What citizenship by investment costs, program by program

Citizenship by investment costs, program by program

The first table sets out each citizenship by investment program Wealthy Expat covers, as its program page states it: the route that sets the stated minimum, the minimum itself, what a couple with two children under 18 pays, and the government fees one applicant pays. A stated minimum is the lowest amount a route open to new applicants accepts. It is a floor, not the cost of an application.

São Tomé and Príncipe’s USD 90,000 contribution to its National Transformation Fund is the lowest stated minimum here. Argentina’s program is listed with its amounts, but applications are expected only in the fourth quarter of 2026. Serbia grants citizenship by exception, case by case, and Botswana’s program is not yet open, so neither has an amount to compare.

What a family of four pays

The second table adds up each program’s priced lines for three households, as each program page does. Some programs charge one amount per application and add fees for each person; others raise the contribution itself for a spouse or a child.

A total marked “+ fees” is a floor: it leaves out a line the program page does not price, such as Vanuatu’s due diligence, government and professional fees or the biometric enrolment fees in St Kitts and Nevis. Turkey and El Salvador show one amount for every household size because their per-person fees carry no published amount. Those fees still grow with each person.

Timelines and residence obligations

The third table gives each program’s timeline with its basis. Only São Tomé and Príncipe and El Salvador publish an official time, and the time for St Kitts and Nevis is derived from the Citizenship Unit’s official figures. The rest are Wealthy Expat’s own estimates, or no total is published. No time is a promise: each government decides when it decides.

Most of these programs ask for no stay at all. The two marked “Minimal” set their rules after citizenship: Antigua and Barbuda asks for a short stay in the first five calendar years, and in El Salvador a naturalised citizen can lose that nationality after long absences. Each program page sets out the rule and any change under way.

Residence permits for investors: the lowest stated minimums

A residence permit lets you live in a country; it is not citizenship. The residency by investment programs Wealthy Expat covers are priced in the currencies their governments state, so the table orders them by name and converts nothing.

Latvia’s equity route is the lowest stated minimum in euros, EUR 50,000, with a EUR 10,000 state fee. Its real estate route has been closed to new applicants since 15 September 2026 and is left out. Hungary’s lowest route is EUR 250,000 in a real estate investment fund. The European residency by investment guide compares the two.

Hungary’s and Costa Rica’s records list a path to citizenship; Paraguay grants permanent residence, Latvia a temporary permit, and the UAE temporary and long-term residence. The timelines are Wealthy Expat’s estimates, except the UAE’s, which is the service time of one Dubai Land Department service.

What the stated minimums leave out

A minimum and a household total are where a budget starts. Four kinds of cost sit outside them:

• Fees with no published amount. A total marked “+ fees” is a floor; ask for every unpriced line in writing before you pay.
• Professional fees. Wealthy Expat’s own fees are in no figure here; they are quoted after an assessment.
• Purchase costs and holding periods. A property route adds its own costs and ties up the capital: Turkey’s real estate route carries a title deed fee of 2% for the buyer and a 3-year hold, and Antigua and Barbuda’s approved real estate is held for 5 years. The citizenship by real estate investment guide covers both.
• Money that may not come back. Most contributions are non-refundable, and some fees are paid before the government decides.

Your route, your household and your budget decide which of these lines apply to you. Wealthy Expat’s strategy assessment brings those questions together.

How this comparison is built

Each table is drawn from the program records the program pages show, when the page is built, so a figure that changes on a program page changes here too. The records are checked against the official sources each program page lists. Only routes open to new applicants count, and a closed route is named under its table. The households are a single applicant, a couple, and a couple with two children under 18. Amounts stay in the currency each government states, and nothing is converted.

To weigh up to three programs on every fact, use the side-by-side comparison.