For years, the five Eastern Caribbean countries that sell citizenship competed partly on price. That competition now has a floor. Under an agreement signed in 2024, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia set a single minimum price for any citizenship-by-investment option and made discounting below it illegal. This post explains what the agreement says, how it connects to the region's new regulator, and where each programme's starting price sits against it.
What the 2024 agreement says
The instrument is a Memorandum of Agreement signed by all five governments. According to the release published by the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Commission in June 2024, it sets the minimum price for any citizenship-by-investment option at USD 200,000 with effect from 1 July 2024, and it makes discounting below that figure illegal.
Two words in that summary carry the weight. “Any option” means the floor is not limited to the donation funds: it covers every route a programme offers, including property and business investments. And the ban on discounting means no option may be sold for less than that minimum.
Why a floor was needed, in our reading
No government statement we read sets out the reasons in detail, so what follows is our reading. When five small states sell a similar product, a price race risks two things: governments earning less per citizen, and pressure to cut corners on checks to keep files moving. A common floor removes the incentive to undercut, and it does so jointly, so no single country loses ground by acting alone.
The same years brought outside pressure. The European Commission's December 2025 report on visa-free regimes names each of the five countries' investor programmes as a concern to examine, without suspending any of them.
Where each programme sits today
Every starting price below is the government minimum for the programme's main route, for a single applicant, before agent and professional fees. All five sit at or above the floor; Dominica's fund route sits exactly on it.
| Programme | Main route | Starting price |
|---|---|---|
| Dominica | Economic Diversification Fund | From USD 200,000 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | National Development Fund (NDF) | From USD 230,000 |
| Grenada | National Transformation Fund contribution | From USD 235,000 |
| Saint Lucia | Saint Lucia National Economic Fund (NEF) | From USD 240,000 |
| St Kitts and Nevis | Sustainable Island State Contribution (SISC) | From USD 250,000 |
The floor is a minimum for each option, not for the total a family pays. Government fees, due diligence for each person and the licensed agent's own fee come on top, which is why the full cost for a family is always higher than any figure in the table. Our cost page explains what makes up the total.
Who enforces it
A memorandum between governments depends on each of them keeping to it. The five countries have since gone further and created a shared regulator: the Eastern Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Regulatory Authority, known as ECCIRA. Its founding agreement was signed between 18 and 23 September 2025, and it enters into force thirty days after the fifth country deposits its instrument of ratification.
All five have enacted the agreement into national law. At the latest official statement we found, from the St Kitts and Nevis unit in late September 2026, the regulator was not yet operating: the regional framework takes effect only once the authority is up and running and all five states agree and announce a start date. Our post on ECCIRA covers what it will do.
What the floor means for buyers
The most practical consequence is a simple test. Any offer to obtain one of these five passports for less than the programme's starting price is either leaving out government money that will be demanded later, or describing something other than a legal citizenship-by-investment application. Since 1 July 2024, discounting below the floor has been illegal under the agreement, so a “special price” below it is a warning sign, not a bargain.
The second consequence is that price alone no longer separates the Caribbean options much. The spread between the cheapest and dearest starting price is modest, so the deciding factors tend to be elsewhere: family rules, residence requirements, travel access and how each country is treated by the US and the UK. Our Caribbean comparison sets those side by side, and the comparison tool lets you pick any two or three.
Price is now the smaller difference
With every starting price inside a narrow band, the differences that matter more are about what each passport does. Two are worth singling out. First, the United States: a December 2025 proclamation suspended visitor, student and exchange visas for nationals of Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica, and names none of the other three. Second, the United Kingdom: Dominican nationals have needed a visit visa since July 2023, and Saint Lucians since March 2026, while holders of the other three passports need only an electronic travel authorisation.
So a buyer choosing on price alone might pick the cheapest programme and find it is the one that no longer opens the door they wanted. Our reading is that the floor has shifted competition away from price and towards these questions, which is better for buyers, because they are questions with published answers.
Questions to ask an agent about price
These are our suggestions, not official requirements:
- Is the figure you quote the government minimum, or does it include your fee? Ask for the two separately.
- Which government fees, per person, will my family pay on top, and when is each due?
- If the price you quote is below the programme's published minimum, which government amount is missing?
- Under which licence will my file be submitted, and where can I check it on the government's own list?
Will prices rise further?
Nothing in the sources we checked commits the five countries to a further increase. The floor is a minimum, and each country remains free to set its own prices above it; several already do for property and business routes. Changes would come through each country's own regulations, or through rules set by ECCIRA once it is operating. If either happens, the starting prices on this site will change with them, because they are read directly from each government's published rates.
If you are comparing the five on more than price, a short consultation is the quickest way to find out which fits your nationality, family and timing.