Dominica says the EU wants a move away from citizenship by investment

The Government of Dominica said in a statement posted on the Prime Minister’s press room on 28 October 2026 that the European Union “has indicated” that Dominica and other Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) countries operating citizenship by investment programmes “must transition away from them by June 2028 to retain visa-free access to the Schengen Area”. The statement does not announce any suspension of Dominica’s Citizenship by Investment Programme.

For a Vietnamese investor or family, as for any other applicant, the statement reports no decision. Where it speaks of suspension, it means the European Union’s visa mechanism, not Dominica’s programme. The website of the Citizenship by Investment Unit, opened on 29 October 2026, still listed two routes, including a US$200,000 contribution to the Economic Diversification Fund for a single applicant, and carried no notice on the European Union.

What the statement says

In its second paragraph the statement goes on to cite Regulation (EU) 2025/2441, under which, it says, the EU “has revised its visa suspension mechanism to include the operation of investor citizenship schemes among the grounds for suspending visa-free travel”. It gives no day in June 2028, no date or form for the EU’s indication, and names no EU institution or letter.

On revenue, the third paragraph says the programme’s revenue “has helped finance major infrastructure, disaster recovery and national resilience”, and that “any change to this source of revenue therefore requires careful consideration and planning”. It gives no amount.

On oversight, the fourth paragraph says the Government “is also working with regional partners towards establishing” the Eastern Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Regulatory Authority, intended to “strengthen oversight, due diligence and common standards”. It gives no start date for the regulator.

The fifth paragraph describes the talks: Dominica and its OECS partners “are discussing with the EU the economic and fiscal implications of discontinuing CBI programmes”. They have raised “the importance of realistic timeframes and appropriate transitional support”, and the discussions “include consideration of financial and technical assistance to develop alternative revenue sources”.

The sixth paragraph adds that the Government “will continue this engagement in a spirit of cooperation, seeking a practical agreement that addresses the EU’s concerns and allows any transition to be managed responsibly”. The statement reports no agreement and does not say that Dominica has decided to discontinue its programme.

The statement does not mention applicants, pending applications, citizenship already granted, the Economic Diversification Fund, the Citizenship by Investment Unit, fees, any amount or a Cabinet decision. By comparison, the heads of government statement posted on the same press room on 10 July 2026 mentions neither June 2028 nor 12 November.

The European Union texts

Regulation (EU) 2025/2441, adopted on 26 November 2025 and in force since 30 December 2025, lists among the grounds for suspending a country’s exemption from the visa requirement the operation of an investor citizenship scheme that grants citizenship for pre-determined payments or investments “without that person having any genuine link to that third country”. It does not define “genuine link”, a qualifier the Dominica statement leaves out.

A suspension requires a Commission implementing act for 12 months, and for a country with a short-stay visa waiver agreement the Council must suspend the application of the agreement in parallel. An earlier article sets out the steps the Union must take.

Dominica is on the list of visa-exempt countries in the text consolidated on 30 December 2025, with no suspension recorded. A footnote says the exemption “shall apply from the date of entry into force of an agreement on visa exemption to be concluded with the European Union”. The agreement itself was not read.

Antigua and Barbuda’s Government said in a July statement that a Commission letter dated 25 June 2026 “formally requested that Antigua and Barbuda phase out its CBI Programme by 1 June 2028”, a request rather than a closure or a visa suspension decision. The letter has not been published.

No European Union text read mentions June 2028 or 12 November, and the Regulation text read sets no date by which a country must close a scheme. This means the June 2028 date rests on the two governments’ accounts, not on a published European Union text.

What happens next, with dates

The statement closes: “We will communicate further with the European Union by 12 November 2026 and keep the Dominican public informed as discussions progress.” The subject is the Government of Dominica. The sentence does not say that the EU set the date, that other governments share it or what the communication will contain.

12 November is a Thursday, 14 days after the reading date of 29 October. Antigua and Barbuda’s programme was reported on 25 October to face a possible suspension decision by 12 November. That report rests on press accounts of the Prime Minister’s remarks, whereas the Dominica statement is an official text describing a different step; nothing read links the two.

What this article has not established

Whether Dominica has decided anything is not established. The statement describes talks and a next communication, and no Government text read records a decision.

What the 12 November communication is, to whom it goes and whether the date came from Dominica, the EU or the OECS is not established.

The EU side of June 2028 is not established: the form, date and author of the indication, and the text of any Commission letter. No European Union text read states June 2028 or 12 November.

What “transition away” or “discontinuing” would mean is not established. The statement and the Unit’s website are silent on pending applications, files in due diligence, citizenship already granted, the Economic Diversification Fund and approved real estate projects.

Whether the OECS heads of government have met is not established. Antigua’s Prime Minister was reported to have called such a meeting for the week beginning 26 October, and the OECS press room, read on 29 October, listed nothing on it.

The positions of Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia are not established: nothing was found on their official pages or open feeds read since 20 October, and leaders’ broadcast remarks were not searched.

Whether a Council decision would be needed to suspend Dominica’s own visa exemption agreement with the EU is not established, because the agreement was not read.

The Government Information Service pages could not be read and the Government’s social media pages were not opened, so any further remark by the Prime Minister on the statement is not established.