Kingston: Scroll through homes for sale in the Eastern Caribbean and it is no longer just bewitching beaches and a laid-back lifestyle being touted to woo buyers. More and more property listings are offering a passport too - and political and social volatility in the US is said to be fuelling an upsurge in interest.

According to BBC, five of the region’s island nations – Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Lucia – offer such citizenship by investment (CBI) from as little as $200,000 (£145,000). US citizens account for the bulk of CBI applications in the Caribbean over the past year, with Ukraine, Turkey, Nigeria, and China among the other frequent countries of origin for applicants. The overall applications for Caribbean CBI programmes have increased by 12% since the fourth quarter of 2024.

Everything from gun violence to antisemitism is reportedly putting Americans on tenterhooks. Dominic Volek from Henley and Partners explained that for most applicants, a second citizenship serves as an insurance policy against various concerns, with only around 10-15% actually relocating. The Caribbean passports offer ease-of-travel advantages that appeal to businesspeople and may present a security benefit, prompting some US clients to prefer traveling on a more politically-benign passport.

The Caribbean nations have faced international scrutiny over these programs, with the European Union threatening to withdraw visa-free access for CBI countries and the US raising concerns about potential misuse for tax evasion and financial crime. A European Commission spokesperson mentioned ongoing assessments to verify if citizenship by investment constitutes an abuse of the visa-free regime and whether it poses security risks for the EU. The Commission has acknowledged reforms by the islands, which will impact its evaluation.

For their part, the five Caribbean nations have reacted strongly to claims of insufficient applicant scrutiny. The government reports that passport sales have raised over $1bn since the initiatives' inception in 1993, funding vital infrastructure like a state-of-the-art hospital. St Lucia's Prime Minister Philip J Pierre assured that the island adheres to the highest security standards to prevent any illicit activities related to its CBI program.

Aside from buying property, other routes to Caribbean citizenship through investment typically include a one-off donation to a national development fund or similar. The islands have committed to new oversight measures, including establishing a regional regulator for standards, monitoring, and compliance, and agreed to six principles with the US, including enhanced due diligence and mandatory applicant interviews.

These days, passport sales account for 10-30% of the islands' GDP. Andre Huie, a journalist in St Kitts, noted that the CBI scheme is "generally well supported" by the public, who understand its economic value and appreciate the government's accomplishments funded by the program.