What Are the Cheapest Citizenship-by-Investment Programs?

More than any other topic, our readers want to know how to get a second passport. 

While many of you are from Western countries like the United States and are seeking to renounce your citizenship to avoid high taxes in the West, others are wealthy business owners from the emerging world.

After all, the BBC says it’s no longer James Bond and Jason Bourne carrying multiple passports but successful economic citizens. 

And while the cheapest citizenship-by-investment programs are still quite affordable for some, if you don’t have six figures to spend to get a passport within the next year, this article won’t help you. Instead, you should consider:

• How to get citizenship through your family tree (it’s cheap, but only if you’re lucky)
• Getting citizenship by moving to another country and waiting (naturalisation)
• Getting citizenship through marriage.

If, however, you are in a hurry to get a second passport and are willing to pay the price to obtain citizenship by investment (CBI), here are some of the cheapest citizenships available.

1. Vanuatu 

Vanuatu, the archipelago nation about 1,000 miles northeast of Australia, currently offers one of the world’s cheapest citizenship by investment programs. 

You can gain a Vanuatu passport by donating US$130,000 as a single applicant. It’ll cost you an extra US$20,000 to add a spouse, an additional US$15,000 for each of your first two dependents and another US$25,000 for each dependent after that. 

Vanuatu recently added a separate option, called the Future Fund program, which allows you to invest US$50,000 in its economy and receive this back after five years. 

If you choose this option, it’ll cost US$155,000 whether you’re applying alone or on behalf of a family of up to four people. So, it could work out even cheaper for you.

Vanuatu is a tax-friendly country that charges 0% on income, inheritances and capital gains taxes. So, it can be very affordable for certain individuals to live there.

The bad news is that the Vanuatu passport has been significantly weakened in recent times. The European Union recently removed visa-free access to its member states for Vanuatu citizens due to concerns about the lack of due diligence surrounding its CBI program. 

Vanuatu has taken steps to try and improve this but its citizens are currently only able to access 49 countries visa-free. 

Nevertheless, this option might still appeal if you’re on the lookout for an affordable ‘Plan B’ passport. 

As one of the cheapest citizenship-by-investment programs, however, it is under scrutiny and might not be around or much longer. So, we urge you to consider this option sooner rather than later.   

2. Dominica

Dominica remains one of the world’s most affordable places to buy citizenship, with options available for as little as US$200,000 plus government and legal fees.

Dominica, not to be confused with the Dominican Republic, is an island in the Caribbean’s Lesser Antilles. The entire country is about the size of Singapore, although the terrain is much more mountainous and the island is home to volcanoes.

Fewer than 75,000 people actually reside in Dominica, and the US$200,000 non-refundable donation for a single applicant is supposed to promote tourism and build public works projects. 

With legal and government fees, a single applicant should expect to spend around US$275,000, while a married couple with children should expect to spend closer to US$325,000.

A Dominica passport gets you visa-free access to several key countries of interest: Ireland, Switzerland, Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea. As a commonwealth territory, citizens enjoy special rights for travel to the UK.

It also includes easy access to most of the Caribbean, but you will have to apply for a visa for anywhere in North America or continental Europe. That makes it a tough call for the potential Western expatriate used to easy travel.

3. Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda is a particularly affordable citizenship-by-investment option if you’re looking to get citizenship by investment with a spouse and children. 

You can donate a sum of US$230,000 to its National Development Fund and receive a passport whether you’re applying alone or with a family of up to four people.

A US$20,000 processing fee applies, and this is increased by a further US$15,000 from the fifth dependent onwards.  

Antigua established its second citizenship program to help fund the nation’s government. If you’re willing to invest substantially more, you can purchase real estate or invest in a local business. 

Antigua’s passport offers visa-free travel to Europe, much of the Americas and other developed countries.

4. St Kitts and Nevis

The St Kitts and Nevis CBI program is the oldest of its kind. Recently, the island nation announced that it will be lowering its investment thresholds, making it not the cheapest but one of the cheapest citizenship-by-investment programs in the world.

If you want to live in tax-free St Kitts and Nevis, you can make a US$250,000 donation to the government’s Sugar Industry Diversification Fund and get a passport in a number of months. With legal fees, expect to spend just north of US$300,000 for one person or US$400,000 for a couple. 

And now, under the program’s new rules, the real estate option has been reduced to US$325,000 (previously US$400,000) while the minimum investment in a single-family private dwelling home has been lowered to US$600,000 (previously US$800,000). 

So, for an extra US$75,000, you could get a passport while owning real estate on the island, too.

As the original citizenship-by-investment program, now running for 30 years, St Kitts is regarded as having a well-run model that has been emulated by others.

St Kitts remains one of the cheapest and most reliable second passports with easy travel to Europe.

5. Saint Lucia

St Lucia is the second largest of the Windward Islands located in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The Caribbean island has its net worth requirement for CBI that once eliminated anyone who wasn’t a multimillionaire from successfully applying.

Now, anyone can apply to be a citizen of this island-country, as long as they pay a fee. This involves a US$240,000 donation to its Sustainable Fund, rising to US$260,000 if applying with a spouse and an extra US$25,000 for each additional dependent. 

In terms of passport strength, unlike Dominica’s, the St Lucia passport offers visa-free travel to all of Central America.

You can expect the legal fees here to be higher in comparison to Dominica, but St Lucia offers an easier and faster process. The small difference in price could, therefore, be worth it if buying citizenship is your goal.

6. Russia

Update: Given the ongoing war in Ukraine and subsequent sanctions imposed on Russia by much of the West, the situation in Russia is constantly evolving. As such, we recommend seeking advice from your national embassy or consulate on any financial or immigration matters relating to Russia to ensure you don’t run into legal difficulties.

While Russia does not have a direct citizenship-by-investment program, you can essentially pay enough in taxes over a short period of time and be granted citizenship as a result.

In a previous article, we shared information on how to get a Russian passport merely by starting or investing in a business. By paying roughly US$70,000 in taxes over three years (based on today’s valuation of the Russian ruble), entrepreneurs can obtain Russian citizenship with few additional hassles.

If you are interested in following renowned American investor Jim Rogers into buying into Russian companies, or if you have a profitable business you can relocate to Russia, you can avail of a relatively decent passport in short order, so long as you can make a profit and pay into the Russian tax system.

Cheapest Second Passport: FAQs

Finding the Right CBI Program for You that Ticks all the Boxes 

If you want to invest in a European passport, Malta is currently your only option for relatively quick and easy access. This will cost you at least €600,000, though, and that’s without considering the various administration fees. You’ll also have to face a short naturalisation period, where you live in the country full-time.

A handful of other European countries offer residency by investment, and most of these will allow you to earn citizenship by naturalisation after some years. However, you may encounter a lot of additional bureaucracy throughout the process.

Those aren’t your only choices, though, and Europe certainly isn’t the only region in the world with powerful passports for those looking to buy citizenship as part of expanding their passport portfolio.

If you’re interested in learning more about the best second citizenship for you (including learning more about which citizenship-by-investment programs are the cheapest) and getting a helping hand to ensure the process goes smoothly, consider working with Nomad Capitalist. 

We’ve helped 2,000+ high-net-worth individuals to ‘go where they’re treated best’ by pairing them with experts in tax, investment strategy and immigration to help build a plan as unique as their goals. 

To learn more about our Nomad Capitalist plans and how they can help you, get in touch today.