Compare programs · 3 selected

Three programs, side by side.

Compare up to three programs across the factors that actually decide it. A table shows rules, not fit — the fit question is what a specialist call is for. Figures are indicative and subject to verification.

Program 1
Citizenship
Program 2
Citizenship
Program 3
Citizenship

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Outcome

Legal outcome: St Kitts & Nevis Citizenship
Direct citizenship
Antigua & Barbuda Citizenship
Direct citizenship
Argentina Citizenship
Direct citizenship

Investment and cost

Minimum: St Kitts & Nevis Citizenship
From $250,000 · 4 routes
Antigua & Barbuda Citizenship
From $230,000 · 5 routes
Argentina Citizenship
From $350,000 · 2 routes

Qualifying routes

Government contribution
Real estate

Government contribution
Real estate
Business investment

Government contribution
Bonds

Known cost categories

Qualifying investment
Government fees

Qualifying investment
Government fees

Qualifying investment
Government fees

Timeline

Estimated timeline: St Kitts & Nevis Citizenship
4 months or more
Antigua & Barbuda Citizenship
Variable
Argentina Citizenship
Variable

Presence and renewal

Physical presence: St Kitts & Nevis Citizenship
None
Antigua & Barbuda Citizenship
Minimal
Argentina Citizenship
None

Minimum stay: St Kitts & Nevis Citizenship
None stated
Antigua & Barbuda Citizenship
Currently at least 5 days in Antigua and Barbuda during the first five calendar years after citizenship, according to the CIU. The Government has cited the strengthening of the residency requirement by legislation, and a Citizenship by Investment (Amendment) Bill 2026 was listed for first reading in the House of Representatives on 16 June 2026; its passage has not been confirmed in an official source. The ECCIRA Agreement Act 2025 sets 30 days in aggregate for applications made once the regional agreement applies. Confirm the rule for your application date with the licensed agent before filing.
Argentina Citizenship
None stated

Validity: St Kitts & Nevis Citizenship
Not applicable — citizenship is permanent
Antigua & Barbuda Citizenship
Passport valid for 5 years.
Argentina Citizenship
Not applicable — citizenship is permanent

Renewal: St Kitts & Nevis Citizenship
Not applicable — citizenship is permanent
Antigua & Barbuda Citizenship
Passport renewal is considered only if the holder has spent a total of 5 days in Antigua and Barbuda in the 5-year period. Renewal application fee: US$1,000 per person aged 18 and over, US$500 for 17 and under.
Argentina Citizenship
Not applicable — citizenship is permanent

Family

Who is included: St Kitts & Nevis Citizenship
Spouse, minor children, adult dependent children, parents
Antigua & Barbuda Citizenship
Spouse, minor children, adult dependent children, parents, grandparents, other dependents
Argentina Citizenship
Spouse, minor children, adult dependent children

Conditions

Adult dependent children: Unmarried children aged 18 to 29 who are substantially supported by the main applicant or the spouse; children of any age with a qualifying mental or physical disability.
Parents: Parents of the main applicant or the spouse, aged 55 and over, who live with and are fully supported by the main applicant.

Spouse: A future spouse can be added after citizenship for a US$50,000 fee, payable on application (cip.gov.ag, Dependants).
Adult dependent children: Children aged 30 or younger who are financially dependent on the main applicant; children of any age who are physically or mentally incapacitated and fully supported by the main applicant.
Parents: Parents of the main applicant or spouse aged 55 or over and fully supported by the main applicant; parents of any age who are physically or mentally incapacitated and fully supported.
Grandparents: Grandparents of the main applicant or spouse aged 55 or over and fully supported by the main applicant; grandparents of any age who are physically or mentally incapacitated and fully supported.
Other dependents: Unmarried brothers and sisters of the main applicant or spouse. A sibling under 18 needs the consent of a parent or guardian.

Spouse: Joins by proving the family relationship and making an additional US$100,000 Treasury contribution.
Minor children: Each child under 18 joins with an additional US$25,000 Treasury contribution.
Adult dependent children: Unmarried and without children of their own. Each joins with an additional US$100,000 Treasury contribution. How and when the age limit is assessed has not been published.

Main restrictions

Applicant

Principal applicant must be at least 18 years old.
Attend a virtual interview and submit biometric information.

The main applicant must be 18 or over and make one of the four qualifying investments.
Apply through a licensed agent in Antigua and Barbuda; the CIU may request more information or an interview.
Applicants are refused for false information, or where a medical practitioner reports that a family member has a contagious disease or serious health problems.
Successful applicants may not change their name for the issue of the Antigua and Barbuda passport.

Not specified

Nationality: St Kitts & Nevis Citizenship
Not specified
Antigua & Barbuda Citizenship
Nationals of Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, Somalia, Yemen and Sudan may apply only if they migrated before the age of majority and/or held permanent residence in a non-restricted country for at least 10 years, with no economic ties to a restricted country.
Argentina Citizenship
Not specified

Background

Hold no criminal record; the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) performs strict background checks and due diligence.

Applicants are refused if, without a free pardon, they were convicted of an offence carrying a maximum penalty of more than six months' imprisonment, are under criminal investigation, are a potential security risk, or are involved in activity likely to bring Antigua and Barbuda into disrepute.
Applicants are refused if a country with which Antigua and Barbuda has visa-free travel denied them a visa and has not since issued one.

Pass the Agency's vetting of identity, the traceability and lawful origin of funds, assets and finances, jurisdictional risk, criminal and reputational records, and immigration history.

Qualification

Possess sufficient financial resources to make the required contribution or investment, and document its lawful source.

Not specified

Make the non-refundable Treasury contribution of US$350,000, or buy the US$800,000 government bond, and prove the family relationship for each dependant you add.
Move every payment through the formal financial system, meeting anti-money-laundering, counter-terrorist-financing and financial-transparency standards.

Risks and trade-offs

Material risks

Requirements, fees and processing estimates can change.
The Public Benefit Option's contribution is paid after approval in principle, and the official texts state no refund terms for it; the regulations call the SISC non-refundable.
Citizens of, and persons ordinarily resident in, Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, Iraq, North Korea and Russia are excluded from applying under the current Exclusion Order.
A property bought on a real estate route cannot be resold for seven years, a sale to another citizenship applicant needs a further approval (for a developer unit, Approved Private Real Estate status; for private real estate, the Federal Cabinet satisfied that substantial further investment was made in the property), and a holder who breaks these rules is liable to have citizenship revoked.

Since 1 January 2026, US Presidential Proclamation 10998 (signed 16 December 2025) has suspended entry of Antigua and Barbuda nationals as immigrants and as nonimmigrants on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M and J visas, and directs shorter validity for other nonimmigrant visas. It cites citizenship by investment without residency. Antigua and Barbuda is also included in the US Visa Bond Program, which the United States made permanent in August 2026; in January 2026 the Government said the bond applied only to a narrow category of new visitor visa applicants who qualify under limited exceptions.
Under the current rule, citizenship may be withdrawn if the citizen does not spend at least 5 days in Antigua and Barbuda during the first five calendar years, with no repayment of the investment.
The presence rule may change. The Government has cited the strengthening of the residency requirement by legislation (2 August 2026), and a Citizenship by Investment (Amendment) Bill 2026 was listed for first reading in the House of Representatives on 16 June 2026 (Cabinet notes of 10 June 2026); its passage has not been confirmed in an official source. For applications made once the regional agreement applies, the ECCIRA Agreement Act 2025 (No. 18 of 2025) requires at least 30 days of presence in the first five calendar years, which the family can count together, and at least 5 days for each person in the first 12 months; adds an integration programme that may include an interview; and issues passports for 5 years, renewable for 10 only once the CIU certifies that the presence and integration requirements have been met. The Act takes effect on a date set by Ministerial Order.
In a letter dated 25 June 2026, the European Commission formally asked Antigua and Barbuda to phase out its citizenship-by-investment programme by 1 June 2028, under the EU's revised visa suspension mechanism. Schengen visa-free access is not suspended, and the government has said the programme will continue.
Real estate bought under the programme cannot be resold within five years of purchase, except into another approved property.
Requirements, fees and processing estimates can change.

Decreto (DNU) 366/2025, which created the investment route and the Agency, has been challenged in court. On 18 June 2026 a federal appeals court (Sala III, Cámara Nacional de Apelaciones en lo Civil y Comercial Federal) held it unconstitutional, as regards moving naturalisation from the courts, in one applicant's case and returned her request to a federal judge. On 30 June 2026 the Cámara Nacional Electoral declared the decree null in another applicant's case and told the Ministry of Security to instruct the National Directorate of Migration accordingly. Neither ruling examined the investment route itself, although the decree the Cámara Nacional Electoral declared null is the one that created it. The second case is reported to be before the Supreme Court.
The government bond ties up US$800,000; its terms have not been published, and press reports say it must be held for seven years and pays no interest. Advisers note that a lower entry price does not make a route the right one without comparing liquidity and opportunity cost.
Requirements, fees and processing estimates can change.

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