BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The Barbados government has given its most unambiguous indication that it does not intend to follow several Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries and implement citizenship by investment program (CBI) to boost the socio-economic prospects of the island.
Under the CBI program, as conducted by countries such as St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, and Dominica, foreign investors are granted citizenship of these islands in return for making a substantial investment in the socio-economic development of the islands.
A government statement said that during a recent courtesy call in Barbados, the Chief of Missions of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Patrice Quesada, had asked the Minister of Home Affairs and Information, Wilfred Abrahams, “directly whether under either the proposed new Citizenship or Immigration legislation there will be a Citizenship by Investment Programme similar to that in other Caribbean territories.”
The statement quoted the Abrahams as advising “that Barbados has never been in
favor of an investment-based Citizenship Programme, and this was not under consideration by the Government.
“He explained that the new legislation will see a points-based system that could ultimately see persons qualifying under a new and expanded basis to apply for citizenship, as opposed to the current limited criteria.
“The position of the Barbados Government is that even under a points-based system, investment alone will never be the basis for the granting of Citizenship in Barbados,” the Biref statement noted.
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