Antigua and Barbuda: November 12 is a deadline, not a closure

Gaston Browne denied claims that the citizenship by investment programme would close on 12 November 2026. According to him, that date is the deadline set by the European Union for the government to send it a formal commitment on the proposed end of the programme. He was speaking on a broadcast on Saturday, 31 October.

The deadline for a reply was initially set for 30 September before being pushed back to 12 November. The Prime Minister accuses his opponents of having presented this reply date as the date on which the programme would end.

The European Union first proposed an exit from the programme by June 2028. Antigua and Barbuda is instead asking for a period running until December 2030, in order to manage financial and contractual commitments and to protect development projects already under way.

The source states that this December 2030 deadline has not yet been approved by the European Union. It also notes that the government has contacted other countries in the region that operate comparable programmes.

The Prime Minister refers to a loss of around 100 millions a year in revenue linked to citizenship by investment. The government has requested assistance to carry out a socioeconomic assessment of the impact of a closure, as well as European financial support to adapt.

The matter is linked to the European Union's revised visa suspension mechanism, under which such programmes may justify a review of visa exemptions. Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia, which also operate such programmes, are likewise within Brussels' scope of attention.

No closure date agreed between the two parties has been announced. The source does not say when the European Union will reply, nor what the conditions of any financial assistance would be. The government says it will communicate further after that reply.