St Vincent sets a mid-2026 launch for a residency-based citizenship programme

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines plans to launch a citizenship-by-investment programme by mid-2026 featuring mandatory residency requirements and a legislatively ring-fenced fund, with Prime Minister Goodwin Friday describing it as a “sovereign capital mobilization strategy” rather than a revenue-at-all-costs scheme. The move, from a government that ended 24 years of Unity Labour Party rule in November, comes as public debt exceeds 100 percent of GDP and the IMF urges fiscal consolidation. Friday says being one of the last OECS states to adopt CBI lets the country study others’ mistakes amid heightened U.S. and EU scrutiny of such programmes.

Source: IMI Daily; St Vincent Times; IMF (2026).