The United States is considering a major expansion of its travel ban to include Saint Lucia and several other Caribbean nations that offer citizenship by investment (CBI), according to a leaked US State Department memo obtained by The Washington Post.
The memo reveals that the Donald Trump administration is reviewing potential visa bans or entry restrictions for citizens of 36 countries, citing national security and immigration enforcement concerns. The other Caribbean nations named were Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and St Kitts and Nevis, all of which have active CBI programmes. Grenada is the other Eastern Caribbean nation with a CBI initiative but it was not on the list.
If implemented, the expanded ban would mark a significant escalation in US immigration policy, with implications for Saint Lucians travelling to or residing in the United States, and potentially for the country’s CBI programme, a key contributor to government revenue.
The memo, which the Washington Post said was signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and sent to US diplomats over the weekend, gives the listed countries 60 days to meet a series of new benchmarks.
Specifically, the sale of citizenship without a residency requirement, a defining feature of many CBI programmes in the Caribbean, was flagged as a major concern.
Also cited were broader governance issues in some countries, such as alleged government fraud and, in certain cases, accusations of “anti-American” activity by nationals residing in the US.
The memo sets a deadline of 8 a.m. next Wednesday for the affected governments to submit an initial plan outlining how they intend to meet the new requirements. It also suggests that countries willing to accept third-country nationals deported from the US, or to enter a so-called “safe third country” agreement, may be able to reduce the risk of sanctions.
In addition to the four Caribbean countries, the memo lists 25 African nations as well as countries in Central Asia and the Pacific. The full list includes: Angola; Antigua and Barbuda; Benin; Bhutan; Burkina Faso; Cabo Verde; Cambodia; Cameroon; Côte d’Ivoire; Democratic Republic of Congo; Djibouti; Dominica; Ethiopia; Egypt; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Kyrgyzstan; Liberia; Malawi; Mauritania; Niger; Nigeria; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; São Tomé and Príncipe; Senegal; South Sudan; Syria; Tanzania; Tonga; Tuvalu; Uganda; Vanuatu; Zambia; and Zimbabwe.
The development follows a June 4 presidential proclamation by Trump that fully restricted the entry of individuals from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The United States had also partially restricted the entry of travelers from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
Critics have argued that such travel bans are xenophobic and discriminatory.
There has been no official comment from the US White House or State Department on the leaked memo, and the Government of Saint Lucia has not yet issued a response.
