Antigua and Barbuda’s Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP) is a step closer to coming under a new regional regulatory system after lawmakers approved amendments designed to align the programme with emerging Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) standards.

The Citizenship by Investment Amendment Bill, 2026, was passed in the House of Representatives last Tuesday and will now move to the Senate for consideration. If approved, the legislation will formally bring the country’s programme under a common regional oversight framework being adopted by participating OECS member states.

The changes come as citizenship programmes across the Eastern Caribbean face increasing international scrutiny over transparency, accountability and due diligence. Regional leaders say the new framework is intended to strengthen confidence in the programmes by introducing common standards for oversight, auditing and information sharing.

Central to the amendments is the establishment of a regional regulatory authority under the Regulatory Authority Agreement Act, 2025. Rather than relying primarily on national oversight, participating countries will operate within a shared regulatory system aimed at ensuring greater consistency in how citizenship-by-investment programmes are managed.

Prime Minister Gaston Browne told Parliament he had advocated for a regional regulator for years, arguing that Caribbean countries should have acted before external pressure forced the issue.

“You know, this is something that I have asked for for the last decade. I would have invited my colleagues here in Antigua and Barbuda and urge them to do so before we were urged to do it by others. It’s unfortunate that, you know, we did not act and here’s a situation now in which we have third parties who would have come together and forced us to introduce this Citizenship by the Investment Regulatory Authority,” Browne said.

Among the key changes are stricter due diligence requirements, additional audits of the Citizenship by Investment Unit, a longer residency requirement for applicants, and tighter limits on the ability of national authorities to approve applications that do not meet the agreed regional standards. The legislation also expands oversight of authorised agents, promoters and other service providers involved in the programme.

While supporting the reforms, Barbuda MP Trevor Walker said a common regional approach would help prevent participating countries from competing by lowering the cost of their programmes, a practice he warned could diminish the value of Caribbean citizenship.

Walker also renewed his call for more detailed information to be included in the Citizenship by Investment Unit’s six-month reports, arguing that greater transparency would further strengthen public confidence in the programme.

The bill must now pass through the Senate before it can receive assent and become law. If approved, Antigua and Barbuda’s Citizenship by Investment Programme will become part of the new regional regulatory framework intended to harmonise oversight across participating OECS countries.