On May 28th this year in Brussels an agreement signed between the European Union and five Caribbean countries effectively relaxed visa requirements, and thus enhanced the appeal of the citizenship by investment schemes offered by the two countries of Dominica and Grenada specifically. The short stay visa waiver agreements signed with Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago enable citizens of these countries to travel visa-free to all EU and Schengen member states, for up to 90 days within a six-month period. It is worth noting that Dominicans and Grenadians, as Commonwealth citizens, already enjoy visa-free travel for six months to the UK and Ireland. The new EU agreement follows on from four other Caribbean countries - namely St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and the Bahamas - which were awarded similar visa-free travel status in 2009 by the EU. In terms of citizenship by investment, Dominica and Grenada now offer the same visa-free travel benefits as that of St Kitts and Nevis, although the investment required to achieve citizenship is lower. An amount of USD200,000 for Dominica and USD300,000 for Grenada (compared to USD400,000 for St Kitts and Nevis) is required to be invested to be eligible for citizenship, or a donation of USD100,000 in the case of Dominica (compared to USD250,000 for St Kitts and Nevis). However, it is worth noting that the donation and investment amounts for Dominica are expected to increase in the near future, making it advisable to act sooner rather than later to pursue citizenship through the scheme.
