Citizenship By Investment Programs

Donation or investment

Most programs offer two routes. A donation is a one-time contribution to a government fund. It is the cheapest and simplest path, and the money is gone once you give it. An investment route, usually real estate, asks for more capital but leaves you holding an asset. Turkey is the clearest example: buy approved property worth USD 400,000, hold it for three years, then sell it, so your capital stays invested instead of spent. Caribbean programs price their donation routes between USD 200,000 in Dominica and USD 250,000 in St Kitts and Nevis.

Caribbean or further afield

Caribbean programs suit families who want speed, broad visa-free travel, and no obligation to live on the island. Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Saint Lucia, and Antigua and Barbuda all process in months and include dependants. Outside the Caribbean the trade-offs sharpen. Turkey gives you a recoverable real-estate asset and a foothold in a G20 economy. Vanuatu delivers the fastest passport, in one to two months. São Tomé and Príncipe and Nauru open at USD 90,000, the lowest entry points available, though both launched recently and carry shorter track records.

What the passport unlocks

Visa-free access is the headline benefit, and the strongest Caribbean passports reach 150 or more destinations, including the UK and the Schengen Area. Grenada adds something no other Caribbean program offers: a US E-2 Treaty Investor route, which lets citizens apply to live in the United States and operate a business there. If US access matters to you, that single feature can decide the choice.

Tax: citizenship is not tax residency

A second citizenship does not change where you pay tax. Tax residency follows where you live and how long you spend there. Holding a passport does not move it. Several programs sit in territories with no tax on foreign income for non-residents, but you benefit only if you also become resident there and meet the local rules. Treat any program as a mobility and security decision first, and take tax advice for your own situation before you act.

Speed and due diligence

Every reputable program runs background and source-of-funds checks. Clean documentation moves an application along; gaps slow it down. Caribbean timelines start at about three months, St Kitts offers a 60-day accelerated track for a higher fee, and Vanuatu can finish in one to two months. A program that promises a passport with no scrutiny should worry you rather than tempt you.

A shortlist by goal

• Lowest cost: São Tomé and Príncipe or Nauru at USD 90,000, then Dominica at USD 200,000 for an established Caribbean option.
• Fastest: Vanuatu, in one to two months.
• US access: Grenada, for the E-2 Treaty Investor route.
• Recoverable capital: Turkey, where the real estate can be sold after three years.
• Longest track record: St Kitts and Nevis, running since 1984.

Keeping your current citizenship

Every program on this page permits dual citizenship, so you do not renounce your existing nationality to take part. Check your home country's position as well, since a minority of countries restrict or tax a second citizenship. We confirm both sides before you proceed.

Where Ancova fits

The right program matches your goal, your timeline, and your tolerance for tying up capital. An Ancova advisor reviews your family profile, existing nationalities, and source-of-funds position, then recommends the routes worth your time and handles the application from brief to passport. Book a free strategy call to start.