St Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda sign visa waivers with Azerbaijan
Both Caribbean states signed agreements in New York covering every passport type, including the ordinary passports held by citizens by investment.
ReadOver the weekend of June 14 and 15, 2025, The Washington Post and Reuters reported on an internal US State Department cable, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, that lists 36 countries whose citizens could face full or partial restrictions on entering the United States. Four of the five Caribbean countries that sell citizenship by investment are on it: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis and St Lucia. So are Vanuatu and São Tomé and Príncipe, which also run investor citizenship programs.
Nothing has been decided. But for holders of these passports, and for anyone considering them, it is the clearest sign yet that Washington views citizenship sold without residence as a security question.
What the cable says
According to the reports, the State Department describes the 36 as countries of concern and asks them to take corrective action. If they do not meet set benchmarks and requirements within 60 days, their nationals could face a full or partial suspension of entry. The cable lists the concerns that prompted the review, while noting that not every concern applies to every country:
- No competent or cooperative government authority able to produce reliable identity documents, or doubts about the security of the country's passport.
- Refusal to cooperate in taking back nationals the United States has ordered removed.
- High rates of visa overstays.
- Nationals involved in terrorism in the United States, or in antisemitic or anti American activity.
- For the citizenship by investment countries, IMI Daily, a trade publication covering investment migration, reports that the memo explicitly cites the availability of citizenship by monetary investment without a requirement of residency.
The concern is easy to state. If a person who could not obtain a US visa on their original passport can buy a Caribbean or Pacific citizenship, they may try again on the new one. Reports also suggest that countries can ease US concerns by agreeing to accept third country nationals deported from the United States, or by signing a safe third country agreement, under which asylum seekers can be sent to that country to claim protection.
Where it comes from
The cable follows a proclamation signed by President Trump on June 4, 2025, which fully banned entry for nationals of 12 countries and partly restricted seven more, none of them in the Caribbean. In March, The New York Times and Reuters had reported on an earlier draft list that placed the same four Caribbean countries in a middle tier with 60 days to respond. Antigua and Barbuda's embassy then sent a formal note to the State Department expressing deep concern and stressing that its program screens applicants through international agencies, including INTERPOL, and follows US Treasury sanctions policy. Prime Minister Gaston Browne said an objective review would find no reason to restrict travel from the country.
Grenada, the fifth Caribbean program, is not on the list.
What is still unclear
A great deal. The White House and the State Department have not said when any restrictions would take effect, which visa categories they would cover, or exactly what each country must do to be removed from the list. Officials have described the process as a review, and the list could change before anything reaches the President. Past proclamations have exempted US permanent residents and existing visa holders, but nothing about this round has been confirmed.
The governments concerned now have a short window. The Caribbean states are already finalising a shared regional regulator, have adopted a common US$200,000 minimum price and have made interviews standard. Antigua and Barbuda has a residence condition in its law. How quickly they can show Washington tighter identity checks and better information sharing will likely decide the outcome.
What it means if you hold or are considering Antigua and Barbuda
For now, nothing has changed: Antiguan citizens can still apply for US visas, and visas already issued remain valid. Most investor citizens also keep their original nationality and can continue to use that passport for US travel.
The practical lesson is about priorities. If easy access to the United States is your main reason for a second passport, the next 60 days matter, and it may be wise to wait. If your goals are a Plan B for the family, a broad family definition and travel elsewhere, Antigua's case rests on more than US access. We help clients weigh these trade offs honestly, apply through authorised agents, work with our local team, and quote our fees in writing.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice.
