The second-passport industry has come under fire from U.S. authorities. The State Department last year criticized Dominica for “lax” due diligence in approving applications. In 2014, the U.S. Treasury urged St. Kitts to tighten its vetting process after Iranian nationals allegedly used a passport from the island to evade U.S. sanctions.

Khan said the government takes a strict approach to the process, adding that clients from Iran and Afghanistan are currently not eligible.

Zero-Interest Bonds
St. Lucia offers would-be citizens the option of buying five-year, non-interest bearing bonds. In May, it cut the required investment by half, to $250,000 for an individual or $300,000 for a family of four. The deal on these “Covid-19 Relief” bonds expires at year’s end.

Since it launched its program in 2015, the nation of 182,000 has given passports to about 700 people, said Nestor Alfred, the CEO of the St. Lucia Citizenship by Investment Program.

The program “provides a wonderful avenue for all those persons who have not had the possibility to participate in this big wide world because of their passport,” he said in a phone interview.

Antigua & Barbuda offers citizenship for a family of four in exchange for a $100,000 donation to its development fund. The government recently cut the price for adding additional children.

The government of Barbados has floated the idea of a ‘Welcome Stamp’ to give people working remotely the option of doing it from the island for up to a year.

People who acquire Caribbean citizenship are usually not looking to leave their homes, Blewer said. That’s a big difference with E.U. nations such as Malta and Cyprus where people generally want residency and the investment required is much greater, he said.

The industry has become increasingly competitive in recent years as more governments started selling citizenship, said Beatrice Gatti, of CS Global Partners, which helps clients navigate the citizenship programs.

“In the past there has been a tendency toward lowering prices, but the current cuts seem to be temporary and Covid-19 related,” she said.