Citizenship by Investment 2026: Which Programs Still Work and What They Cost

The Caribbean programs remain the fastest legal route to a second passport. St. Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Dominica, St. Lucia, and Antigua and Barbuda all offer citizenship in 3 to 6 months with minimum contributions starting around $100,000 for a single applicant, though St. Kitts now sits closer to $250,000 after its 2023 increase. Malta remains the only EU citizenship by investment route, with a genuine all-in cost of roughly $800,000 to $1.2 million including mandatory donations, real estate, and government fees. A broader breakdown of how these programs compare is worth reading before you shortlist.

Cyprus and Montenegro both shut their programs under EU pressure, and Moldova's program is dormant. Portugal converted its golden visa from real estate into fund investments and added an 8-year naturalization wait, which removes it from the fast-passport category entirely. Turkey still offers citizenship via real estate at a $400,000 minimum, but its passport has lost visa-free access to several jurisdictions and is increasingly scrutinized during application processes in the US and Schengen zone. Jordan and Egypt have programs on paper but the processing and due diligence environment makes timelines unpredictable.

Vanuatu's Development Support Program issues passports in as little as 30 days and currently costs around $130,000 for a single applicant including all fees. The passport offers visa-free or on-arrival access to roughly 90 countries including the Schengen area and the UK. It does not give you EU rights or US visa-free access, but for speed and straightforward due diligence, nothing else on the market competes. The program has been under periodic review by the EU over due diligence standards, so the Schengen access situation should be confirmed at time of application.

Malta's Exceptional Investor Naturalisation program is the only functioning EU citizenship by investment route in 2026. It requires a 12-month residency period in most cases, a non-refundable government contribution of 600,000 euros, a 10,000 euro donation to a registered NGO, and either a property purchase of at least 700,000 euros held for 5 years or a rental commitment of 16,000 euros per year for 5 years. The resulting passport gives you free movement across the EU, a strong global visa-free footprint of around 185 countries, and the ability to live and work anywhere in the bloc. The full Malta process and real costs are covered in detail here.

Grenada is the only Caribbean CBI country with a treaty with the United States that allows Grenadian citizens to apply for an E-2 investor visa, which permits living and working in the US without going through the standard EB-5 green card process. The minimum Grenada contribution is around $150,000 for a single applicant, and the passport is issued in roughly 4 to 6 months. You then apply separately for the E-2 at a US consulate, which typically requires a genuine US business investment of $100,000 or more. The combined path is still far faster and cheaper than the EB-5 route at $800,000 minimum.

Every active CBI program runs background checks through international databases, and the Caribbean nations now share due diligence information with each other and with FATF member states. A prior criminal conviction, even a minor one, can result in rejection or revocation after issuance. US persons face an additional layer of compliance because FBAR, FATCA, and potentially PFIC rules follow US citizens globally regardless of which other passports they hold. Acquiring a second passport does not by itself change your US tax status. Renouncing US citizenship is a separate, formal, and irreversible process with its own exit tax implications for those above the wealth threshold.