Citizenship by Investment: What It Actually Costs for a Family

When clients ask about citizenship by investment, the first question is almost always about the headline donation figure. The second question, usually asked after they have looked more closely, is: what does it actually cost once everything is added up?

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The gap between those two numbers is where most people get caught out. A program quoted at $200,000 can land closer to $270,000 by the time government due diligence fees, processing charges, interview fees, and passport issuance costs are included. And a program that looks expensive for a single applicant can become the most cost-effective option for a family of six.

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At HPT Group, we work with clients across a wide range of family structures and budgets. This breakdown covers the key programs we are asked about most often, with a focus on the total government cost rather than the headline figure alone.

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What the Headline Figure Does Not Tell You

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Every citizenship by investment program has a base contribution or investment threshold. That is the number most commonly quoted in marketing materials. What sits on top of it varies significantly by program and by family composition.

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Government costs typically include due diligence fees, which vary by applicant age and are sometimes charged per person rather than per application. Processing fees, interview or oath charges, and passport issuance fees all add to the total. In some programs these are modest. In others they add tens of thousands of dollars before a single agent fee is counted.

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None of the figures below include agent fees, legal costs, document authentication, travel, or other ancillary expenses. These are the fixed government costs only, which means the real total will always be higher. What this breakdown gives you is the floor, not the ceiling.

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The Programs and What They Actually Cost

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The comparison below covers twelve programs across the Caribbean, Africa, the Pacific, the Middle East, and Europe. For consistency, costs are shown across four family sizes: a single applicant, a family of four, a family of six, and a family of eight, with dependents being minor children under twelve throughout.

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Real families look different. Adding a parent over 55, an adult child, or a sibling can substantially change the total and in some cases rearrange the ranking entirely. The figures below are a starting point for comparison, not a quote for any specific situation.

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The Lower End: Vanuatu, Sierra Leone, and the New Entrants

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Vanuatu's Development Support Program starts at $130,000 for a solo applicant, scaling to $180,000 for a family of four with a single due diligence fee of $5,000 per application. Processing runs 30 to 60 days, which is faster than any other program in this category. The trade-off is passport strength: Vanuatu lost Schengen and UK visa-free access in recent years.

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Sierra Leone's GO-FOR-GOLD program charges $140,000 for the main applicant and $10,000 per standard dependent, with due diligence of $5,000 for up to five applicants. The eligibility net is unusually wide, extending to siblings under 30, multiple spouses, and adult children. Mobility is limited to 66 destinations, primarily within West Africa, and the program currently falls within US entry suspension categories.

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São Tomé and Príncipe entered the market in August 2025 with a $90,000 base contribution, a $5,000 submission fee, and $750 per person for documents. No separate due diligence fee applies. For families, the marginal cost per additional child is $5,750, making it the lowest-cost program at every family size tested. Neither passport opens Schengen, the UK, or North America. Nauru launched at the same $90,000 base but with a higher fee structure, and its promotional rate reverts to $115,000 after June 2026.

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The Caribbean Five

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The five main Caribbean programs sit within a relatively narrow band for a family of four, ranging from approximately $258,000 to $270,000 in total government costs. Inside that band, the ranking shifts depending on family size.

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Saint Lucia's National Economic Fund comes out ahead for a family of four at $258,000 total, with a $240,000 contribution and lower dependent fee loading than most of its Caribbean competitors. It is commonly described as the most expensive Caribbean option, but that characterisation applies to the real estate route rather than the donation fund.

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Grenada sits $300 behind Saint Lucia for a family of four. Its fee structure adds up differently at larger family sizes, with each additional dependent over four adding $25,000 to the National Transformation Fund contribution. This makes Grenada progressively less competitive for larger households. The real estate route, however, allows for capital recovery after a five-year hold, which changes the effective cost calculation significantly.

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Antigua and Barbuda operates two donation funds with different logic. The National Development Fund is cheaper for families of four or fewer. The University of the West Indies Fund is cheaper for families of six or more, coming in at $36,988 per passport for a family of eight, the best value in the Caribbean for large households. Antigua also offers the widest eligibility in the region, covering children under 30, parents and grandparents over 55, and unmarried siblings of any age.

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Dominica offers the Caribbean's lowest solo entry point at $210,361 but jumps to $250,000 for families of up to three dependents, which moves it behind Saint Lucia and Grenada for a family of four. Its fee structure above the contribution is straightforward, and the real estate route carries none of the additional government fee layer that applies to other Caribbean real estate tracks.

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Saint Kitts and Nevis charges $250,000 under its Sustainable Island State Contribution for a single applicant or a family of up to four, with no separate government processing fee, the only Caribbean program structured this way. Due diligence fees are higher than some competitors at $10,000 for the main applicant and $7,500 per dependent over 16, which affects the total for families with older children.

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Outside the Caribbean: Egypt and Turkey

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Egypt offers a $250,000 donation with a flat $10,000 state fee regardless of family size, making it one of the more straightforward programs to price. Children under 21 qualify. One important structural point: the spouse does not receive citizenship simultaneously. She becomes eligible through spousal naturalisation after two years, meaning a family of four holds three passports on day one, not four.

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Turkey sits at $400,000 for a real estate purchase with a three-year hold requirement. Spouse and children under 18 are included at no additional CBI-specific cost, making the per-passport figure attractive for nuclear families. What distinguishes Turkey from every other program here is that the investment trades on an open market. A property bought at $400,000 that sells for $410,000 after the hold period means the family paid effectively nothing for four passports. Even with modest depreciation, the effective per-passport cost can fall below the cheapest donation programs. This depends entirely on the resale market, which carries its own risks, but the capital recovery potential is real in a way that Caribbean CBI real estate, which trades primarily among successive applicants, is not.

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Donation or Real Estate: The Recovery Question

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Donation routes produce lower mandatory costs at every family size. But a donation is a sunk cost. Real estate routes layer higher government fees on top of the investment, but the underlying capital may be recovered.

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A Grenada property bought at $270,000 with $38,300 in government fees, sold after five years at or near the purchase price, delivers four passports for roughly $9,575 each. Turkey's open market model makes the arithmetic more compelling still, provided the property performs.

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Neither recovery scenario is guaranteed. The right choice depends on the client's liquidity, timeline, and risk appetite as much as it does on the headline cost comparison.

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What This Means in Practice

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The lowest-cost program for a single applicant is not the lowest-cost program for a family of six. The program with the cheapest headline figure is not the program with the cheapest total government cost. And the program with the highest sticker price may deliver the best value once capital recovery is factored in.

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HPT Group advises clients across all of the programs above. Our role is to map your specific family structure, budget, timeline, and passport objectives against the full cost picture, not the headline number, and identify the right fit.

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If you would like a personalised breakdown for your family composition, contact our team directly.

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Disclaimer: All fee figures referenced in this article are based on publicly available government sources current as of February 2026. Governments may update fee schedules, contribution thresholds, or eligibility rules at any time. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or immigration advice. Consult a qualified licensed adviser before making any investment or application decisions.

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(c) 2026 HPT Group. All rights reserved.

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