GRIP: 03Feb2026 Citizenships by Investment – Who’s Buying Second Passports, and Why

For globally mobile investors, citizenship by investment (CBI) has shifted from fringe concept to a mainstream portfolio tool—sitting somewhere between an insurance policy, a lifestyle upgrade and a tax‑planning lever. Rising geopolitical risk, tightening visa regimes and more aggressive tax enforcement mean that having only one passport can feel like a single point of failure. CBI programmes let qualifying investors acquire a second (or third) citizenship in a predictable timeframe by making an approved investment—usually a government donation, real estate purchase or bond subscription—rather than waiting years through traditional immigration routes. Today’s core direct CBI players are concentrated in the Caribbean (Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia), the Pacific (Vanuatu, Nauru), and a handful of newer or more niche programmes such as Egypt and Turkey. Entry‑level donation routes generally start from about 90,000–130,000 US dollars for a single applicant in the most cost‑effective programmes and 200,000 dollars and up for Caribbean options after recent regional harmonisation. Real‑estate CBI routes typically require qualifying property from 200,000 to 400,000 dollars, with total outlay—including due‑diligence, government and professional fees—often ending up in the 150,000–500,000‑plus range depending on family size. In straightforward cases, processing times are marketed at roughly two to six months from file submission to approval in principle, though tighter due diligence and new international scrutiny are stretching some timelines. The mechanics and conditions have hardened over the past few years. Applicants must pass multi‑layered background checks by both governments and independent due‑diligence firms, demonstrate clean source of funds and provide comprehensive documentation—police clearances, medical certificates, bank statements and corporate records where relevant. Many programmes exclude applicants from sanctioned or high‑risk jurisdictions, individuals with serious criminal records, or those previously rejected by other CBI schemes. Family eligibility is a major selling point: most programmes allow spouses, minor children and often dependent adult children or parents to be included for additional fees, turning a single investment into a multi‑generation mobility asset. Pure citizenship routes now sit alongside “residence‑to‑citizenship” structures, especially in Europe. The EU has effectively moved away from direct CBI, but several countries still offer residency by investment paths that can lead to citizenship after years of legal stay and integration—Portugal, Spain, Greece and Malta being the best‑known examples. These usually require property purchases or leases, plus minimum holding periods, basic language and residence conditions before naturalisation. Austria appears in many marketing lists but in practice grants citizenship by exception only in rare, discretionary “special contribution” cases, not as a standard shelf‑product. The benefits that keep demand strong fall into a few buckets. Mobility is the headline: many CBI passports give visa‑free or visa‑on‑arrival access to a wide basket of countries, including parts of Europe, the UK or key Asian hubs, dramatically simplifying business travel and family holidays. Some programmes offer more favourable tax environments—territorial taxation, no tax on foreign income, no wealth or inheritance taxes—especially when combined with genuine domicile or residence. Others provide a safer political back‑up plan, access to better education and healthcare systems for children, or easier company formation and banking options. For entrepreneurs and investors from countries with currency controls or volatile politics, a second passport can be a practical hedge rather than a vanity purchase. As rules tighten, the profile of the typical CBI client has also evolved. The biggest pools of demand now come from upper‑middle‑class and high‑net‑worth individuals in emerging and frontier markets in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and parts of Latin America, often business owners or professionals with international income and children studying abroad. Digital nomads, crypto founders and globally distributed teams are another visible layer, using CBI or residency‑by‑investment as part of a broader “flag theory” strategy. At the same time, institutional family offices and wealth managers are starting to treat citizenships and residencies as a structured part of succession and risk planning, not just an ad‑hoc purchase. For GRIP readers, the key is to approach CBI like any other complex instrument: understand jurisdiction risk, regulatory direction and exit options, not just glossy marketing. Programmes are under growing pressure from the EU, the UK and multilateral bodies to keep tightening due diligence, standardise rules and in some cases scale back or even close. That means investors should prioritise programme credibility, legal robustness and long‑term policy stability over marginal price savings—and build CBI decisions into a wider **strategy** that also considers tax residence, asset location and the stories their passports quietly tell at every border they cross.