Nevis Premier Mark Brantley is urging Caribbean leaders to respond diplomatically after the United Kingdom imposed new visa restrictions on nationals of Saint Lucia, warning that the move could signal broader immigration tightening affecting the region.

In a statement on March 5, Brantley said the decision by the UK government to require visas for St Lucian citizens travelling to or transiting through the country should not be viewed as an isolated development. 

The measure took effect at 15:00 GMT and follows an increase in asylum claims from individuals entering the UK on St Lucian passports.

Brantley noted that a similar restriction had previously been imposed on citizens of Dominica on July 19, 2023.

“We should not see this new development as isolated. We should see it as an opening salvo in the abandonment of much of what the Caribbean hitherto took for granted,” he said.

The Nevis premier warned that the visa requirement may reflect a broader shift toward tighter immigration policies across the global north, driven in part by domestic political pressures in Europe.

According to Brantley, political movements toward the far right in the UK and other European countries could lead to increased scrutiny of Caribbean travellers under the banner of immigration reform and national security.

“I predict that there will be more of this and we do not know for whom the bell will next toll,” he said.

Brantley called on regional bodies, including the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States and the Caribbean Community, to urgently engage with both the UK and the European Union through diplomatic channels.

At the same time, he urged Caribbean governments to strengthen regional integration, including accelerating the implementation of full freedom of movement across CARICOM using the model already adopted within the OECS.

He also pointed to the need to improve transportation links for goods and people across the Caribbean, arguing that the region should focus on making travel and economic opportunities within the Caribbean more attractive to its own citizens.

“Our solution lies not in begging anyone to enter their shores but to make Caribbean shores more attractive to Caribbean people,” Brantley said.