Citizenship by Investment 2026: Official Costs of Every Programme Compared

Official minimum contributions for citizenship by investment in 2026 range from $130,000 in Vanuatu, a Pacific programme, to $250,000 in St Kitts and Nevis. Among the five Caribbean programmes, Dominica has the lowest single-applicant minimum at $200,000. Turkey's property route starts at $400,000; Malta's €600,000 route ended after a 2025 EU court ruling.

What citizenship by investment actually buys

Citizenship by investment allows a qualifying financial contribution, structured as a non-refundable donation to a state fund, a real estate purchase, or in some cases a bond or business investment, to result in full citizenship of the country concerned, typically without any requirement to reside there before or after approval. It is not, strictly, a purchase in the ordinary commercial sense; the contribution funds government development programmes, and the applicant must separately pass a due diligence background check covering criminal history, source of funds and, increasingly, cross-checks against international sanctions and watch lists. Approval is not guaranteed simply by meeting the financial threshold. Every programme covered on this page is administered by a dedicated government citizenship unit or commission, operating under specific national legislation, and applications must be submitted through a licensed authorised agent rather than directly by the applicant.

The programmes compared here fall into three groups: the five established Caribbean nations that have offered citizenship by investment for over a decade and recently harmonised around higher minimum contributions, Malta's former naturalisation-for-exceptional-services route, which the European Court of Justice ruled unlawful on 29 April 2025 and which closed in July 2025, and Turkey's property-based citizenship programme. Vanuatu, covered separately below, currently sits below all of these on headline cost but differs from the Caribbean programmes in region, history and, as of 2026, some ongoing diplomatic questions around its visa-free access to the European Union.

Official minimum contributions compared

On the government-fund contribution alone, before due diligence, legal and agent fees are added, Dominica is the cheapest single-applicant route among the five Caribbean programmes at $200,000, and Vanuatu is the cheapest of every programme on this page at $130,000. It is worth being precise about geography here: Vanuatu is a Pacific island nation, not a Caribbean one, and its programme sits entirely outside the five-country Caribbean group; the lowest-cost programme specifically within the Caribbean is Dominica's.

The Caribbean five: what actually differs between them

Beyond the headline contribution figures, the five Caribbean programmes differ most on family structure, processing speed and specific national advantages rather than on underlying legal status; all five grant citizenship for life, permit dual nationality, and impose no personal income tax, capital gains tax or inheritance tax on non-resident citizens. Antigua and Barbuda's National Development Fund contribution is structured to cover a single applicant or a family of up to four at one flat $230,000 price, making it comparatively efficient for families, and Antigua additionally requires citizens to spend a minimum of five days in the country within the first five years of citizenship, a residency condition none of the other four programmes currently impose in the same form. St Kitts and Nevis, the oldest of the five programmes, having operated continuously since 1984, is generally the fastest to process, commonly within four to five months. Grenada is the only one of the five Caribbean programmes with a bilateral E-2 investor treaty with the United States, which allows Grenadian citizens, including those who naturalised through the CBI programme, to apply for an E-2 non-immigrant investor visa at an American consulate. This is a genuine practical distinction rather than a marketing claim, since British citizens cannot access the E-2 visa category directly through UK citizenship alone.

Malta and Turkey: the non-Caribbean routes

Malta's citizenship by naturalisation for exceptional services by direct investment sits in a different category from the Caribbean programmes both on cost and on structure. It requires a substantially larger financial commitment, structured across a government contribution, a property purchase or long-term lease, and a donation to a registered philanthropic organisation, and comes in two tiers: a 36-month residence route at a lower total contribution, or an accelerated 12-month route at a higher one. Because Malta is a European Union member state, citizenship carries EU freedom-of-movement rights that none of the Caribbean or Pacific programmes offer, which is the primary reason for the materially higher cost relative to the Caribbean group.

Turkey's citizenship-by-investment programme runs on a real estate purchase model rather than a government fund donation: a minimum $400,000 property purchase, held for a required minimum period, qualifies the buyer and immediate family for Turkish citizenship. Turkey is not an EU member, so citizenship does not carry EU rights, but it does provide a Turkish passport, which offers different visa-free access and, notably, its own American E-2 investor treaty eligibility, a further country besides Grenada where citizens can access that specific American visa category.

Vanuatu: the global floor, and why it is a Pacific, not Caribbean, programme

Vanuatu's Development Support Program currently has the lowest headline minimum contribution of any active citizenship-by-investment programme covered here, at $130,000 for a single applicant, administered by the Vanuatu Citizenship Office and Commission. Vanuatu sits in the South Pacific, roughly 1,750 kilometres east of northern Australia, and its programme, legal framework and due diligence process are entirely separate from the five Caribbean nations; it should not be described as, or confused with, a Caribbean programme, despite frequently appearing in the same comparison articles because of its similarly structured donation-based route. Processing is comparatively fast, commonly around two months from application to approval. Applicants considering Vanuatu specifically should check current guidance directly with the Vanuatu Citizenship Office, since the programme has been subject to periodic regulatory changes and, at various points, discussion around its visa-free access arrangements with the European Union and United Kingdom, which prospective applicants should verify are current before relying on any specific travel-access claim.

What UK citizens should know before comparing programmes on cost alone

None of the programmes compared on this page require a UK citizen to renounce British citizenship, since the United Kingdom permits multiple nationality without restriction, as covered in the dedicated dual citizenship guide linked below. Acquiring a second citizenship through any of these programmes does not, on its own, change a person's UK tax residence or domicile status; those depend on where the person actually lives and works, not on which passports they hold, and are covered separately in the guide to UK tax residence when working abroad. The headline contribution figures compared on this page are also not the total cost of the process: government due diligence fees, processing fees, legal and agent fees, and, for family applications, additional per-dependant contributions typically add a meaningful amount on top of the base minimum shown in the table above, and should be confirmed directly with a licensed agent or the relevant government citizenship unit before budgeting for any programme.

Frequently asked questions

What is currently the cheapest citizenship-by-investment programme in the world?

Vanuatu, a Pacific nation, currently has the lowest official minimum contribution at $130,000 for a single applicant. Among the five established Caribbean programmes specifically, Dominica is the cheapest at $200,000.

Is Vanuatu a Caribbean citizenship by investment programme?

No. Vanuatu is a Pacific island nation, located near Australia, and its citizenship-by-investment programme is entirely separate from the five Caribbean nations that offer similar schemes: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Lucia.

Do UK citizens have to give up their British citizenship to get citizenship by investment?

No. None of the programmes compared here require renouncing an existing citizenship, and UK law itself places no restriction on British citizens holding additional citizenships alongside their British nationality.

Which citizenship-by-investment programme gives access to the American E-2 investor visa?

Grenada is the only one of the five Caribbean programmes with a bilateral E-2 treaty with the United States. Turkey's citizenship-by-investment programme also provides E-2 treaty eligibility, separate from the Caribbean group.

Does acquiring a second citizenship by investment change UK tax residence?

Not on its own. UK tax residence depends on the Statutory Residence Test, which looks at where a person actually lives, works and spends time, rather than which citizenships or passports they hold. Acquiring a second citizenship does not by itself alter UK tax status.