The Netherlands wants five Eastern Caribbean states to scrap their citizenship-by-investment programmes, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Inter Bellum News. But it says it has no information that the European Union formally set the 12 November deadline cited by Antigua and Barbuda’s prime minister.
“Nederland beschikt echter niet over informatie waaruit blijkt dat de EU formeel een dergelijke deadline heeft gesteld,” the ministry wrote in reply to written questions. (“The Netherlands, however, has no information showing that the EU has formally set such a deadline.”)
The date sits at the centre of a dispute over the passports that Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia sell to foreign investors, typically from about $200,000. Because citizens of the five states can travel to the Schengen area without a visa, so can the buyers. Prime Minister Gaston Browne says EU officials told the five governments at a technical meeting in Brussels in the week of 19 October to commit by 12 November to closing their programmes by 1 June 2028, or risk losing that access for all their citizens. The date has since been widely reported, including by Reuters, but the European Commission has not confirmed it publicly.
The Dutch ministry did not dispute Browne’s account. It noted that he had publicly described the date as a response period set by the Commission, and said the Commission is known to be in talks with the five countries “in general terms”. Under the EU’s revised rules, it added, a proposal to suspend their visa exemption can be made.
The cabinet shares the Commission’s concern about so-called golden passport schemes, the ministry wrote, because they “carry risks in the areas of security and corruption and should therefore be avoided as much as possible”. It would like to see the five states abolish them “to safeguard the security of the Schengen area”.
The Netherlands also backed the revision of the EU’s visa-suspension mechanism, Regulation (EU) 2025/2441, in force since 30 December 2025, which made running an investor-citizenship scheme a ground for suspending visa-free travel on its own.
But backing the tool is not the same as backing its use. The ministry stressed that there is currently no Commission proposal to suspend visa-free access for any of the five countries, and said it would decide whether to support a suspension only once one is tabled.
The Netherlands has its own stake in the region. Asked whether it had raised the effects on Curaçao, Aruba, Sint Maarten and the Caribbean Netherlands within the EU, the ministry said it is mindful of possible consequences for the wider Caribbean region, “in particular the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom”, and will take them into account when assessing any proposal. “At present there is no question of that,” it added. The Kingdom’s islands are not targeted by the measure, but they share air routes, trade and families with the five states.
Inter Bellum News asked whether The Hague would accept alternatives to abolition, such as stricter due diligence, more security checks and information-sharing, or an electronic travel authorisation. The ministry acknowledged that the five states have taken measures to reduce the risks. They have set a common minimum investment of $200,000, tightened screening and created a regional regulator, the Eastern Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Regulatory Authority. The ministry nonetheless said the situation “remains worrying for the cabinet and requires continued attention from the European Commission”. The Netherlands will set its further position on the basis of the Commission’s annual report and “cannot anticipate that at this moment”.
The Netherlands has not discussed the issue separately with Antigua and Barbuda or the other four states, the ministry said. It regards the visa-suspension mechanism as an EU instrument, leaves negotiations to the Commission, and says it follows them closely and takes part in the relevant EU discussions.
The Commission’s request itself is documented. In a letter dated 25 June and signed by Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner, it asked Antigua and Barbuda to phase out its programme by 1 June 2028; the other four states received similar letters, according to Antigua and Saint Lucia. The Commission has not published the letters.
Antigua first said it would “not be pressured into a unilateral phase-out”. On 24 October Browne said his Cabinet was leaning towards accepting the 2028 date. On 30 October he wrote to Brunner offering to close the programme by the end of 2030 instead, on condition of EU help to assess the economic damage by March 2027 and financial support to replace lost revenue. Speaking on his weekly show on 31 October, Browne said 12 November was a deadline for answering Brussels, not for closing the programme, and that it had originally been 30 September before being extended.
France, whose territories Guadeloupe, Martinique and Saint-Martin lie among the five states, gave no national position. Asked for its view and whether it had weighed the effects on its Caribbean territories, the French Foreign Ministry replied: “Nous vous renvoyons vers la Commission européenne sur ce sujet” (“We refer you to the European Commission on this subject”).
The European Commission acknowledged Inter Bellum News’ questions, including whether the 12 November deadline was formally set and what would happen if a government refused, and said it was working on a response. It had not provided substantive answers by the time of publication.
Dominica has said it will communicate its position by 12 November. The Commission’s next visa-suspension report is due in December. In his letter to Brunner, Browne wrote that without an agreement the Commission could announce a suspension of visa-free travel in January 2027.
The Dutch ministry answered in Dutch; translations by Inter Bellum News.