EU policy · EU
The EU's new visa suspension mechanism
Published 15 Sep 2026 · Reviewed 7 Oct 2026 · 4 min read
Regulation (EU) 2025/2441, published on 10 December 2025, adds investor-citizenship schemes to the grounds on which the EU can suspend visa-free Schengen travel. It covers all five Caribbean programs.
What changed
Visa-free travel to the Schengen area has always been revocable. The new regulation names citizenship-by-investment schemes as a specific ground for suspension. No numeric threshold applies to this ground. The Commission can suspend visa-free travel for 12 months, then for 24 more.
The precedent: Vanuatu
The EU fully suspended its visa waiver with Vanuatu from 4 February 2023, and moved Vanuatu to the visa-required list from 3 February 2025. Vanuatu's program still operates, but its passport no longer gives visa-free Schengen access.
Other countries are acting too
- The UK has required visas for nationals of Dominica and Vanuatu since 19 July 2023.
- US Proclamation 10998 suspends US immigrant and B, F, M and J visas for nationals of Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica from 1 January 2026, citing citizenship by investment without residency.
What it means if you hold or want a Caribbean passport
Treat visa-free access as a present fact, not a permanent one. If Schengen travel is the main reason for a second passport, compare an EU residence permit, which gives Schengen travel on its own terms.