The 10 Cheapest Countries with Citizenship by Investment in 2026

Ten countries currently operate some form of citizenship by investment. The list is shorter than people assume, and the range of what they charge is wider than most comparison articles admit. A donation to a Caribbean fund starts at $200,000. A Turkish property purchase starts at $400,000. A Jordanian investment can cross $750,000. Those are the brochure numbers. The actual cost, once government fees, due diligence charges, and professional costs are included, is always higher.

This article ranks every active programme by real cost for a single applicant, explains what the headline leaves out, and identifies where the cheapest option and the best value diverge.

Before the numbers: what changed in 2024

The five Caribbean CBI nations signed a coordinated minimum-price agreement in mid-2024, setting a US$200,000 floor on contributions. Before that, Dominica and St Lucia offered single-applicant donations below $150,000 and competed openly on price. That era is over. The floor raised the cheapest Caribbean routes, compressed the spread between programmes, and shifted the comparison from price to value. Our full breakdown of what the agreement changed covers the detail.

The Caribbean race to the bottom ended in 2024. Price is no longer the differentiator it was.

The practical effect: if you are comparing Caribbean programmes today, the contribution difference between cheapest and most expensive is around $50,000. The decision now rests on passport strength, processing reliability, family pricing, and due diligence reputation.

The ten programmes, ranked by cost

1. Vanuatu: from ~$130,000 [VERIFY]

The cheapest citizenship by investment in the world is not in the Caribbean. Vanuatu's Development Support Programme (DSP) grants citizenship for a government contribution starting around $130,000 for a single applicant [VERIFY], with total costs including fees landing in the range of $150,000 to $160,000 [VERIFY].

Processing time: One to two months, often the fastest in the world.

Passport strength: Visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to around 100 destinations [VERIFY], including the Schengen Area and the UK.

Family inclusion: Spouse and children can be included at additional cost per dependant.

The catch: Vanuatu's programme is newer and has faced more scrutiny from the EU than the Caribbean routes. Its visa-free access to Europe has been a point of tension, and the longevity of that access is less certain than it is for the established Caribbean programmes. Speed is the main draw. Durability is the main question.

2. Dominica: from $240,000

The most affordable Caribbean route and, for many single applicants, the default starting point. Dominica's programme requires a $200,000 government contribution, with our all-in listed price at $240,000 including fees.

Processing time: Three to six months, consistently among the fastest Caribbean programmes.

Passport strength: Visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 135 destinations, including the UK and the Schengen Area. A Commonwealth member.

Family inclusion: Spouse, dependent children, and dependent parents can be included at additional cost. No physical presence required.

Why it stands out: Dominica's programme has been running since 1993 and carries a solid due diligence reputation. For a single applicant who wants the simplest and most affordable route to a Caribbean passport, this is the most direct answer. The main trade-off against St Kitts is a slightly shorter visa-free list.

3. St Lucia: from ~$200,000 contribution [VERIFY]

St Lucia's National Economic Fund (NEF) route sets a contribution at the OECS floor of $200,000 for a single applicant [VERIFY]. Total costs with fees are likely comparable to Dominica.

Processing time: Around three to four months [VERIFY].

Passport strength: Similar to the other Eastern Caribbean programmes, with visa-free access to approximately 140 destinations [VERIFY], including the UK and Schengen.

Family inclusion: Standard dependant categories. St Lucia has also offered a discounted rate for applicants who bring real estate investment to the island [VERIFY].

Why it stands out: St Lucia tends to be discussed less than Dominica or St Kitts, which means it also tends to be less crowded. The programme is competent, and the passport strength is broadly in line with the region.

4. Antigua & Barbuda: from $270,000

Antigua & Barbuda's programme sets its single-applicant contribution at $230,000, with our all-in listed price at $270,000. Antigua has historically offered the most competitive pricing for larger families, making it the programme whose ranking changes most when you move from a single applicant to a household.

Processing time: Around six months.

Passport strength: Visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 143 destinations.

Family inclusion: Spouse, dependent children, and parents. The dependant uplift is lighter than in most Caribbean programmes, which is why a family of four or five should always price Antigua alongside Dominica before assuming the cheapest single-applicant route is the cheapest family route too.

Physical presence: Five days within the first five years, the only Caribbean CBI programme with any residency touch requirement. In practice, it is a short visit, not a relocation.

Why it stands out: Family pricing. Antigua is built for households, not individuals. A family that leads with the single-applicant brochure price and ignores per-dependant costs will often find Antigua is the better deal.

5. Grenada: from $275,000

Grenada's programme carries a $235,000 contribution with our all-in listed price at $275,000. It is not the cheapest Caribbean option for any household size, but it offers something none of the others can match.

Processing time: Around six months.

Passport strength: Visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 138 destinations.

Family inclusion: Spouse, dependent children, and parents.

Why it stands out: Grenada is the only Caribbean CBI country with a Treaty of Commerce and Navigation with the United States, which makes its citizens eligible for E-2 investor visas. If your planning includes the US, Grenada is the only Caribbean route worth considering. That single feature justifies the premium over Dominica for the right applicant.

6. Cambodia: from ~$245,000 total [VERIFY]

Cambodia's programme operates differently from the Caribbean model. The qualifying investment is typically into approved projects or deposits, and the total cost including government fees and processing lands around $245,000 [VERIFY] for a single applicant.

Processing time: Around three to four months [VERIFY].

Passport strength: Limited. Visa-free access to around 50 destinations [VERIFY]. This is not a mobility passport; it is a second nationality.

Family inclusion: Available at additional cost [VERIFY].

Why it stands out: Cambodia is more accessible than most people expect, but the passport does not compete with the Caribbean on travel freedom. It suits applicants who want a second nationality for personal or business structuring reasons, not those whose primary objective is visa-free travel.

7. St Kitts & Nevis: from $290,000

The original. St Kitts & Nevis has been granting citizenship to investors since 1984, and it charges accordingly. The Sustainable Growth Fund contribution is $250,000 for a single applicant, with our all-in listed price at $290,000.

Processing time: Around six months.

Passport strength: Visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 147 destinations, the widest of any Caribbean programme.

Family inclusion: Spouse, dependent children, and parents. Dependants are priced individually.

Why it stands out: Forty years of continuous operation, the strongest passport in the region, and a due diligence reputation that holds up at borders and with banks. The premium over Dominica is around $50,000. For applicants who will use the passport in front of compliance departments and financial institutions, that premium buys something concrete.

St Kitts is not the cheapest. It is the one with a forty-year track record and the fewest questions at borders.

8. Egypt: from ~$300,000 [VERIFY]

Egypt's programme offers a bank deposit route starting at $300,000 [VERIFY], with the deposit held for a defined period before it becomes recoverable. Government and processing fees add to the total [VERIFY].

Processing time: Six to twelve months [VERIFY].

Passport strength: Visa-free access to around 50 destinations [VERIFY]. Like Cambodia, this is not a mobility play.

Family inclusion: Available [VERIFY].

Why it stands out: The bank deposit model means part of the capital is recoverable, which makes the effective cost lower than the headline. Egypt is also geographically and culturally distinct from the Caribbean cluster, which matters for applicants who want a nationality with ties to the Middle East or Africa.

9. Turkey: from $400,000

Turkey requires a property purchase of at least $400,000, held for a minimum of three years. This is a real estate route, not a donation, which means the capital is deployed into an asset that can eventually be sold.

Processing time: Six to nine months [VERIFY].

Passport strength: Visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to around 110 destinations [VERIFY], including much of Asia, Latin America, and parts of Africa. No Schengen visa-free access.

Family inclusion: Spouse and children under 18 [VERIFY].

Why it stands out: Turkey is the only major CBI programme where the qualifying investment is a property asset rather than a donation, deposit, or fund contribution. Whether that makes it cheaper or more expensive depends on what happens to the property market. The passport itself is strong for a mid-tier programme, and the country's geography gives it a bridging position between Europe and Asia that some applicants value strategically.

10. Jordan: from ~$750,000 [VERIFY]

Jordan's programme requires a qualifying investment starting at approximately $750,000 [VERIFY], typically into designated projects or government bonds. It is the most expensive active CBI route.

Processing time: Six months or more [VERIFY].

Passport strength: Visa-free access to around 50 destinations [VERIFY]. Jordanian citizenship does not deliver the travel freedom of a Caribbean or Turkish passport.

Family inclusion: Available at additional cost [VERIFY].

Why it stands out: Jordan is a strategic choice, not a mobility choice. Its programme suits applicants with existing business interests in the Levant or the broader MENA region, for whom a Jordanian nationality has commercial or personal significance beyond travel.

Why cheapest is not always best value

The ranking above is sorted by cost. It is not sorted by value, and those are different questions.

Vanuatu is the cheapest, but its visa-free access has been under pressure, and a passport whose travel utility erodes is not a good use of $130,000. Dominica is affordable and established, but it does not get you to the US on an E-2 visa. St Kitts costs the most of the Caribbean five, but it has been running for forty years and its passport opens more doors than any other in the region.

The real question is not "which is cheapest?" It is "which programme delivers what I need, at a total cost I can justify, with the highest likelihood of holding its value over twenty years?"

How family size changes the picture

Every programme listed above quotes a single-applicant figure. Adding a spouse and children changes the total, and it changes the ranking. Dependants are priced per person, and each programme prices them differently. A programme that is cheapest for one person may be the most expensive for a family of five. Antigua, in particular, has historically offered the flattest family pricing of the Caribbean options, which makes it worth checking even if it sits mid-table on the single-applicant list.

Our comparison tool lays the active routes side by side. For family-specific pricing, our guide to second passports for families covers who qualifies, at what age, and what it costs across the main programmes.

Real estate vs donation

Several programmes offer both a donation route and a real estate investment route. The donation is simpler: a non-refundable payment to a government fund. The real estate route is typically more expensive on paper, but the capital goes into an asset that can (in theory) be sold after a holding period.

Whether real estate is truly cheaper depends on the local property market, what you buy, and whether you can sell it for anything close to what you paid. In the Caribbean, the resale market for CBI-designated properties is small and illiquid. In Turkey, you are buying into a real and functioning real estate market, which is both an opportunity and a risk.

For most applicants, the donation route is the cleaner comparison, which is why this article uses it as the baseline.

Due diligence: the part that protects the passport

The programmes that survive scrutiny are the ones that take vetting seriously. Stricter due diligence means slower processing, more paperwork, and occasionally a refusal, but it also means the passport keeps its visa-free access because the issuing country has not approved someone who causes a diplomatic incident or a security concern.

This is not abstract. Caribbean programmes have seen visa-free arrangements suspended and reinstated based partly on the perceived quality of their vetting. A programme that lets anyone through quickly is a programme whose passport might not open the same doors in five years that it opens today.

When you compare programmes, the strength of due diligence is not a cost. It is the thing that determines whether the passport you buy today is still worth holding in a decade.

Where to start

If you are comparing programmes for your specific situation, the numbers that matter are not the ones above. They are the all-in figures for your household, weighted by the factors that matter to you: travel access, processing time, family eligibility, and the long-term reputation of the programme.

Curious what it actually costs to live in these countries? Our cost of living comparison has the data.

If you would like a candid read on which programme fits your family, your budget, and your goals, our qualification review is built for exactly that.