The 2026 Speed Index of Investment Programmes

Speed is the single parameter on which investment programmes are compared most often, and the one most often misstated. Agency websites quote the time in which a perfect case could theoretically go through and present it as the norm. The real timeline is made up differently: preparing documents, the financial intelligence check, the commission meeting, issue of the passport and its physical delivery.

We have built an index of the eight programmes we run ourselves. It is based not on agents' promises but on the actual timelines of our cases and the official procedures of the state bodies. Where the official procedure differs from practice, we show both values.

In short: who is fastest

• Vanuatu — two to three months from filing to passport. The fastest result on the market.
• Nauru — three to four months; the programme is young and banks are getting used to it.
• São Tomé and Príncipe — eight to nine months, one of the slowest on the market.
• The Caribbean programmes — five to nine months, with a noticeable spread between countries.
• Turkey — six to eight months, and it requires a genuine property purchase.
• European routes are measured in years and are not in this index: they are about residence, not a passport.

The 2026 speed index

The timeline runs from the date of filing with the state body to the passport being in your hands. Preparing documents is not included: it depends on the applicant and takes from two weeks to two months.

The amounts are the minimum entry for a single applicant, excluding fees and professional work. We keep full estimates separately for each programme, because family composition changes the total more than the contribution rate itself.

The average time from filing to the passport in hand, based on the actual timelines of the cases we have run and on the official procedures of the state bodies. Document preparation before filing is not included: it takes from two weeks to two months and depends on the applicant.

Why Vanuatu holds first place

The reason is not lenient checks but the way the process is built. Three factors.

• The commission meets twice a month. A case does not wait for a quarterly cycle, as in some Caribbean programmes.
• The check runs before filing. The financial intelligence unit reviews the applicant in advance, so the decision at the commission stage is quick.
• Everything is remote. Personal attendance is needed only to give biometrics, and enrolment points operate in Dubai, Hong Kong and Nouméa, not only on the islands.

We set out the step-by-step mechanics in the article on how to obtain Vanuatu citizenship in 2026, and the timeline for each stage separately in the timelines for obtaining Vanuatu citizenship.

What actually slows a case down

In nine cases out of ten, the timeline is stretched not by the state body but by the applicant. The typical causes from our practice:

• The source of funds in a single certificate. The whole chain is checked, and one document does not cover it. This is the most frequent cause of additional requests.
• Certificates about to expire. A criminal record certificate is valid for a limited time, and while the rest is being gathered it goes out of date.
• Inconsistent spelling of the name. Different transliterations in the passport, the certificate and bank documents lead to requests for explanations.
• An incomplete family at the start. Adding a spouse or children after filing restarts part of the checks and costs more.

Which of these most often lead not to delay but to rejection is described in reasons for refusal of Vanuatu citizenship.

How the index was calculated

The index is built on three sources, each of which covers the weak point of the other two.

• Official procedures. State bodies publish a standard review period. It shows what a country has formally committed to, but it is almost always more optimistic than reality.
• The actual timelines of our cases. We take the date of filing and the date the passport is in hand. This is the main source: it accounts for additional requests, issue of the document and delivery.
• Public data from supervisory bodies. Reports of the relevant agencies and European Commission material give a cross-section of review times for the programme as a whole, not for individual cases.

Where the procedure differs from practice, we use practice. For example, for several Caribbean programmes the standard review period is announced as three to four months, but as much time again passes between approval and physically receiving the passport. The index shows the full time to the document in hand, because that is what matters to the applicant.

What is deliberately left out of the index: preparing documents before filing, the time for transferring money and bank checks, and the timelines of European residence programmes. The latter are measured in years and are not comparable in meaning with passport programmes.

What the timeline means in practice

The difference between three months and nine looks abstract until it is tied to a task. Three scenarios from our practice where the timeline decides.

A transaction with a fixed date. Closing a deal, entering a fund, signing an agreement that requires a document unrelated to the main citizenship. Here a month's delay means failure, and a programme with a nine-month cycle is simply not considered.

Opening an account in a new jurisdiction. The bank requests documents as a pack, and if the passport arrives later than the other papers, some certificates go out of date and the check has to start again.

Starting the European track. The Vanuatu passport opens the way to European residence programmes, above all the Greek one through property. The sooner the passport is obtained, the sooner the main process starts — and that process is long enough as it is.

In all three cases, gaining four to six months is worth more than the difference in contribution between programmes. That is why we gave speed an index of its own rather than hiding it as a line in a general comparison.

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

Who speed matters to

Speed stops being an abstract advantage in three situations.

• A transaction with a deadline. When the passport is needed by the closing date of a deal or for opening an account. We covered such a case separately in a passport against a deal deadline.
• A back-up document. When the main goal is to hold a second passport, not to travel on it.
• Entry to residence programmes. The Vanuatu passport opens the way to European residence programmes, and the sooner it is obtained, the sooner the Greek or Hungarian track begins.

How to shorten the timeline yourself

The state body works at its own pace, but preparation can be made twice as fast. What works, from our practice:

• Build the source of funds as a chain, not a total. Contracts, statements and tax confirmations along the whole path of the money. That removes most additional requests.
• Order criminal record certificates last. They have a limited validity, and if ordered first they go out of date while the rest is being gathered.
• Align the spelling of your name across all documents in advance. Transliteration discrepancies take a long time to resolve and always at the wrong moment. We covered this in the article on transliteration of your name in a Vanuatu passport.
• Include the whole family at once. Adding a spouse or children after the passport is issued restarts part of the checks and costs more. The analysis is in the article on Vanuatu citizenship for the whole family.
• Prepare explanations of contentious episodes in advance. A change of activity, large one-off receipts, closed companies — all are easier to explain with a document at once than with an answer to a request a month later.

In our statistics a correctly assembled case goes through without a single additional request and lands at the lower end of the timeline. A case assembled on the principle of "send what we have and add more if asked" adds one to three months.

Why European programmes are not in the index

Comparing passport programmes with European routes is not valid: they are different products. In Vanuatu or the Caribbean you obtain citizenship and a passport. In Europe you obtain residence, from which citizenship grows after years of living there and meeting the conditions.

In practice it looks like this: the Greek programme through property gives resident status within a few months, and citizenship comes into the conversation years later. So the correct combination looks different: first a fast passport, then European residence on that basis. In this scheme Vanuatu works as the entry point, and we covered such a structure in the article on residence programmes.

A passport against a deal deadline →The fastest second citizenship →