New Delhi: They bought a dream. A passport that opened borders. A quiet backup plan. A safety net. Now, they are watching it unravel. Thousands of expatriates living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – many of them Indian nationals – are facing the sudden collapse of their second-citizenship investments.
These are not refugees or asylum seekers. They are wealthy professionals, business owners and parents who spent six figures for the promise of mobility. For years, they turned to countries like Dominica, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Cambodia and Egypt. The offer was: invest enough money and get a passport in return. And that passport opened doors – visa-free travel to Europe, the United Kingdom and more.
Now, those doors are starting to slam shut.
The 60-Day Countdown That Shook Everyone
On June 14, a memo dropped out of Washington. Quietly. No headlines. But the impact hit like a thunderclap. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned 36 countries to clean up their citizenship-by-investment (CBI) schemes or face consequences. They were given 60 days. Either tighten vetting and start sharing who is getting passports or risk losing visa privileges.
The United Kingdom is already on board. The European Union is following close behind. Brussels is preparing legislation that would suspend Schengen access for countries seen as too loose with citizenship rules. The law is expected by September. If passed, it could turn hundreds of thousands of CBI passports into nearly worthless documents overnight.
Why the UAE Is at the Center of the Storm
The Emirates is home to millions of foreigners. Expats make up nearly 90% of the country’s population. Among them are thousands who invested in CBI schemes. Industry estimates suggest more than 10,000 CBI applications have come from the UAE in recent years. Many of those include families – wives, husbands and children. The total number affected could be as high as 30,000.
A large portion of these are Indian nationals. For them, the fallout is even more complicated. India does not allow dual citizenship. To hold a CBI passport, many had to give up their Indian one.
In 2023 alone, over 4,300 Indians renounced their citizenship, often choosing Caribbean documents to ease their travel within Europe while living and working in the Gulf.
They bet on security. They may now end up with neither.
Why the Crackdown Now?
The move is not merely aimed at controlling border. It is about trust or the loss of it. A 2023 European Commission report raised red flags over how some Caribbean nations were handing out passports. Background checks were weak. Sources of wealth went unchecked. Criminals, according to the report, could easily slip through.
The U.S. memo did not stop with the Caribbean. It also named Cambodia and Egypt – two countries with fast-growing CBI programmes and minimal transparency.
There is a growing fear among Western governments that CBI schemes are becoming a backdoor. Not just for tax avoidance or visa-free travel, but for crime, espionage and influence operations.
Spent Fortunes, People are Now Left in Limbo
Sam Bayat, a veteran of Dubai’s legal scene and founder of Bayat Legal Services, put it, “People invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into citizenship programmes, believing it was their ticket to global freedom. Now, they are facing sudden restrictions that could render those passports practically useless.”
His office has been flooded with questions. Clients who once saw CBI as a safety net are now asking whether it is even valid anymore. Whether they can travel. Whether they will be stopped. Whether the passport they paid for will be flagged at airports.
There are no answers yet. Only a countdown and anxiety.
Some Are Already Looking Elsewhere
With the pressure building, many UAE expats are looking for more stable options. Canada. Australia. New Zealand. Countries with point-based systems. Programmes that take longer but offer long-term credibility. Some are also eyeing the UAE’s own Golden Visa – valid for 10 years. It does not offer global travel benefits, but it gives something increasingly rare – stability.
What Happens to the Countries That Sell Passports?
For nations like Saint Kitts or Dominica, passport sales are not only side income, but survival. The money funds hospitals, roads and schools.
In some cases, CBI revenue makes up more than half the national budget. If the EU or the UK pull the plug on visa-free access, the damage will be severe – diplomatically and economically.
Governments in those countries are scrambling to show they are tightening rules. Hiring compliance firms. Updating forms. But experts say this will not be enough. The trust is broken. Only sweeping reforms and deep transparency will restore credibility.
And time is running out.
Dreams Paid in Dollars, Threatened by Politics
For thousands of families in the UAE, this is more than a legal issue. It is personal. They saw second passports as an insurance policy – something to protect their children, their businesses and their mobility.
They did not see this coming.
Now, they are staring down a future with fewer options. Fewer rights. Fewer open skies. The freedom they paid for is no longer guaranteed.
And nobody knows what will happen when the 60-day deadline ends.
