The 2026 Map of the Citizenship-by-Investment Market

In this piece I analyse the 2026 market: the active programmes, the changes of the past five years and the factors that shape the choice of country.

The market in 2026

• There are ten active citizenship-by-investment programmes.
• Five of them are Caribbean: Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
• Two are Pacific states: Vanuatu and Nauru. Two are African: São Tomé and Príncipe, and Egypt. Plus Turkey.
• The minimum investment varies more than fourfold: from USD 90,000 to USD 400,000.
• Since 2019 four programmes have stopped accepting applications, and no comparable new ones have appeared.

The count includes active state programmes accepting applications from foreign applicants as at the date of verification. Residence programmes, repatriation and naturalisation after residence are treated separately and are not included in the number.

Which citizenship-by-investment programmes are active in 2026

The figure is the minimum main investment for a single applicant in US dollars, under the option with the lowest threshold. State fees, due diligence, the licensed agent's services and the costs for family members are calculated separately and are not included. The timeline is indicative, from filing with the state body to receiving the passport, excluding document preparation. The programme conditions were verified on 29 August 2026 against the official bodies' data; links to them are given at the end of the article.

Turkey stands apart in this list: it involves buying property with an obligation to hold it for a set period — an investment asset of the applicant, not a non-refundable contribution to a state fund.

The Caribbean programmes: how they differ

The five Caribbean programmes are close in structure: a non-refundable contribution to a state fund, a check on the applicant and a decision by the relevant body. The differences that affect the choice lie in the detail.

The E-2 visa needs a clarification, because this point is often presented inaccurately. A treaty between a state and the United States gives that country's citizens the right to apply for an E-2 investor visa, but it does not guarantee the visa: the decision is taken by a US consular post after reviewing the specific application, taking into account the requirements on the investment, the nature of the business and the applicant's personal circumstances. The conditions and the list of treaty countries should be checked against the official material of the US Department of State before deciding.

Vanuatu and Nauru: the strengths and weaknesses of the segment

The Pacific programmes are often summed up in one phrase: "cheaper and faster". That is only half true, so let me set out both sides.

What the segment gives. The minimum investment starts at USD 90,000 for Nauru and is USD 130,000 for Vanuatu — lower than in the Caribbean segment, where it starts at USD 200,000. The indicative timelines are shorter: two to three months for Vanuatu and three to four months for Nauru, against five to nine months for the Caribbean programmes. The process is remote; personal attendance is required only to give biometric data.

Where the segment is limited. The list of visa-free destinations for Pacific passports is shorter: for Vanuatu, after the change in its visa regime with the European Union, it is roughly 90-100 destinations. These states have no treaties comparable to Grenada's for the E-2 visa. Nauru's programme was launched at the end of 2024, so its track record is shorter than the Caribbean programmes' and banks' practice with it is still forming.

Which tasks the segment suits. A second document in a short time, a limited budget, remote processing, a basis for later applying for residence in other countries. Which tasks it is weaker for. Broad visa-free mobility, tasks tied to specific international treaties, and situations where a long programme history matters.

Closed programmes

For Cyprus, Moldova and Montenegro we give the year applications stopped: as at the date of verification we were unable to confirm from official sources the specific legal act and exact date for each of the three countries, so we do not present them as established fact.

For Malta the basis is established: on 29 April 2025 the Court of Justice of the European Union gave judgment in case C-181/23, finding that the Maltese scheme for granting citizenship by investment was contrary to Union law.

A separate word on a question every reader raises. The end of acceptance of new applications does not in itself mean the automatic loss of citizenship previously acquired on lawful grounds. The consequences must be assessed under the law of the specific country and the circumstances of the specific applicant.

This is not official statistics: there is no single register of citizenship-by-investment programmes. The columns are a Bridges Global count based on the programmes' own official sources as at 29 August 2026. State programmes granting citizenship for an investment and accepting applications from foreign applicants were counted. Residence programmes, repatriation and naturalisation after residence were not. The years were chosen at the points where the market's composition changed: 2019 — before the closures; 2020 — applications stopped in Cyprus and Moldova; 2022 — Montenegro's programme ended; 2025 — the EU Court's judgment on the Maltese programme; 2026 — the current composition.

What this means for the choice

Fact: since 2019 four programmes have stopped accepting applications, and no new ones of comparable scale have appeared.

Bridges Global estimate: the reduction in the number of programmes redistributes demand to those that remain, and that is one of the reasons minimum thresholds have risen and applicant checks have tightened in recent years.

The practical conclusion for the choice: it makes sense to compare not all ten programmes in a row but two or three options within one segment, selected for a specific purpose. The chart below shows where to start the selection.

The chart shows which segment it is sensible to start the analysis with; it is not a ready-made recommendation. The final choice depends on the applicant's citizenship, family composition, origin of funds, budget, timeline and the purposes for which the status is being obtained.

What is not citizenship by investment

Much of the confusion on the market arises because statuses of different natures are called by one word. Let me separate the concepts.

Three clarifications that matter legally. A residence permit is not citizenship. An investment may give grounds for residence. The right to citizenship does not arise automatically from the fact of an investment: subsequent naturalisation requires meeting separate conditions set by national law.

How to check a programme

• The legal basis. An active programme has a law or regulation and a state body that runs it. Both are on the country's official domain.
• Published fees. Contribution and fee amounts are published by the state body. If the amounts are known only to an intermediary, that is a reason to look into it before paying.
• The filing procedure. In most programmes the law requires filing through a licensed agent, and the register of such agents is open.
• Where the payment goes. The state's part of the payment is made against the body's invoice into a state account.

What is happening to prices

Fact: in 2023-2024 the Caribbean states agreed a common minimum contribution threshold of USD 200,000, which raised the floor where it had been lower.

Bridges Global estimate: the rise in thresholds coincided with the reduction in the number of programmes and with growing outside attention to the segment. We link these events, but we do not establish a direct causal connection on the basis of official documents.

For the reader the practical meaning lies elsewhere: comparing programmes on the "from" figure is not valid if the application is not for one person. The costs for family members and mandatory fees change the total more than the difference between entry thresholds.

For the active programmes we have prepared separate full-cost calculations. They take into account the family composition, the main investment, state fees, due diligence and other mandatory costs, making it possible to compare programmes on their actual budget rather than just the minimum investment.

Vanuatu calculation →Nauru →São Tomé and Príncipe →Dominica →Antigua and Barbuda →Grenada →Saint Lucia →Saint Kitts and Nevis →

The market outlook

What has already happened. Since 2019 four programmes have stopped accepting applications. The Maltese scheme was found contrary to Union law by the EU Court's judgment of 29 April 2025. The Caribbean states agreed a minimum contribution threshold of USD 200,000.

What is happening now. Minimum thresholds in the active programmes are rising, the requirements for checking applicants and evidencing the origin of funds are tightening, and the market's composition remains stable — ten programmes as at the date of verification.

The Bridges Global forecast. We expect the number of programmes to remain limited in the near term and the requirements on applicants to keep tightening. The forecast could change if a new state programme appears, if international organisations change their position on this instrument, or if individual countries revise their conditions under external agreements. This is an estimate, not an established fact.

European alternatives

Since the Maltese programme ended, the European Union has no active programmes granting citizenship directly for an investment on the model of the classic Caribbean programmes.

Demand that used to go to those programmes has, on our estimate, moved to residence mechanisms. These give the right to live in a country, not citizenship: moving to citizenship is possible only through naturalisation once its conditions are met.

A separate ground is repatriation: citizenship by documented descent. Investment plays no role here, and it is not valid to mix these mechanisms in one comparison.