Investment Migration, Answered
Do CBI passports give visa-free UK access?
Maltese CBI passports give full UK access (EU-UK relationship). Among the Caribbean five, St. Kitts and Antigua retain visa-free or visa-on-arrival access at time of writing; Dominica, Grenada, and St. Lucia have seen tightening — verify current bilateral status before relying on access. Vanuatu lost UK visa-free access in 2023 over diligence concerns. Turkey CBI passports require UK visa.
UK visa-free access is one of the most-asked questions in CBI advisory and the answer changes with bilateral policy. Maltese passports give full UK visa-free access through the EU-UK relationship — stable. Among the Caribbean five, St. Kitts and Antigua retain visa-free or visa-on-arrival UK access at time of writing (early 2026); Dominica, Grenada, and St. Lucia have seen tightening or restrictions over the past 24 months and current status should be verified at filing. Vanuatu lost UK visa-free access in 2023 over diligence concerns flagged by the UK Home Office. Turkey CBI passports require UK visa under standard Turkish-passport bilateral terms. The UK has signalled willingness to revisit access for any CBI programme based on diligence framework concerns; Caribbean five status is monitored quarterly by Citizen Sure's regulatory desk. For applicants where UK access is mission-critical, Maltese citizenship is the most stable answer; the Caribbean cluster is strong but bilateral-status-sensitive. Plan for the possibility of status changes during the application timeline; CBI processing windows of 3–14 months mean current status at filing may differ from current status at grant.
5 programmes relevant to this answer
Malta
St. Kitts & Nevis
Antigua & Barbuda
Dominica
Vanuatu
Speak to a senior adviser
Not Sure Which Programme to Choose?
Book a one to one video consultation. We look at your goals, family and budget, then set out which programmes fit you, with the costs, timelines and next steps.
- Confidential, covered by an NDA
- Led by a senior adviser
- Final price shown before you book
Programme Review
You review your booking and pay securely on the next step.
Frequently asked questions
Do CBI passports give visa-free UK access?
Maltese CBI passports give full UK access (EU-UK relationship). Among the Caribbean five, St. Kitts and Antigua retain visa-free or visa-on-arrival access at time of writing; Dominica, Grenada, and St. Lucia have seen tightening — verify current bilateral status before relying on access. Vanuatu lost UK visa-free access in 2023 over diligence concerns. Turkey CBI passports require UK visa.
Why did Vanuatu lose UK access?
UK Home Office cited concerns about Vanuatu's due-diligence framework. Visa-free access was suspended in 2023; restoration would require diligence-framework reform.
What's the most-stable UK-access CBI?
Maltese — EU-UK relationship governs access. Among Caribbean, St. Kitts has the longest stable history of UK access but bilateral status can change.
Does CBI access carry over to British dependent territories?
Generally yes — visa-free UK access typically extends to the British Overseas Territories (Bermuda, Cayman, BVI, etc.) under standard British immigration policy. Verify per-territory at filing.
Explore further
Programmes, guides, insights and tools related to this page.
Related answers and resources
Investment migration is a long-tail decision space, the right answer depends on your specific tax-residency, family, banking, and timeline priorities. The links below are the most-clicked next reads for visitors who arrived at this question; the senior-advisor consultation is the fastest path to a tailored shortlist.