.

Argentina moves the other way

While the Caribbean programmes are under pressure, Argentina is preparing to open one. On 2 October 2026, during Argentina Week in Paris, economy minister Luis Caputo announced that the scheme would start taking applications in the fourth quarter of 2026, El Economista reported. The main applicant either pays a non-refundable $350,000 to the National Treasury or subscribes $800,000 of a government bond created for the programme. A spouse costs a further $100,000, unmarried children aged 18 to 25 $100,000 each, and children under 18 $25,000 each. Applicants still face source-of-funds, criminal and reputational checks.

The timetable is not secure. Eric Major, chief executive of Latitude Group, one of five firms advising the Argentine government on the scheme, told Spear’s on 5 November that the programme was created by presidential decree and is now before the country’s Supreme Court, which could delay the launch. That account comes from an adviser to the scheme; the court proceedings themselves have not been reported in detail.

In the same Spear’s piece, Isobel Neilson of Fragomen’s private client team said her clients are looking more at discretionary, merit-based naturalisation, citing Croatia, Slovenia and Poland as the most active countries. Malta took that route after the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled its investor citizenship scheme unlawful in April 2025.

What it means for family offices

Many families bought a Caribbean passport for one reason, easy travel to Europe, and that benefit now has a date attached to it, even if the date is still being negotiated. The mechanism acts on a country’s visa waiver rather than on a programme, so a suspension could reach every holder of that passport, however it was acquired. Family offices should check which members hold which second passports and what each one is for, and should not treat a newer scheme such as Argentina’s as a substitute until it is open and has survived its court challenge. The next markers are Dominica’s reply to the EU on 12 November and whether the other four states publish theirs.

Sources: Dominica Gazette (28 October 2026); WIC News (29 October 2026); El Economista (7 October 2026); Spear’s (5 November 2026).