Both Dominica and the twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda appeared on a restricted list published on December 16 by President Donald Trump’s administration because they historically allowed wealthy foreigners to buy passports without having residency.
However, under pressure from the US and Europe, both nations now do require part-time residency and have been tightening rules and raising prices. That prompted suggestions from their leaders that the Trump administration had acted in error.
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In a statement December 17, Antigua Prime Minister Gaston Browne said he was “deeply disappointed” by the decision and said Washington’s stated rationale “does not reflect the present reality of our laws.”
Dominica Prime Minster Roosevelt Skerrit, meanwhile, told local outlet DBS News that his nation had already implemented residency requirements for its citizenship-by-investment programme “with the support” of the US government. “This could very well be a situation of lack of communication,” he said of the travel ban.
CBI programmes are a critical source of funding for Caribbean nations with few natural resources. In Dominica, passport sales account for 58% of national revenue and in Antigua they represent about 10% of the budget.
The US administration rolled out its own “Trump Gold Card” just last week, offering expedited US visas and residency to people willing to pay $1 million. First announced in February, the programme is part of the president’s broader upheaval of immigration policy.
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Browne said that when Antigua’s ambassador contacted the State Department about the latest travel ban, which takes effect Jan. 1, officials there said they were surprised by the announcement and “had received no prior notice of its issuance.”
The US State Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Caribbean nations are also worried that the increased US military presence in the region could affect their critical tourism industries. As the US has moved an unprecedented number of warships off the coast of Venezuela, Antigua’s prime minister has warned that any “hint of armed confrontation in our waters reverberates instantly through hotel bookings, airlines, foreign investment, and the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of families.”
So-called golden passports give visa-free access to the European Union, the UK and other countries, making them popular with nationalities that would usually be required to apply for travel permits. The five Caribbean nations with CBI programmes have extended citizenship to at least 88,000 people, including many Chinese, Russians and Nigerians, according to a EU report in 2023.
