In a press release emanating from the office of the prime minister, it was announced that Hon Phillip J Pierre has travelled to Brussels, Belgium, to meet with officials from the European commission and the European parliament, regarding international migration issues.
More specifically, the meeting will cover proposed changes to the Schengen visa free regime for countries participating in citizenship by investment programs.
Currently, holders of a St Lucian passport enjoy visa free access to a total of 144 countries worldwide. These include territories within the Schengen area of the European Union. The Schengen area consists 29 European countries, who have agreed to remove controls at their mutual borders. Visa free access to these countries and more have now come under threat with the implementation of Citizenship by Investment Programs throughout the region. These initiatives allow foreign nationals to buy citizenship from countries like St Lucia through donation and other programs, sold by agents the world over. Once obtained, the investor is eligible for all the benefits afforded to a person born in country.
Concerns that participation in C.I.P schemes could jeopardize international migration were highlighted when in July 2023; Dominica’s visa free access to the United Kingdom was pulled. Several other OECS territories began to speculate as to whether they would suffer the same fate. A move was made to synchronize C.I.P programs within the OECS through a memorandum of agreement, set to standardize vetting policies and pricing regimes. St Lucia however, has not signed on to the agreement.
It remains to be seen how this stance will affect the country’s Schengen visa status.
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