Antigua and Barbuda will continue operating its Citizenship by Investment Programme even if the European Union revokes visa-free access for the country's passport holders, Prime Minister Gaston Browne declared Saturday. According to Antigua News Room, Browne described the programme as too economically vital to abandon under any circumstances.
Browne said the government remains hopeful that ongoing negotiations with European officials will preserve existing travel arrangements, but acknowledged the country must prepare for the possibility that visa-free access could be withdrawn before year's end.
"We can anticipate that, despite our best efforts, these visa-free arrangements may be discontinued," Browne said during his weekly Pointe FM programme. "What I will say here, under my leadership and certainly under the Labour Party's governance of this country, with or without those visa-free arrangements, our CIP programme continues. It is too important a source of non-tax revenue to give it up."
The European Union has signalled it could suspend visa-free access for Antigua and Barbuda and other nations operating citizenship by investment programmes, though no final decision has been reached. Browne said the government is actively seeking high-level engagement with EU officials to explore alternatives.
"The European Union has threatened that they could withdraw their visa-free access, potentially by the end of the year. We don't know for sure they will, but we're trying to have a high-level engagement with them to see if we can actually reconsider," Browne said.
Antigua and Barbuda has proposed that the EU adopt an electronic travel authorisation system for travellers from countries with citizenship by investment programmes, rather than eliminating visa-free access altogether.
"We have the view that an electronic travel authorization should be sufficient," Browne said. "We think that it's a sensible thing to do to maintain the good relations that we've had over the years and not to throw the baby out with the bath water."
Browne noted that Ireland has already ended visa-free travel arrangements with Antigua and Barbuda and said the government is pushing for broader European discussions before any further action is taken.
Defending the programme's integrity, Browne argued it has been significantly strengthened in recent years and does not pose the security risks alleged by some European governments. He acknowledged, however, that no vetting system is perfect.
"We are pretty sure that we have strengthened our programme and that it does not represent any significant risk to any country," Browne said. "We do accept that you have the residual risk in which from time to time you may end up with one or two crooks. Nothing is foolproof."
The prime minister pointed to similar vulnerabilities in investment migration programmes operated by larger nations, including the United States' EB-5 programme and Canada's former investor immigration scheme.
"Even the EB-5 programme in the United States, they've had a lot of crooks. I mean the one in Canada too. But they keep pointing fingers at us as though they are not fallible and as though their programmes have not attracted crooks too," Browne said.
Browne stressed that Antigua and Barbuda's programme operates independently of political interference, stating he has never overturned a rejection decision made by the Citizenship by Investment Unit in his 12 years as prime minister.
"I've never intervened in the granting of any citizenship for anyone for the 12 years that I've governed this country. I've never once overturned any case that was actually rejected by the CIU. We have allowed the unit and the board to operate independently," he said.
The prime minister maintained that the country's due diligence standards compare favourably with those of much larger nations, adding that Antigua and Barbuda's small size makes it harder for bad actors to evade authorities.
"In our countries, I can say definitively in the case of Antigua and Barbuda, our programme is run with integrity," Browne said. "I would say better integrity than those large countries who are pointing fingers at us."
Browne said the government remains committed to working constructively with the EU and is prepared to adopt additional safeguards, including biometric screening, if required. "We have said to them, you run investment immigration programmes; any initiative that you have in place, we'll put in place," he said.
