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On August 7, Nairametrics published an exclusive report detailing how Europe is coming for the passports Nigerians spend millions to obtain.
The report followed a directive issued by the European Union, which gave five Caribbean nations — Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Kitts and Nevis — until June 1, 2028, to reform or phase out their citizenship-by-investment (CBI) programmes or risk losing visa-free access to the Schengen area.
For many wealthy Nigerians, a Caribbean passport has become more than a travel document. It is increasingly viewed as a way to overcome visa barriers, access global markets, and reduce the uncertainty associated with one of the world’s weakest passports.
The EU’s move therefore carries significant implications that could reshape one of the most important mobility routes many affluent Nigerians have used to gain easier access to the Schengen area and other major developed markets.
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To understand what is at stake, Nairametrics spoke with Neringa Bulakiene, co-founder of Migronis and a specialist in investment migration, and Anatoliy Letaev, the firm’s co-founder and an international investment immigration expert, about what the EU’s decision means for Nigerian investors, entrepreneurs, and families seeking a second citizenship.
Nairametrics: The EU has given Caribbean countries until 2028 to reform or phase out their CBI programmes. How serious is this threat?
Anatoliy Letaev: It is the most serious challenge the Caribbean citizenship-by-investment programmes have faced because it is different from what came before.
The industry has dealt with tighter due diligence, visa-free access being suspended temporarily, and countries changing their rules. What is different now is that the EU has changed the framework.
Under the revised visa-suspension mechanism, simply operating a citizenship-by-investment programme can become grounds for suspending visa-free Schengen access. That shifts the issue from a compliance problem, which governments can address, to a political and structural one.
For programmes whose main value is Schengen mobility, that is a fundamental challenge.
Nairametrics: What would likely happen if Grenada lost visa-free access to the Schengen area?
Neringa Bulakiene: The immediate impact would be stricter due diligence, potentially higher costs, and greater uncertainty.
At the moment, nothing has been suspended. Grenada still offers Schengen access. The realistic near-term expectation is not an overnight shutdown but a tightening of the programme.
The Caribbean governments are not simply accepting the EU’s position. They are pushing back and arguing that these programmes fund critical public services and infrastructure.
Nairametrics: Nigerians became the largest applicant group for Grenadian citizenship. What does that tell us?
Anatoliy Letaev: It tells you that mobility has become one of the scarcest assets for successful Africans.
Nigeria overtaking China and the United States to become the largest applicant nationality for Grenada is not a coincidence. It reflects a large entrepreneurial population facing significant travel restrictions.
A Nigerian passport provides visa-free access to far fewer countries than a European or Gulf passport, while Nigerian applicants also face unusually high visa refusal rates.
For a business owner who needs to sign a contract in Frankfurt next month or send a child to school abroad, that is not just an inconvenience. It is a structural barrier to participating in the global economy.
Most of these clients are not leaving Nigeria permanently. They are buying optionality — the ability to move themselves, their families, and their capital on their own terms.
Nairametrics: Why are wealthy Nigerians increasingly seeking second citizenship?
Neringa Bulakiene: For most Nigerian clients, mobility is the primary driver, not tax planning or lifestyle.
The passport is the pain point they come in with. The Nigerian passport sits near the bottom of global rankings, with visa-free access to roughly 45–55 countries. The bigger issue is rejection risk. In 2024, about 41% of Nigerian Schengen visa applications were refused, one of the highest rates in the world.
Many of them explicitly describe second citizenship as a form of insurance: a way to travel, sign contracts, educate their children, and move their families without relying on a visa officer’s discretion.
For a Nigerian entrepreneur, a second passport is not necessarily a luxury. It is increasingly a form of operational risk management.
Nairametrics: How much does a Grenadian passport typically cost?
Neringa Bulakiene: Grenada offers two main routes.
The government donation option starts at $200,000 for a single applicant and $235,000 for a family of four.
The real estate option starts at around $270,000, with a minimum holding period of five years.
Among Nigerian applicants, the donation route is generally more popular because it is cheaper, faster, and does not involve resale risk. The typical applicant is often a family, so the total cost is usually well above the headline figure.
Nairametrics: If Schengen access were removed, would demand for Caribbean passports collapse?
Anatoliy Letaev: No. It would reprice and redistribute.
Schengen access is a major part of Grenada’s appeal, so losing it would reduce demand from clients whose primary goal is European travel.
However, Grenada has another important advantage: it is the only Caribbean citizenship programme with a U.S. E-2 investor visa treaty, and it also offers visa-free access to China.
For Nigerian entrepreneurs focused on the United States or Asian trade, Grenada could remain attractive even without Schengen access.
The more important point is that if one Caribbean programme loses Schengen access, the others are likely to face the same challenge. At that point, the competition is no longer Grenada versus Saint Kitts; it is the Caribbean versus residency and citizenship options elsewhere.
Nairametrics: If Caribbean citizenship becomes less attractive, where would Nigerian demand go?
Anatoliy Letaev: Three areas would likely absorb most of it.
First, European residency-by-investment programmes, particularly Portugal, Greece, and Malta. These provide a foothold inside the EU and, over time, a potential route to citizenship.
Second, other fast-track citizenship programmes, including jurisdictions such as Vanuatu, Nauru, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Turkey, which offers a citizenship-by-investment programme linked to real estate.
Third, long-term migration pathways through study, work, or residency in countries such as the United Kingdom and Canada.
The key distinction is between immediate mobility and durable legal status. Residency programmes generally require more commitment, but they are also less vulnerable to sudden political changes.
Nairametrics: Is the investment migration industry moving away from fast-track citizenship?
Neringa Bulakiene: We are seeing growing interest in residency alongside citizenship.
Many clients are no longer looking for a single passport that solves everything. They are combining different forms of legal status depending on their goals.
A Caribbean passport may provide mobility today, while a European residency creates a longer-term option for relocation or eventual citizenship.
Nairametrics: What does the future of investment migration look like?
Anatoliy Letaev: I think the market is becoming more strategic.
Fast-track citizenship was extremely successful because it solved a mobility problem quickly. But regulators are increasingly questioning programmes that offer citizenship with limited physical presence.
The future is likely to involve diversification. People will combine citizenships, residencies, and other legal statuses rather than relying on a single passport.
The era of “one passport solves everything” is probably coming to an end.
Nairametrics: If you were advising a Nigerian entrepreneur today, would Grenada still be on your shortlist?
Anatoliy Letaev: Yes.
Grenada does not depend on a single benefit. Even if Schengen access becomes less certain, it still offers access to the U.S. E-2 investor visa, visa-free travel to China, dual citizenship, and a relatively established programme.
The more important question is not whether Grenada is good or bad. It is whether it fits the client’s objective.
If the goal is purely European travel, then the political risk around Schengen matters. If the goal is broader — U.S. business opportunities, global mobility, and family security — Grenada remains a serious option.
The lesson from the EU’s pressure on Caribbean programmes is that global mobility is becoming increasingly political. For wealthy Nigerians, the next phase of investment migration may be less about buying a single passport and more about building a diversified portfolio of residency and citizenship options.
