Several Caribbean nations that offer CBI programs (Citizenship-by investments) appear in a list of countries whose citizens are exposed to travel restrictions for the United States according to the latest reports.
While the US government has not made an official announcement on these potential restrictions, both the New York Times and the Reuters have published accounts and internal documents.
No publication has published the alleged document fully.
According to these reports, the Trump administration reports reportedly the implementation of a three-stage travel limitation system that affects dozens of countries.
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Caribbean CBI nations listed
According to the New York Times, in which “civil servants who are familiar with the matter”, several Caribbean nations appear that offer programs on citizenship for investments, on one of the publication referred to as “yellow” list.
Times reported that the United States would state the countries on this list for 60 days in order to align perceived security concerns or risks with more severe restrictions.
The Caribbean nations are reportedly included in this list ::
Reuters, who claimed to see an “internal memo”, also listed the same four Caribbean nations among countries that were partly exposed to Visa suspensions if they did not appeal to any defects within a certain time frame.
Kevin Hosam, founder and chairman of EC Holdings, find a strange omission in the reported lists. “It is puzzling that Grenada, which also operates a CBI program, is missing in these reports,” emphasizes Hosam. “This inconsistency raises questions about the criteria used for these names.”
He notes that the Caribbean CBI nations “have proven significant compliance with inquiries from the United States, Great Britain and the EU”.
Hosam emphasizes that the nations have implemented “essential reforms” in the past two years, and it indicates that many of the allegedly “red-listed countries are already prohibited to apply for CBI programs of the Caribbean”.
The case of Vanuatu
Vanuatu, which runs a prominent program of citizenship outside the Caribbean region, was also included in the “yellow” list registered by both publications.
Vanuatu has already suspended significant restrictions from other important jurisdiction. In July 2023, Great Britain revoked the visa-free journey for Vanuatu citizens and quoted the “clear and obvious abuse” of his CBI program.
In recent times, the European Parliament voted in November 2024 for the permanent termination of Vanuatus Schengen Visa Waiver Privilegia after temporary suspension was first imposed in March 2022.
Reported concerns
None of the two publications specified the exact type of concerns of the US administration in these nations.
However, the New York Times, citing anonymous civil servants, reported that topics for countries on the “yellow” list “not about the US information about incoming travelers, supposedly inadequate security practices for the exhibition of passports or the sale of citizens from prohibited countries that could serve as easy near the restrictions could not be communicated.”
The list contained four Caribbean CBI nations, Vanuatu, Pakistan, Sierra Leone and Cambodia, all of which have their own version of a CBI program.
However, Hosam says that there are remarkable “inconsistencies that raise questions about the reasons for these selections”. He emphasizes the case of Bhutan as a strange addition and emphasizes that the omissions of Grenada, Egypt and Turkey “point out that other factors may go beyond CBI concerns.
This potential US campaign follows a number of regulatory developments in the Caribbean CBI sector.
Since 2023, the five Caribbean five talks with the US Ministry of Finance have been involved in implementing six principles, including improved Due -Diligence procedures and the suspension of applications from Russians and Belarusians.
According to the organization of the Eastern Caribbean states (OECs), the Caribbean nations have fully implemented four of these six principles and continue with the remaining two progress.
Hosam points to what he sees as a separation in international approaches: “The Caribbean nations banned Russian and Belarusian applicants, while these applicants are still entitled to different investment migration programs elsewhere, including the US EB-5 program. This raises questions about the consistency in the global answering of these concerns. “
Discreps with reports
There were remarkable discrepancies between the countries listed in each publication:
- The New York Times listed 43 countries in all three levels, while Reuters listed 41.
- Russia appears in the “Orange” of the New York Times (countries with severe visa restrictions), but is missing in Reuters' report.
- Mali and Zimbabwe are contained in the “yellow” of the New York Times (countries that have 60 days to clear up), but are missing in the list of Reuters.
- East Timor appears in the list of Reuters countries that are exposed to a potential partial suspension, but does not exist in the New York Times reporting.
Drawing status
Both publications emphasized that the reported lists remain in design form.
The New York Times found that “officials of messages and regional offices of the Foreign Ministry and Security Specialists in other departments and secret services have checked the draft”, while Reuters quoted an anonymous US official who “warned that the list was on the list and that they could still be approved by the administration”.
The New York Times reported that the administration had reported a report to the Foreign Ministry for 60 days from January 20, in which countries are identified, “for which the check and screening information is so poor that a partial or full suspension of the admission of nationals from these countries” is guaranteed.
“We have to better understand what diplomatic efforts these nations do to clear up concerns from larger countries,” Hosam suggests. “Before conclusions, it would be valuable to hear directly from the Caribbean governments whether they were informed about pending changes in their visa status.”
He thinks whether CBI is an actual problem that would trigger the reported travel ban and asks: “How many CBI citizens actually get us visa with their Caribbean passes?
He says when specific people with these passes represent security concerns: “Why give you visas at all?”
Hosam also questions whether the targeting of small nations could reflect a broader geopolitical dynamic and that “you have to be surprised about the criteria if they are mostly smaller and develop nations on these lists, while larger countries with similar programs are not the same control.”
The New York Times reported that “spokesman for several agencies had rejected a comment or did not answer an application for a statement”, but added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it was according to President Trump's executive order and “undertakes to protect our nation and its citizens by maintaining the highest standards of national security and public security through our visa process”.
Reuters reported that “the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not answer to a request for comments from Reuters.”
The reports are made after President Trump issued an order from the executive on January 20, in which the security check for foreigners who are aiming for admission to the United States were obliged.
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Ahmad Abbas is the editor of IMI Daily, IMIS flagship publication publication.
