Citizenship by Investment Cost: Every Live Program, Real Numbers, What You Actually Pay

St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, and St. Lucia all offer citizenship via non-refundable donation or real estate investment. For a single applicant, Dominica is the cheapest at $100,000 donation plus roughly $7,500 in government and due diligence fees. St. Kitts runs $125,000 via its Sustainable Island State Contribution route for a single applicant. Grenada costs $150,000 donation and is notable because its passport allows E-2 treaty investor visa access to the US, something Caribbean peers cannot offer. Real estate routes exist in all five jurisdictions but typically require $200,000 to $220,000 in a qualifying property, which is refundable after a hold period of three to five years.

Malta is the only EU citizenship by investment program still operating, and it is expensive. The total cost for a single applicant runs approximately 690,000 to 730,000 euros once you add the 600,000 euro contribution (for the 36-month residency route), a 10,000 euro charitable donation, and a property purchase or lease requirement. Turkey sits at the opposite end of the European cost spectrum, requiring a minimum $400,000 real estate purchase. The Turkish passport gives visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to roughly 110 countries, which is substantially weaker than Malta's EU passport, but the investment is refundable after three years and the program is fast, often delivering citizenship in six to nine months. Portugal's golden visa still exists but no longer leads to citizenship directly; it leads to residency, with naturalization possible after five years of maintaining the investment.

Vanuatu offers the fastest citizenship by investment in the world, typically 30 to 60 days from application to passport. The Development Support Program costs $130,000 for a single applicant, with additional fees pushing the total to roughly $145,000 to $155,000 all-in. The passport provides visa-free access to the EU Schengen zone, the UK, and around 90 countries total, which is reasonable utility for the speed and cost. Jordan's naturalization by investment route exists but is discretionary and less predictable. For a broader look at what Asia-Pacific programs actually deliver in passport strength versus cost, see Citizenship by Investment Asia: Every Real Program, What It Costs, and What You Actually Get.

Government donation figures are the floor, not the ceiling. Expect to add $15,000 to $30,000 in agent or advisory fees for any reputable firm handling due diligence preparation and submission. Due diligence fees charged by the government itself run $5,000 to $10,000 per adult applicant across most Caribbean programs. Adding a spouse typically increases the donation or investment threshold by $25,000 to $35,000 in the Caribbean, and each dependent child adds $10,000 to $25,000 depending on age and jurisdiction. For families of four, the real all-in cost in the Caribbean is often 1.5 to 2 times the headline single-applicant number. Background check preparation, notarization, apostilles, and translation can add another $3,000 to $8,000 depending on document complexity.

A donation route requires a smaller upfront number but you get nothing back. A real estate or fund investment route requires more capital but the principal is recoverable after the mandatory holding period ends, usually three to five years. St. Kitts real estate qualifying investments start at $325,000. Grenada and Antigua both have fund options around $150,000 to $200,000 that are technically refundable but carry liquidity risk since secondary market exit from qualifying funds can be slow. Malta's government contribution is non-refundable regardless of route, but the property requirement can be satisfied via a lease of at least 16,000 euros per year rather than a purchase, reducing locked capital. The practical question is whether your capital cost of keeping $200,000 to $400,000 tied up for five years is less than the difference between the donation and investment route prices, which in most Caribbean programs is only $50,000 to $100,000.

Value depends entirely on what you are optimizing for. If you want the cheapest possible second passport with solid visa-free travel to Europe and the UK, Dominica at roughly $115,000 all-in for a single applicant is hard to beat. If you need US E-2 treaty access, Grenada's extra $35,000 over Dominica is worth it. If you need an EU passport and are willing to pay for it, Malta is the only live option and the 690,000 euro cost is the market price for that outcome. Turkey is the right answer if you need a refundable investment, want fast processing, and can live with the weaker passport strength. Vanuatu is the right answer if speed is the primary constraint and 90-country visa-free access is sufficient for your purposes.