Saint Lucia
Eastern Caribbean island state whose passport-sale scheme the EU wants closed by 2028.
Saint Lucia sells citizenship to foreign investors, a scheme its prime minister puts at about 10% of national revenue, and a European Commission letter in June 2026 asked the island to close it by 1 June 2028.
Last refreshed: 3 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
What does Saint Lucia do for revenue if the passport scheme closes?
Timeline for Saint Lucia
Asked for time to wind down its scheme
Nomads & Communities: Caribbean PMs ask EU for CBI transitionBackground
Saint Lucia is an Eastern Caribbean island state whose government finances lean on a citizenship-by-investment scheme. Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre put the scheme at about 10% of national revenue when he met European Commissioner Magnus Brunner in New York on 24 September 2026, alongside the leaders of Antigua and Barbuda. The two governments asked for a longer wind-down than Brussels had offered, and the meeting closed without a deal.
The pressure comes from a Commission letter sent in June 2026 to five Caribbean passport-selling states. It asked Saint Lucia to shut its programme by 1 June 2028 and to adopt two vetting safeguards by September. A Saint Lucian technical TEAM is due to meet EU officials in October.
The scheme matters beyond the budget line. Saint Lucian passport holders travel to the Schengen area without a Visa, and the EU can suspend that access for countries whose investor-citizenship sales it judges a security risk. Closing the programme would remove a tenth of state revenue; keeping it puts the Visa waiver for every citizen at stake.
Does Saint Lucia sell citizenship?
How much of Saint Lucia's revenue is citizenship by investment?
Why is the EU pressing Saint Lucia on passports?
