The Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretariat on Monday announced that Barbados, Belize, Dominica, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines will implement full free movement of their nationals among themselves beginning October 1, 2025.
In a statement, the Secretariat said the arrangement will allow citizens of the four countries to enter, reside, work, and remain indefinitely in any of the participating states without the need for work or residency permits. Nationals will also be able to access emergency and primary health care as well as public primary and secondary education, subject to the resources of the host country.
The move follows a decision by regional leaders at their July summit in Jamaica, part of efforts to deepen the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME), which seeks to facilitate the free movement of goods, skills, labour and services across the bloc.
According to the Secretariat, representatives of the four countries have been meeting to ensure that all necessary measures are in place for the October rollout. The initiative is being pursued under the Enhanced Cooperation Chapter of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, which allows subsets of at least three member states to advance integration where broader community agreement proves difficult.
“This free movement arrangement falls within the new Enhanced Cooperation Chapter of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas,” the Secretariat noted, stressing that the arrangement expands existing CSME provisions.
Other Caricom states participating in the CSME will continue to operate under the current system, which permits movement for specific categories such as skilled workers, service providers, and business owners, as well as general travel facilitation.
