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Eastern Caribbean
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Nation / Place

Eastern Caribbean

Island sub-region of the Caribbean whose states share the OECS and the Eastern Caribbean dollar.

Five Eastern Caribbean states, from Antigua and Barbuda to Saint Lucia, face a European Commission demand to close their citizenship-by-investment schemes by 1 June 2028, with Visa-free Schengen access for their passports at stake.

Last refreshed: 4 October 2026

Key Question

Will Eastern Caribbean passports lose visa-free access to Europe?

Timeline for Eastern Caribbean

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Background

Five OECS members sell citizenship through investment schemes that Brussels wants closed by 1 June 2028; Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda make up the group. Their passports carry Visa-free access to the Schengen area, and the EU decides WHO keeps it. Two of their prime ministers pressed for a longer wind-down in New York on 24 September 2026 and came away empty-handed.

The region has no single government. The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States dates from the 1981 Treaty of Basseterre, revised in 2010, and has seven full members and five associate members; its Commission sits at Morne Fortune in Castries, Saint Lucia. Eight governments share the Eastern Caribbean dollar, issued by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank in Basseterre, St Kitts, and pegged at EC$2.70 to the US dollar.

Those shared institutions let the five negotiate as one. Saint Lucia's prime minister, Philip J. Pierre, puts the schemes at about 10% of national revenue, and the states send a joint technical TEAM to EU officials in October 2026.

Common Questions
Which Eastern Caribbean countries sell citizenship by investment?
Five: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia. The European Commission asked all five in June 2026 to close their schemes by 1 June 2028.Source: https://oecs.int/en/who-we-are/about-us
Why does the EU want Eastern Caribbean citizenship schemes to close?
Commissioner Magnus Brunner's June 2026 letter treats passport sales as a risk to Visa-free access to the Schengen area. It also set two interim safeguards for September 2026: excluding people under EU sanctions and reinforced vetting of all applicants.Source: https://oecs.int/en/who-we-are/about-us
Which countries use the Eastern Caribbean dollar?
Eight: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank in Basseterre issues it at a fixed EC$2.70 to the US dollar.Source: https://www.eccb-centralbank.org/about-the-bank
What is the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States?
A regional organisation founded by the 1981 Treaty of Basseterre and revised in 2010. It has seven full members and five associate members, and its Commission sits in Castries, Saint Lucia.Source: https://oecs.int/en/who-we-are/about-us
Source Material
About the ECCBOECS: about us