Citizeo
Report

The Cheapest Citizenship by Investment Programs (Second Passports), Ranked

Key findings

  • Nauru has the lowest listed current contribution in this dataset: $90,000 under its limited-time offer through December 31, 2026, plus mandatory government and due-diligence fees.
  • Vanuatu remains one of the lowest-cost established direct second-passport pathways, starting around $130,000.
  • The Caribbean programs cluster tightly between $200,000 and $250,000, before government, due-diligence, agent, and family fees.
  • Grenada has an extra strategic benefit for some investors: citizens can use the US E-2 treaty-investor visa if they make a qualifying US investment.

A direct citizenship program can require as little as a $90,000 principal contribution under Nauru's limited-time offer through December 31, 2026. Vanuatu starts around $130,000, while the Caribbean contribution routes start around $200,000. These figures are only the qualifying contribution or investment: government, due-diligence, agent, passport, and family fees can materially increase the total. This report ranks citizenship-by-investment and official investment-citizenship pathways by their lowest qualifying contribution or investment.

See the full program field: compare all citizenship-by-investment programs.

Cheapest passports you can buy, ranked

Rank Country Program Processing From (investment)
1 Nauru Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Typically 3–4 months $90,000 principal contribution through Dec. 31, 2026, plus fees
2 Vanuatu Vanuatu CBI ~1–2 months $130,000
3 Dominica Dominica Citizenship - Donation ~4–6 months $200,000
4 North Macedonia Special economic interest citizenship Varies €200,000
5 Antigua and Barbuda Antigua & Barbuda Citizenship - Donation ~3–6 months $230,000
6 Grenada Grenada Citizenship - Donation ~4–6 months $235,000
7 Saint Lucia Saint Lucia Citizenship - Donation ~3–6 months $240,000
8 Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts & Nevis Citizenship - Donation ~4–6 months $250,000
9 Turkey Turkish Citizenship by Investment ~4–6 months $400,000
10 Jordan Jordanian Citizenship by Investment Varies JOD 350,000+
11 El Salvador El Salvador Freedom Visa Varies $1,000,000

North Macedonia and Jordan are included because official government sources describe investment-linked citizenship pathways, but they should not be read like Caribbean donation programs. North Macedonia is a discretionary special economic interest pathway, and Jordan is an active business, shares, existing-investment, or job-creation framework.

Methodology

Figures come from Citizeo's structured dataset of citizenship and residency programs, reflecting publicly available rules as of August 2026. Where pathways are ranked by cost, mixed currencies are compared using approximate USD equivalents and amounts shown are the lowest qualifying option per program. They do not represent the full application cost. Programs are excluded when we cannot reach a government, legal, or official program source confirming that the pathway and current thresholds are still in force. Ranked tables use competition ranking: pathways with the same ranked value share a rank, and the next rank is skipped.

Source notes