How a Caribbean passport stopped working for African global operators
For years, Antigua and Barbuda quietly punched above its weight in global mobility. With a population under 100,000, the Caribbean nation was neither a financial hub nor a migration magnet. Yet it occupied a critical position in the global border economy, offering something far more valuable to globally minded professionals from the Global South: mobility.
Its citizenship-by-investment (CBI) programme was
never about settlement. It functioned as infrastructure. A mobility layer that
allowed entrepreneurs, executives, and investors to move across borders without
uprooting their lives. That workaround has now run into a hard stop.
A passport
designed for movement
Antigua’s passport offers visa-free or
visa-on-arrival access to 144 countries. Nigeria’s passport, by contrast,
provides access to just 51. That gap is not symbolic; it shapes how quickly
capital moves, how relationships form, and how businesses scale.
For Nigerian entrepreneurs and senior
professionals, global travel has long been burdened by extended processing
timelines, high rejection rates, and opaque consular decisions in Europe and
North America. Legitimate business travel is often filtered through nationality
before intent is even considered.
In that environment, an Antiguan passport acted
as a hedge. It did not guarantee access to the United States or Europe, but it
shifted the starting point. Applications were less likely to stall on
nationality alone. Travel histories appeared lower risk inside systems designed
to rank passports before people.
That advantage has now eroded.
December 16 and
the end of the hedge
On December 16, US President Donald Trump signed
a proclamation placing Antigua and Barbuda, alongside Dominica, under partial
US entry restrictions beginning January 1, 2026.
Under the new policy, nationals of both countries
are barred from all immigrant visas, including family-sponsored,
employment-based, and diversity visas. The White House justified the decision
by stating that Caribbean CBI programmes had been used to “conceal identity and
bypass vetting requirements.”
With that declaration, a long-standing mobility
strategy lost credibility almost overnight.
·
Nigerians accounted for 9.07% of all
applications
·
66 Nigerian applicants obtained citizenship
·
More than $6.6 million flowed into Antigua’s
National Development Fund
Only China and the United States recorded higher
numbers. Other African countries, including Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, and South
Africa, trailed significantly behind.
The demand reflected a structural reality. A
significant share of capital flowing into African startups originates outside
the continent, particularly from the United States. Access to that capital
often requires physical presence. Despite remote work tools, trust,
partnerships, and long-term investment relationships still form in person.
In practical terms, mobility is part of the
business stack.
The double bind
for Nigerian travellers
The proclamation lands at a moment when Nigerian mobility is already under pressure.
Nigeria itself has been partially restricted under the same administration, with the White House citing high overstay rates. Nigerian passport holders approaching US consulates now face heightened scrutiny in proving their intent to return home.
For those attempting to apply for Antiguan
citizenship, the challenge compounds. The proclamation explicitly anticipates
such routing, introducing a second layer of suspicion. The result is a double
constraint: Nigerian passports are scrutinised, and Caribbean CBI passports are
no longer treated as neutral.
Local reporting suggests that even applicants who
secured Antiguan citizenship earlier in the year have seen US visa applications
stall as scrutiny intensified following the administration’s clampdown that
began in June.
Read More: When nationality cancels merit: The invisible wall facing Nigerian tech talent
When one route
narrows
Ironically, Antigua and Barbuda’s programme had
been regaining momentum before the announcement.
After a quieter period following its 2018 peak,
application volumes picked up through 2023 and into 2024. In the first half of
2024 alone, Antigua recorded 739 applications, exceeding the total number
received across the whole of 2023. Confidence in the passport as a mobility
tool appeared to be returning.
That confidence now faces a reset.
As the passport route narrows, alternative
strategies come into focus. Residency pathways, while slower and more
demanding, offer greater predictability. Programmes in the United Arab Emirates
provide stable bases for global work without dependence on US visa systems.
European options, such as Portugal’s D7 visa, appeal to founders whose
operations or investors are EU-facing.
The trade-off is clear. These options require
time, permanence, and deeper commitment.
What changes when
access tightens
This shift is not just about one passport losing
value. For years, Caribbean citizenship allowed Nigerian founders,
professionals, and digital nomads to operate globally without relocating their
lives. They could move between markets and networks while remaining anchored at
home.
That balance is now harder to maintain.
Some will absorb the friction, treating visa
delays and denials as a cost of operating globally. Others will redraw their
personal maps, choosing jurisdictions that offer stability even if they demand
long-term presence.
Antigua and Barbuda’s programme succeeded because it recognised the gap between where ambition originates and where opportunity concentrates. It sold access, not belonging..
