The Rankings
1. St Kitts and Nevis: the original and most established programme. Processing in 60–90 days, donation from $250,000, visa-free to 157+ countries including UK and Schengen. Family inclusion available. 2. Dominica: best value at $100,000 donation for a single applicant. Processing 60–90 days, visa-free to 145+ countries. 3. Grenada: unique US E-2 treaty access, making it the only CBI passport that opens a pathway to US residency. $235,000 donation.
4. Antigua and Barbuda: competitive pricing ($130,000), strong travel access, five-day residency requirement. 5. Malta: the only EU citizenship by investment programme, but at EUR 600,000+ and 12+ months processing. Access to all 27 EU member states. 6. Vanuatu: fastest processing (30 days), $130,000, but more limited travel access.
Integration with UAE Residency
For Polaris clients with UAE Golden Visa residency, a second citizenship serves a complementary purpose. The UAE provides the operational base — company formation, banking, tax efficiency and lifestyle. The second passport provides global mobility, emergency contingency and access to jurisdictions where UAE passport holders face restrictions.
Polaris provides independent advisory on citizenship by investment programmes — with no agency ties to any specific jurisdiction. Our recommendation is based solely on the client's specific needs: travel requirements, timeline, budget, family size and integration with their broader international tax planning.
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A handful of citizenship-by-investment (CBI) programmes are seriously used by Polaris clients seeking a second nationality alongside their UAE residence. The 2026 working set is narrower than five years ago: several historical programmes have either closed, been suspended, or had their value diminished by EU and US sanctions pressure. The credible programmes remaining cluster around two regions — the Caribbean (Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia) and a smaller European set (Türkiye, Malta's residence-track-to-citizenship, the discontinued Maltese CBI). Each programme delivers a different visa-free travel footprint, different processing speed, different cost stack and different stability outlook.
| Programme | Minimum investment | Processing time | Visa-free / VOA destinations | 2026 notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antigua and Barbuda | USD 230,000 (NDF) or USD 300,000 real estate | 4–6 months | ~150 | Stable; family-friendly fee |
| Dominica | USD 200,000 (donation) or USD 200,000 real estate | 6–9 months | ~140 | Strict due diligence in 2024–2025 |
| Grenada | USD 235,000 (NTF) or USD 270,000 real estate | 4–6 months | ~140 incl. China E-2 | E-2 access to US a differentiator |
| St Kitts and Nevis | USD 250,000 (SISC) or USD 400,000 real estate | 4–6 months | ~155 | Oldest CBI; meaningful fee increase 2023 |
| St Lucia | USD 240,000 (NEF) or USD 300,000 real estate | 4–6 months | ~145 | Stable |
| Türkiye | USD 400,000 real estate (3-year lock) or USD 500,000 bank deposit | 6–12 months | ~120 | Larger investment, faster passport scale |
| Malta (residence-to-citizenship) | EUR 600,000–750,000 + property + donation | 12–36 months (residence first) | ~190 incl. Schengen | EU citizenship; tighter post-2022 |
Why Pair a CBI with UAE Residence?
The UAE delivers excellent residence and tax outcomes — but it does not deliver a passport. For clients whose primary nationality is from a jurisdiction with restricted visa-free access (some MENA, South Asian, African and CIS nationalities), the combination of UAE residence and a second nationality from a strong-passport jurisdiction is operationally superior to either alone. The CBI provides mobility for short-term business and personal travel; the UAE residence anchors the family's tax and lifestyle base. Many Polaris clients hold this combination explicitly.
Due Diligence — Why Caribbean Programmes Tightened in 2024–2025
The Caribbean programmes underwent meaningful tightening in 2024–2025 in response to EU and US pressure over visa-free access. Background checks have become more rigorous, including detailed source-of-funds analysis, multi-jurisdictional criminal checks, and in-person interviews. Applicants from certain jurisdictions face longer processing or, in some cases, suspension of new applications from that jurisdiction. The defensive posture is to assemble the application package to the higher 2025–2026 standard from the outset rather than respond to remediation requests mid-process.
EU and US Implications
The EU's 2024 review of Caribbean visa-waiver agreements signalled potential withdrawal of Schengen access if programme integrity was not improved. The Caribbean programmes' response has been to tighten — meaningfully — and visa-free access has largely been preserved. For US travel, the E-2 treaty with Grenada is a structural advantage: a Grenadian citizen running a US-based business can hold an E-2 visa with extended renewability, a route not available through most other Caribbean passports. Direct US visa-waiver access (ESTA) is not available through Caribbean CBI.
Process Reality
End-to-end timelines are realistic at 6–12 months across Caribbean programmes, longer for Türkiye and Malta. Costs above the headline investment typically include professional fees of USD 25,000–55,000, government processing fees, due-diligence fees, passport issuance fees, and (where applicable) real-estate transaction costs. The total is rarely below USD 280,000 even on the lowest-headline programmes. Polaris's CBI advisory typically coordinates with programme-licensed agents in the relevant jurisdiction rather than acting as primary agent — the agency function is a licensed activity in each programme.
- Caribbean CBI (Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts, St Lucia) and Türkiye are the workable 2026 programmes.
- Pair CBI mobility with UAE tax/residence base — combination outperforms either alone for many MENA/CIS/South Asian clients.
- Due diligence tightened materially in 2024–2025; package to the higher standard from the start.
- Grenada's US E-2 treaty access is a structural advantage for US-business owners.
- All-in cost typically USD 280k+ for Caribbean, USD 500k+ for Türkiye, EUR 700k+ for Malta.
Polaris Perspective
Polaris advises on second citizenship as part of comprehensive international planning — integrating CBI decisions with corporate structuring, tax strategy and UAE residency.
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