A free PDF guide — the quotation broken into its parts
A guide: how the cost and the timingsof the programmes are counted
A programme’s headline figure is only the investment. We set out what the end-to-end total is made of, which payments do not come back on a refusal, and why the three months quoted do not start when you get in touch.
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- Verified on 11.08.2026
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The breakdown shows the structure of the cost at the programmes’ published tariffs. The final sum is fixed by contract after the check on the applicant.
01 / The essentials first
Why the total does not match the published threshold
Four things that put the budget at odds with expectations by the time you file.
- The headline figure is only the investment
«Citizenship from $130,000» or «a contribution of $240,000» is the first line of the quotation, not the total. The state fees, the check on every adult, the documents and the service add tens of thousands of dollars.
- The total is counted for the family, not for a person
Some fees are charged on the application as a whole, some on every person in it, some only on the adults. The check in Grenada is $5,000 a head from 18; in Dominica $7,500 for the main applicant and $4,000 for everyone from 16.
- Some of the cost does not come back, whatever happens
The processing and check fees are paid on filing: $8,000 for the applicant and $5,000 for a dependant in Saint Lucia. A refusal means losing that money, which is why eligibility is settled before filing.
- The timing is set by the file, not by the programme
The three to six months quoted are counted from a complete pack of documents. The real clock starts earlier: gathering certificates, legalisation and preparing the source of funds take from a month to six.
02 / The breakdown
The end-to-end quotation, part by part
Choose the family and the programme: the calculation runs on the same engines as the programme pages and shows every part — from the investment to the service.
Saint Lucia: $260 000
The National Economic Fund · a family of fourThis is what the end-to-end total looks like broken into its parts. The programme’s headline figure is only the first line: to the investment are added the state fees, the check on every adult, the documents and the service.
- The contribution under the programme: The contribution to the National Economic Fund (a family of up to 4)
- $240 000
- Due diligence and processing: Due diligence: the main applicant
- $8 000
- Due diligence: the others aged 16 and over ($5 000 × 1)
- $5 000
- Children under 16 (2)
- no fee
- The processing fee: the main applicant
- $2 000
- The processing fee: dependants ($1 000 × 3)
- $3 000
- Translations, the notary, the apostille
- $2 000
- The end-to-end total
- $260 000
The calculation runs on the same engine as the programme page and moves with the tariffs. The processing and check fees are paid on filing and are not returned on a refusal — which is why eligibility is settled before any cost.
03 / Two figures
The headline price and the end-to-end total
Both figures belong to the same programme but mean different things. Comparing programmes makes sense only on the second.
The values were checked against the official material on 11.08.2026. Only the rows for which there is no official wording are marked separately.
| Criterion | The headlineThe threshold the programme publishes | The end-to-end totalThe BRIDGES GLOBAL quotation |
|---|---|---|
| What is in it | The investment or contribution only | The investment, the state fees, the check, the documents, the service |
| How the family is counted | Usually one applicant | Every person in the application at their own rate |
| The check on the applicant | Not shown | Counted for every adult |
| Documents and legalisation | Not shown | Translations, the apostille, certificates — by the actual family |
| When it changes | It stays as it is | Fixed by contract after the check on the applicant |
| The difference for a family of fourA BRIDGES estimate | Understated by tens of thousands | Matches what is actually paid |
| What it lets you doA BRIDGES estimate | Feel that it is affordable | Plan a budget |
- What is in it
- The investment or contribution only
- The investment, the state fees, the check, the documents, the service
- How the family is counted
- Usually one applicant
- Every person in the application at their own rate
- The check on the applicant
- Not shown
- Counted for every adult
- Documents and legalisation
- Not shown
- Translations, the apostille, certificates — by the actual family
- When it changes
- It stays as it is
- Fixed by contract after the check on the applicant
- The difference for a family of fourA BRIDGES estimate
- Understated by tens of thousands
- Matches what is actually paid
- What it lets you doA BRIDGES estimate
- Feel that it is affordable
- Plan a budget
The state fees are set by law and are the same with every agent. What differs is what the service covers, so it is the service that has to be compared, not the final figure.
04 / What is in the guide
How the material is built
The PDF gathers the structure of the cost across the programmes: the parts of the quotation, the non-returnable payments and the real timings by stage.
- The essentials firstWhy the total does not match the published threshold.
- The headline and the totalTwo figures for one programme, side by side.
- The timings by stageWhat the real time to obtain a status is made of.
- The parts of the quotationThe six parts that make up the end-to-end total.
- The limitsWhat to take into account in planning a budget.
- Your teamWho prepares the quotation and runs the case.
05 / The timings by stage
What the time to obtain a status is made of
The months a programme quotes cover only the consideration. The real clock starts with preparing the documents and ends when they are issued.
- The preliminary assessment — from a day
Eligibility and the risks examined with no documents handed over. Free and before any cost: some programmes fall away here.
- Gathering the documents — from a month
Certificates of no criminal record from every country of residence, papers on family relationships, evidence of the source of funds. The longest and most underrated part.
- Legalisation — 2-4 weeks
The apostille and sworn translations. The timings depend on the country that issued the document, not on the programme, and cannot be influenced.
- Filing through an agent — days
The application is filed by a licensed agent. At that moment the processing and check fees are paid — money that does not come back.
- The check and the decision — 3-6 months
The programme’s official timing. Requests from the authority extend it: every unprepared fact adds weeks.
- The investment and the issue — 4-8 weeks
After approval the investment is paid and the documents are then issued. Passports and cards are issued to everyone in the application.
07 / The parts of the quotation
What the end-to-end total consists of
Six items of cost. The first is the one the programme publishes; the rest are the difference between the expectation and what is actually paid.
- The investment or contribution
The main sum: a non-returnable contribution to a fund, a share in an approved property or a deposit. How it moves with the family differs — in the Caribbean programmes it grows, in the European residence programmes it does not.
- The state fees
The processing fee, the administrative and passport fees. Some are charged on the application, some on every person in it by age.
- The due-diligence check
Charged for every adult, and in some programmes from 16. Paid on filing and not returned on a refusal.
- Documents and legalisation
Translations, notarisation, the apostille, medical certificates. The pack is counted by the number of people and countries of residence.
- The service
The work of the lawyers and the licensed agent: preparing the file, filing, answering requests and seeing it through to the documents.
- The cost after the status
Renewals, tax obligations, the upkeep of a property. Counted separately from the cost of obtaining the status.
Some items are charged on the application as a whole, some on every person by age. So a quotation is always counted for a particular family.
08 / The limits
What to take into account in planning a budget
Five things that put a calculation at odds with the fact.
A quotation is not the price of a programmeFor a family the gap runs to tens of thousands
The headline figure is almost always for one applicant and without the fees. Comparing programmes on it is pointless: the order of the cost changes with the family.
Some payments do not come backThe processing and check fees
In Saint Lucia that is $8,000 for the applicant and $5,000 for every dependant; in Grenada $5,000 for an adult. The money leaves on filing, whatever the decision.
The timings run from a complete packThe months quoted do not start at the enquiry
Three to six months is the time to consider the application. Gathering the documents and the legalisation are added to it, and they depend on the country issuing the certificates.
Rates and tariffs changeThe quotation is fixed by contract
The state fees are revised, and some programmes count in different currencies. So the total is fixed in the contract after the check on the applicant rather than taken from a price list.
Cheap does not mean rightThe total follows the task, not the threshold
The lowest contribution often gives a status that does not answer the need: no access to Europe, no right to live anywhere, no prospect of naturalisation. What has to be counted is the cost of answering the task.
09 / Your team
Who prepares your quotation
The quotation is put together by the specialists who run cases under these programmes.
The editorial record
The material was prepared and checked by
- First published
- 11 August 2026
- Last updated
- 11 August 2026
The official sources
- The Citizenship by Investment Unit of Saint Lucia — the programme tariffsGovernment of Saint Lucia, CIU · checked 11.08.2026The official size of the contribution and of the processing and check fees.
- The Citizenship by Investment Committee of GrenadaGovernment of Grenada, CBI Committee · checked 11.08.2026The due-diligence and processing fees by the make-up of the application.
- The Citizenship by Investment Unit of DominicaCommonwealth of Dominica, CBIU · checked 11.08.2026The tariffs by age and how the fees are charged to the people in the application.
10 / Common questions
Questions about cost and timings
Why is the final sum higher than the published threshold?
Because the published threshold is only the investment, and everything has to be paid for: the state fees, the check on every adult, the documents, the legalisation and the service. In the Caribbean programmes the gap for a family of four runs to tens of thousands of dollars on a contribution of $240,000.
What is the end-to-end quotation made of?
Five parts: the investment or contribution, the state fees, the due-diligence check, the documents with their legalisation, and the service. The breakdown on this page shows every part at the programmes’ real rates.
What is not returned on a refusal?
The processing and due-diligence fees — they are paid on filing. The investment is paid after approval, so what a refusal costs is the fees, not the main sum.
How long does it really take?
The official time to consider an application is 3-6 months in the Caribbean programmes. Preparation is added to it: from a month with a simple structure to six where there are crypto assets, stakes in several countries or a complicated history of capital.
Can the cost be fixed?
Yes, by contract — after the preliminary check and once the family is settled. Until then any figure is a guide: it depends on the ages of the people, their citizenship and the programme chosen.
Why does one programme cost different amounts with different agents?
The state fees are the same for everyone: they are set by law. What differs is the price of the service and what it covers. What has to be compared is the service, not the final figure.
Which costs more — a fund or property?
At the entry a fund is almost always cheaper, but the contribution does not come back. Property costs more and adds state fees, but part of the money returns when the property is sold after the set period.
How is the cost counted for a large family?
At the rates for each person beyond the base family, with different rates for children and adults. A breakdown by family across ten programmes is in the separate guide for families.
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- Every part of the quotation at the programmes’ real tariffs
- What does not come back on a refusal
- The timings by stage rather than one figure
- An end-to-end quotation for your own family