Buy citizenship by investment in 2026: where and how much

The Caribbean is closed to Russians, and the cheapest passport costs USD 90,000. Which governments lawfully sell citizenship in 2026, what the whole route costs a family once every fee is added, and what changed after decisions by the EU, the US and the UK.

Of the five Caribbean states that sell citizenship for a contribution to a government fund, not one accepts applications from Russian citizens in 2026. St Kitts and Nevis and Dominica say so on their official websites; Antigua, Grenada and Saint Lucia closed their doors back in 2022-2023. For a Russian passport holder the map has shrunk to a handful of dots: Türkiye, Vanuatu, São Tomé and Príncipe, and, with strings attached, Nauru and Sierra Leone.

You cannot pick a passport off a supermarket shelf, yet several governments have put an honest price tag on one and check where the money came from more thoroughly than any customs officer. The word buy belongs to the search bar only: everything below is about lawful government citizenship by investment (CBI) programmes, where the money goes into a state fund or into property and the decision is taken by the government of the country.

Below: which countries are open to Russians, what the whole route costs a family once fees are added, what changed in 2025-2026 and where applicants most often lose money. Our overview of the passports we handle is in the second passport section.

Where can you buy citizenship in 2026: the short answer

The cheapest lawful passport by investment in 2026 costs $90,000: that is the price in Nauru (a promotional rate until 31 December 2026) and in São Tomé and Príncipe. The most expensive mainstream option for Russians, Türkiye, requires $400,000, but the money stays in property that can be sold after three years.

• Open to Russian citizens: Türkiye, Vanuatu, São Tomé and Príncipe.
• Open with conditions: Nauru accepts Russians only if they have lived outside Russia for at least five consecutive years or hold residence in the EU, the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or Switzerland, and have no economic ties to Russia.
• Closed to Russian citizens: St Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Lucia.
• Closed to everyone: Malta, after the EU Court of Justice ruling of 29 April 2025. No EU member state sells citizenship any more.
• Announced but not running: Argentina, $350,000, with applications promised for Q4 2026.

Citizenship by investment: list of countries and prices

The main table. Amounts come from the programmes' official websites and from the legal acts; timeframes are the ones the programmes themselves state, and real ones can run longer if due diligence raises extra questions.

The figures in the table are only the contribution or investment. On top there are always fees for due diligence (background and source-of-funds checks), for processing the application and for the passport. For a family of four that usually adds another $10,000 to 35,000; the country-by-country maths is below.

Citizenship by investment for Russians: which countries are open

Türkiye: $400,000 that stays in bricks and mortar

Türkiye is the only country on the list where the money does not disappear into a contribution. The legal basis is Article 12 of Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901 (Türk Vatandaşlığı Kanunu) and Article 20 of its implementing regulation. Presidential Decision No. 5554 of 12 May 2022 raised the property threshold from $250,000 to $400,000, and the figure has not moved since.

There are four routes, all confirmed by the government's investment office Invest in Türkiye on invest.gov.tr:

• property worth at least $400,000 with an undertaking not to sell it for 3 years (the restriction is noted in the land register);
• a deposit of at least $500,000 in a Turkish bank for 3 years;
• government bonds worth at least $500,000 held for 3 years;
• a fixed capital investment of at least $500,000.

The applicant, spouse and children under 18 receive citizenship at no extra cost. Parents cannot be included.

Step by step. A property is chosen and a licensed valuer prepares a valuation report. The money is wired to Türkiye in foreign currency and sold to a Turkish bank; the currency sale certificate goes into the file. The purchase is registered at the land registry (tapu) with the 3-year no-sale annotation. The land registry then issues a certificate of conformity (uygunluk belgesi), on which basis a residence permit is issued and the citizenship application filed. Checks are run by the Ministry of Interior and the security services; the decision belongs to the state, not to the developer, whatever the brochure implies.

What it costs on top. Title deed fee (tapu harcı) under Fees Law No. 492 is 4% of the sale price: 2% for the buyer and 2% for the seller, although in practice sellers often pass their half on to the buyer. On a $400,000 property that is $8,000-16,000. Add the valuation, translations and a notary.

The catches. If the valuer puts the property at $399,000 against a $400,000 price, the threshold is missed, and arguing is pointless: the valuation counts, not the contract. The property cannot be sold for three years. A Turkish passport still needs a visa for Schengen. Men and sons of conscription age should look into Turkish military service obligations before applying. More on the passport itself on the Turkish citizenship page, and property selection in the property in Türkiye section.

Vanuatu: fast and affordable, but no Europe

Vanuatu sells citizenship through its Development Support Program (DSP): a non-refundable contribution to the budget starting at $130,000 for one person, $150,000 for a couple and $180,000 for a family of four. Processing and due diligence fees come on top. There is no residence requirement and Vanuatu has no personal income tax.

For Russians, spring 2026 brought a short drama. On 9 March 2026 agents received a memo adding Russia and Sudan to the restricted countries list, and on 11 March the chairman of the Vanuatu Citizenship Commission, Charlie Maniel, withdrew it as issued in error. Russian citizens continue to apply under the standard due diligence rules.

Vanuatu's big loss is Schengen. Regulation (EU) 2025/11 permanently reinstated visas for Vanuatu nationals from 3 February 2025, and the UK introduced visas back in 2023. The passport works as a back-up document and for travel around Asia, not as a key to Europe. What it does offer is covered in what a Vanuatu passport gives, and the programme terms are on the Vanuatu passport page.

Nauru: the cheapest passport, but not for every Russian

Nauru's Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Program (ECRCP) has been running since 2025. The money funds projects that protect the island from rising seas, so the government calls it a contribution rather than an investment. According to the official programme website, a $25,000 discount has applied since 3 February 2026: for applications filed before 31 December 2026 the main applicant's contribution is $90,000 instead of $115,000.

Fees are spelt out to the dollar: $5,000 application fee for the main applicant and $2,000 for each family member, $6,000 due diligence for the main applicant and $3,000 for each family member aged 16 or over, a bank due diligence charge of $1,200 to 2,200, and $500 per passport. Each family member aged 16 or over adds $2,000 to the contribution; children under 16 add nothing. An interview is mandatory for the main applicant, and the programme puts processing at 3-4 months. A Nauruan passport gives visa-free or simplified entry to more than 85 countries.

Now the fly in the ointment. Amendments to the programme rules adopted in late January 2026 moved Russia and Belarus from prohibited to restricted status. An application from a Russian citizen is accepted only if the applicant has not lived in Russia for at least five consecutive years or holds a valid residence permit in the EU, the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or Switzerland, and can also show no economic ties to Russia (business, employment or significant assets). The list is not published on the public programme website; it is circulated to authorised agents. For someone living in Moscow and running a business there, Nauru stays a pretty postcard. Details on the Nauru passport page.

São Tomé and Príncipe: $90,000 and very little track record

The island state in the Gulf of Guinea launched its programme by Decree-Law No. 07/2025 (Decreto-Lei n.º 07/2025), in force since 1 August 2025. The contribution to the National Transformation Fund is $90,000 for a single applicant, $95,000 for a family of two to four, and $5,000 for each additional member. The programme has introduced no restrictions on Russian citizens. Since 10 April 2026, however, it has not accepted applications from people who already hold three or more foreign nationalities, because Nationality Law No. 07/2022 prohibits it.

On top comes an application fee of around $5,000 plus passport fees; a full official fee schedule is not publicly available, so the total should be fixed in writing before paying. The programme promises a decision in roughly six to eight weeks.

The downside is the same as with any newcomer: the programme has no long history, and nobody yet knows how banks and border officers will treat the passport five years from now. It suits those who need a second document on a minimal budget and are willing to accept that risk. Terms are on the São Tomé and Príncipe passport page.

Sierra Leone and Egypt: the less obvious options

Sierra Leone sells citizenship through its GO-FOR-GOLD programme: the standard route starts at $140,000, with separate terms for people of African descent. There is no residence requirement, but the passport is weak and the rules change often. Pros and cons are in Sierra Leone citizenship by investment.

Egypt grants citizenship under Law No. 190 of 2019: a non-refundable contribution from $250,000, property from $300,000 bought from the state or Egyptian companies (sellable after 5 years) or a $500,000 deposit. That is more than Vanuatu and comparable to Türkiye, while the passport opens fewer doors. Egypt makes sense for those who live or do business in the region. Details on the Egyptian citizenship page.

Do Caribbean programmes accept Russians

No, and this is not chat-room gossip but a line on official websites. In 2022 all five Caribbean programmes suspended applications from Russian and Belarusian citizens, and in 2026 none of them has lifted the ban. St Kitts and Nevis lists Russia among banned nationalities on its eligibility criteria page, and Dominica does the same in its Banned Nationalities section.

The St Kitts and Dominica bans are tied to nationality, not to address: a residence permit in Dubai or Lisbon does not lift them. Promises to file through a second nationality or to keep quiet about a Russian passport lead straight to refusal with no refund of fees, and if deception surfaces later, the islands' laws allow citizenship obtained that way to be revoked. The programmes open to Russians are in the table above, and the second passport quiz sorts them by your budget.

Even for applicants the islands do accept, 2026 is a turbulent year. According to the Office of the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, on 25 June 2026 the European Commission sent the five countries letters asking them to wind down their programmes by 1 June 2028, under threat of suspending visa-free access to Schengen. The UK introduced visas for Saint Lucia nationals from 5 March 2026 and named the citizenship by investment programme among the reasons. Scenarios are covered in the EU ultimatum to Caribbean passports, and the five programmes are compared in Caribbean passports in 2026.

Can you buy citizenship in Europe

No. On 29 April 2025 the Grand Chamber of the EU Court of Justice ruled in case C-181/23 (Commission v Malta) that Malta's 2020 scheme amounted to the commercialisation of EU citizenship, in breach of Article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU and Article 4(3) of the Treaty on European Union - see the court's press release. Cyprus closed its programme in 2020 and Bulgaria in 2022. An offer to buy an EU passport in 2026 means either the residence-then-naturalisation route, or fraud.

The lawful road to Europe is now longer: an investment residence permit first, then years of living in the country and a language exam. Which golden visas still work and where they lead to a passport is covered in Europe's golden visas, and all residence options are in the residence abroad section.

Citizenship by investment in Argentina: announced, not launched

On 2 October 2026 Argentina's Ministry of Economy announced the price of its passport: a $350,000 non-refundable contribution to the Treasury or a $800,000 bond. Spouses and children pay separately, so a family of two adults and two children under 18 faces at least $500,000 in contributions. Applications are promised for Q4 2026, but Decree 366/2025, on which the programme rests, was declared null by the National Electoral Chamber on 30 June 2026, and the government is appealing to the Supreme Court.

For now this is a promise, not a queue anyone can join. Full details are in Argentina citizenship by investment. Those willing to live in the country for two years can get an Argentine passport without any contribution through ordinary naturalisation: see the Argentine passport page.

How much citizenship by investment costs for a family

The price in an advert is almost always for one person and excludes fees. Below is a worked example for a family of two adults and two children under 12 at the programmes' official rates. Translations, apostilles and certificates are not included: they depend on how many documents are needed and where they are issued.

The gap between the cheapest and the most expensive option is almost $300,000, but they cannot be compared head to head. A contribution to Nauru's fund is gone for good, while a flat in Antalya is still a flat three years later: it can be let or sold. Counting only money that never comes back, the Turkish route sometimes ends up cheaper than the Caribbean one.

How to buy citizenship legally: step by step

1. Check whether the programme accepts the applicant's nationality. Look at the programme's official website, not the seller's slide deck: that is exactly where St Kitts and Dominica publish their ban on Russia.
2. Gather proof of the source of funds. Tax returns, sale agreements, dividend statements. The checks go deeper than a bank's; see source of funds for detail.
3. File through an authorised agent. Vanuatu, Nauru, São Tomé and the Caribbean programmes accept applications only through agents on their official registers. Türkiye does not require an agent by law, but a mistake in the valuation or the deal leaves the buyer with a flat and no passport. Murblz specialists coordinate the property, the valuer, the notary and the filing.
4. Pass due diligence and the interview. Interviews are mandatory in Nauru, St Kitts and Dominica. Expect questions about business, money, travel and why the passport is needed.
5. Receive approval in principle and only then pay the contribution. In fund-based programmes the main amount is transferred after approval in principle. A request for the full sum before filing is a reason to stop.
6. Take the oath and receive the certificate of citizenship and passport. In Nauru the oath can be taken without travelling to the island.
7. Notify the Russian Ministry of Interior within 60 days. This is required by Article 11 of Citizenship Law No. 138-FZ; details in the risks section below.

What changed in 2025-2026

In two years the citizenship by investment market changed more than in the previous ten. A timeline of the key decisions:

Regulation 2025/2441 is published on EUR-Lex. Its Article 8a expressly makes a scheme granting citizenship for pre-determined payments without a genuine link to the country a standalone ground for suspending visa-free travel. Brussels used to have to prove a rise in irregular migration; now the mere fact that passports are on sale is enough.

Risks and pitfalls: where money gets lost

The costliest mistake here is not overpaying but being refused. A programme may refuse without detailed reasons, and due diligence and processing fees are not refunded on refusal, whether in the Caribbean or in Oceania.

• Visa-free access does not belong to the passport holder. Within three years Vanuatu went from a partial suspension to the full loss of visa-free Schengen. The visa-free count in an advert is a snapshot of today, not a twenty-year promise.
• Money from Russia moves slowly. Transfers to foreign banks face enhanced checks, and some banks refuse such payments outright. The chain from the source of funds to the programme's account is best built before filing, not after approval.
• Source of funds is checked more deeply than expected. An undocumented inheritance, cryptocurrency without a trading history and cash from a safe are three common reasons for refusal.
• A one-month passport with no checks does not exist. If citizenship is offered without an interview, without questions about money, through an embassy or at a special price for insiders, it is either a forgery or a scam. A lawful programme always vets the applicant, and that is dull, slow and unavoidable, like a Monday-morning queue at the passport office.
• There is no need to give up Russian citizenship. Türkiye, Vanuatu and Nauru all allow dual citizenship. What that means under Russian law is covered in dual citizenship.

Obligations in Russia. A Russian citizen who acquires a second citizenship must notify the Ministry of Interior within 60 days (Article 11 of Federal Law No. 138-FZ on Citizenship of the Russian Federation), via the Gosuslugi public services portal, a Ministry of Interior office or a consulate. Missing the deadline means an administrative fine under Article 19.8.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences, and deliberate failure to notify falls under Article 330.2 of the Criminal Code, with a fine of up to RUB 200,000 or up to 400 hours of community service.

Taxes. A new passport does not change tax residence: that depends on where life actually happens, not on the colour of the cover. Banks in countries that take part in automatic exchange under the CRS (Common Reporting Standard, the OECD's common reporting standard) send account information to the account holder's country of tax residence. As long as tax residence stays Russian, the obligation to report foreign accounts to the Federal Tax Service and to declare the income on them remains.

How we can help

We start not with picking a country but with a check: does the programme fit the nationality, place of residence and source of funds of a particular family. That saves more than any discount on the contribution.

A passport can also be obtained without a large contribution if there is time to live in the country: for example, Paraguayan citizenship or Argentine citizenship through residence and naturalisation. Murblz specialists prepare source-of-funds documents, translations and apostilles to the requirements of the specific programme.

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