About twenty countries currently offer residency or citizenship by investment, with minimum qualifying investments ranging from roughly $130,000 for Vanuatu’s citizenship program to more than $2 million for Italian government bonds or the (now closed) Maltese citizenship track. The map shifted hard in 2024 and 2025: Spain shut down its Golden Visa, Portugal dropped real estate as a qualifying asset, Greece steeply raised its property thresholds, Malta replaced its citizenship-by-investment scheme with a discretionary merit route, and the European Commission put the five Caribbean citizenship programs on notice over Schengen access. What follows is a country-by-country picture of what’s actually available right now, what it costs, and what you get.
Caribbean Citizenship Programs
Five Eastern Caribbean nations run direct citizenship-by-investment programs: St. Kitts and Nevis (which launched the first such program in 1984), Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, and St. Lucia.1Citizenship by Investment Unit (Antigua and Barbuda). Citizenship All five grant a passport rather than a residence permit, and none require you to live in the country. You contribute to a government fund or buy approved real estate, pass a due diligence check, and receive citizenship.
In 2024 the five nations signed a Memorandum of Agreement setting a $200,000 price floor across every CBI option, effective July 1, 2024, and declaring discounting below that threshold illegal.2Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. Caribbean Countries Pressing Forward with the Implementation of the Memorandum of Agreement on Citizenship by Investment Programmes A regional regulator, the Eastern Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Regulatory Authority, is also under development.3Eastern Caribbean Central Bank. Draft Legislation for Establishment of CBI/CIP Regulator
Current single-applicant minimum contributions to the government fund route:
- Dominica: roughly $200,000
- Antigua and Barbuda: roughly $230,000
- Grenada: roughly $235,000
- St. Lucia: roughly $240,000
- St. Kitts and Nevis: roughly $250,000
Real estate options generally start higher, in the $200,000 to $350,000 range depending on the country. A family of four applying through Antigua’s National Development Fund pays $230,000 in contributions plus $20,000 in processing fees, before legal and due diligence charges.4The Citizenship by Investment Programme. The Citizenship by Investment Programme – NDF Caribbean passports provide visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to between 145 and 153 countries, including the UK and the Schengen Area, though that Schengen access is now under active EU review.
European Residency and Citizenship Programs
Europe has contracted sharply. What’s left tends to cost more and carry more regulation than Caribbean options, but it offers the eventual prize of EU residency or citizenship.
Greece
Greece’s Golden Visa grants five-year residency to investors and their families, renewable indefinitely while the investment is held. Greece replaced its flat €250,000 minimum in 2024 with a tiered system: property in Athens, Thessaloniki, and popular islands like Mykonos and Santorini now requires €800,000 in a single unit of at least 120 square meters. Other regions require €400,000. Conversions to residential use and listed historic buildings still qualify at €250,000.5USA TODAY. Golden Visas Are Booming in 2026, and Greece Just Changed the Rules Greek residency doesn’t include work authorization and doesn’t lead to citizenship on any automatic timeline.
Portugal
Portugal’s Golden Visa no longer accepts real estate as of October 2023. Qualifying options now include investment fund subscriptions starting at €250,000 for arts and culture funds or €500,000 for general funds, €500,000 in scientific research, or creating at least ten jobs through a new or existing business.5USA TODAY. Golden Visas Are Booming in 2026, and Greece Just Changed the Rules Physical presence requirements are minimal. After five years, holders can apply for permanent residency or Portuguese citizenship.
Italy
Italy’s Investor Visa runs for two years, renewable in three-year increments. Minimum thresholds: €250,000 for an innovative startup, €500,000 for an Italian limited company, €1 million for a philanthropic initiative, or €2 million in Italian government bonds.6Investor Visa for Italy. Why Invest in Italy These are real investments rather than donations, so the capital remains yours subject to market risk.
Malta
Malta’s citizenship-by-investment program is closed. It has been replaced with a discretionary merit-based naturalization route under the Citizenship Act, which has no fixed investment threshold and is focused on demonstrated merit rather than capital. Malta still operates a permanent residency program for investors, but the direct investment-to-passport pipeline that made Malta famous no longer exists.
Austria
Austria grants citizenship for substantial economic contributions or extraordinary achievements benefiting the country. This is not a standard pay-and-apply program. It requires active investment such as a joint venture or job-creating business, and informal approvals from key ministries before the formal application even opens.7Migration.gv.at. Citizenship Passive investments in bonds or real estate don’t qualify. The process is opaque, expensive, and highly selective.
Closed or Stalled
Spain officially ended its Golden Visa on April 3, 2025, after the Spanish Congress voted to abolish the program in December 2024. Applications are no longer accepted. Hungary’s Guest Investor Residence Permit, which would require €250,000 in real estate fund investments, is currently stalled and not accepting applications. Cyprus shut down its citizenship-by-investment program in 2020 after corruption scandals, though its residency program continues (covered below).
Middle East and African Programs
Turkey
Turkey grants citizenship for a real estate purchase of at least $400,000, with a title-deed restriction preventing resale for three years.8Invest in Turkiye. Acquiring Property and Citizenship Processing typically takes three to six months, and the Turkish passport reaches about 120 visa-free destinations. It is the highest-volume CBI program in the world.
United Arab Emirates
The UAE Golden Visa grants five- or ten-year residency, not citizenship, with no income tax, automatic renewal, and no sponsor requirement. Real estate investors need property worth at least AED 2 million (roughly $545,000) held free of mortgage.9The Official Platform of the UAE Government. Golden Visa Public investment holders qualify for ten-year visas; entrepreneurs with qualifying projects receive five-year visas.10Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security. Golden Residency There is no path from this visa to Emirati citizenship.
Jordan
Jordan’s CBI program requires a minimum investment of roughly JOD 350,000 (around $493,000). It sees lower volume than Caribbean or Turkish alternatives but grants full citizenship.
Egypt
Egypt offers four routes starting with a $250,000 non-refundable donation to the public treasury. The real estate option requires $300,000 in government-owned projects. A business investment option requires $350,000 in a business plus a $100,000 treasury donation. A refundable option takes a $500,000 bank deposit held for three years.
Mauritius
Mauritius offers residency permits tied to real estate investment, letting foreign nationals live, work, and retire on the island. The Economic Development Board oversees several pathways, including purchases in designated developments.11EDB Mauritius. Work and Live With no capital gains tax, no inheritance tax, and a flat 15% income tax, Mauritius attracts investors looking for a tax residency base.
Asia-Pacific Programs
Vanuatu
Vanuatu runs two active citizenship programs. The Development Support Program costs $130,000 for a single applicant and $180,000 for a family of four, plus due diligence fees. The newer Capital Investment Immigration Program starts at $165,000 per applicant, with $50,000 of that amount going into a government fund and redeemable after several years.12Citizenship’s Office and Commission. Citizenship’s Office and Commission Vanuatu is one of the fastest programs anywhere, with processing measured in weeks, and levies no income tax. The passport covers fewer countries than Caribbean alternatives.
Cambodia
Cambodia grants citizenship through a $245,000 donation to the Royal Government or a $305,000 investment in an approved development project. Additional fees for deposits, application processing, and passport collection add roughly $85,000. Dependents can apply after the main applicant is naturalized for $5,000 each.
Thailand
Thailand’s Privilege Card program (formerly the Elite Visa) is a long-term residency visa rather than a citizenship or investment migration route. Membership fees run from 650,000 to 5,000,000 Thai baht (roughly $18,000 to $138,000) for multiple-entry visas of 5 to 20 years.13Thai Embassy. Thailand Elite Visa It doesn’t lead to citizenship or permanent residency and doesn’t grant work authorization.
Cyprus
Cyprus still offers permanent residency through a €300,000 minimum investment in real estate, company shares, or Cypriot investment fund units. The permit doesn’t expire. After eight years of continuous residence, including twelve uninterrupted months immediately before the application, investors can apply for Cypriot citizenship through naturalization.
Investment Types and What They Really Cost
The headline number is never the total. Every program adds government fees, due diligence charges, legal fees, and dependent surcharges that can push total cost 20% to 50% above the base. A single applicant taking Dominica’s $200,000 route will pay $25,000 or more on top in processing and due diligence.
Investment types fall into a few categories:
- Government fund donations, from $130,000 (Vanuatu) to $250,000 (St. Kitts, Egypt). Non-refundable, but processing is simpler and faster.
- Real estate, typically $200,000 to $800,000, with holding periods of three to seven years. Turkey requires three years; in Greece the investment must be maintained for the visa to remain valid.
- Government bonds or fund subscriptions, offered by Portugal (€250,000 to €500,000) and Italy (up to €2 million). Capital is recoverable after the holding period, though returns can be minimal.
- Business investments, sometimes with job creation requirements. Egypt requires $350,000 in a business plus a $100,000 treasury donation. Italy requires €500,000 for a company or €250,000 for an innovative startup.6Investor Visa for Italy. Why Invest in Italy
Vanuatu’s $130,000 starting point is the least expensive citizenship option worldwide, though with fewer travel benefits than a Caribbean passport. The Caribbean’s $200,000 regional floor is now the minimum entry price for the five Eastern Caribbean passports.2Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. Caribbean Countries Pressing Forward with the Implementation of the Memorandum of Agreement on Citizenship by Investment Programmes
Passport Power vs. Just a Place to Live
If travel freedom is the goal, only citizenship programs change your visa-free access. Caribbean passports reach roughly 145 to 153 destinations: St. Kitts and Nevis around 153, Antigua and Barbuda 152, Grenada 148, St. Lucia 147, Dominica 145. All five include Schengen access, though that access is now at risk. Turkey reaches about 120. Vanuatu covers fewer countries, which is part of why it’s cheaper.
Residency programs like Greece, Portugal, and Italy don’t hand you a passport on day one. But permanent residents who later naturalize receive EU passports with access to 180-plus destinations and free movement and work rights across all EU member states. That long-term upside is why some investors accept higher costs and longer timelines in Europe. The UAE Golden Visa and Thailand’s Privilege Card don’t change your passport at all; they change where you’re allowed to live.
The Risks Worth Knowing Before You Commit
The most immediate risk right now sits on Caribbean passport holders. In its December 2025 Visa Suspension Mechanism Report, the European Commission stated that operating a citizenship-by-investment program is, by itself, sufficient grounds to suspend Schengen visa-free access for the five Caribbean CBI nations. The Commission specifically named Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Lucia, citing consistently low rejection rates and a combined total of over 100,000 CBI passports issued. The report signaled that the EU’s long-term expectation is program closure, not just reform, and urged tighter vetting as an interim step. Failure to show measurable progress could trigger a phased suspension starting with diplomatic passports.
The OECD keeps its own list of investment migration schemes that pose risks to the integrity of international tax information exchange. Schemes providing access to a personal income tax rate below 10% on offshore financial assets without requiring at least 90 days of physical presence are flagged as potentially high-risk. Banks that encounter account holders claiming residence through a flagged program are expected to ask extra questions.14OECD. Residence/Citizenship by Investment Schemes
Citizenship or residency obtained through investment can also be revoked. Grounds generally include misrepresentation during application, failure to maintain the qualifying investment for the required holding period, and later criminal activity that would have disqualified you originally. Programs get shut down too. Cyprus closed its CBI in 2020; Spain closed its Golden Visa in 2025. The existence of a program today doesn’t guarantee its existence next year, and the money you put in doesn’t always come back out.
A Note for American Investors
A second residency or passport doesn’t end U.S. tax obligations. The U.S. taxes its citizens and green card holders on worldwide income wherever they live. Foreign financial accounts exceeding $10,000 in aggregate at any point in the year trigger an FBAR filing with FinCEN, due April 15 with an automatic extension to October 15.15FinCEN.gov. Report Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts16Internal Revenue Service. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) Under FATCA, U.S. residents filing single must file Form 8938 if foreign financial assets exceed $50,000 at year-end or $75,000 at any point during the year; married-filing-jointly thresholds are $100,000 and $150,000.
Renouncing U.S. citizenship carries an expatriation tax. You’re a “covered expatriate” if your net worth is $2 million or more, or your average annual U.S. income tax over the prior five years exceeds $211,000. Covered expatriates are treated as having sold all worldwide assets at fair market value the day before expatriation, with the first $910,000 in unrealized gains exempt for 2026. The fee to formally renounce is $450 as of April 2026. That math often surprises investors who chase a second passport with an eventual exit in mind.