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Five Caribbean nations run citizenship by investment programmes. All five produce a passport, permit dual citizenship, carry no residency requirement, and offer a broadly similar set of visa-free destinations. The differences between them are real, but they are often obscured by marketing language that presents each programme as uniquely superior. This article puts the five side by side on the factors that actually matter: investment minimums, family structure costs, what the passport opens up, processing, and the specific characteristics that make each programme a better or worse fit for different buyers.
The five are St. Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Lucia. All five are now regulated under the Eastern Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Regulatory Authority (ECCIRA), which was established by legislation passed across the region in October 2025 to harmonise due diligence standards and programme governance.
For the full detail on St. Kitts specifically, the complete guide and the cost guide cover every route and fee in depth.
Investment minimums: what the contribution routes cost
Each programme has a non-refundable contribution route and at least one real estate route. The contribution minimums below are as of April 2026 following the July 2024 regional price alignment, which set a US$200,000 regional floor across all five programmes.
St. Kitts and Nevis (SISC): US$250,000 for a single applicant or family of up to four. Each additional dependant under 18 adds US$25,000; each adult dependant 18 or over adds US$50,000. No post-approval state fees on this route. Source: ciu.gov.kn.
Grenada (NTF): US$235,000 for a single applicant or family of up to four. Each additional dependant adds US$25,000. Source: cbi.gov.gd (Investment Migration Agency).
Dominica (EDF): US$200,000 for a single applicant; US$250,000 for a main applicant and up to three dependants. Each additional dependant under 18 adds US$25,000; each additional adult dependant adds US$40,000. Additional fees: due diligence US$7,500 main applicant, US$4,000 per dependant aged 16 or over; mandatory interview US$1,000 per person aged 16 or over; Certificate of Naturalisation US$500 per person; processing fee US$1,000 per application. Source: cbiu.gov.dm.
Antigua and Barbuda (NDF): US$230,000 for a single applicant or family of up to four. Each additional dependant adds US$15,000. Source: Antigua CIU official programme terms.
Saint Lucia (NEF): US$240,000 for a single applicant or family of up to four. Each additional dependant under 18 adds US$10,000; each additional adult dependant adds US$20,000. Source: Saint Lucia Citizenship by Investment Act No. 14 of 2015 and official programme schedules.
On contribution route alone, Dominica is the cheapest entry point for a single applicant at US$200,000. For a family of four, Dominica and St. Kitts converge: Dominica at US$250,000 against St. Kitts at US$271,260 all-in (including all government and bank fees from the CIU calculator). Grenada’s NTF at US$235,000 sits between the two for the qualifying investment but with additional fees on top. Antigua and Saint Lucia both sit slightly above Dominica for family-of-four contribution totals.
Real estate routes compared
St. Kitts and Nevis: US$325,000 in an approved development or US$600,000 for a private home. Seven-year hold. Post-approval state fees apply (US$25,000 main applicant, US$15,000 spouse, US$10,000 to US$15,000 per dependant). Alien landholding licence waived on all CBI property. Over 30 approved developments across St. Kitts and Nevis.
Grenada: US$270,000 in a government-approved development plus a US$50,000 non-refundable government fee. Five-year hold. The lower property minimum compared to St. Kitts is partially offset by the fixed government fee.
Dominica: US$200,000 in an approved property. Three-year hold for resale on open market; five years if selling to another CBI investor. Government fees from US$75,000 apply in addition. The shortest hold period of any Caribbean programme.
Antigua and Barbuda: US$300,000 minimum for a shared investment in an approved development. Five-year hold. Joint investment is permitted, which some developers structure as fractional units.
Saint Lucia: US$300,000 in an approved development. Five-year hold. Non-refundable government fees apply in addition. Saint Lucia also offers a government bond route at US$300,000 plus a US$50,000 administration fee, with the bond redeemable after five years; this is the only fully refundable investment option among the five Caribbean programmes.
Passport access
Visa-free and visa-on-arrival access figures vary depending on source and how partial-access arrangements are counted. The figures below are approximate and reflect April 2026 rankings from widely cited passport indices. All five programmes produce strong Caribbean passports with broadly similar access profiles. The meaningful differences are at the margin.
St. Kitts and Nevis: approximately 155 countries. Includes all EU Schengen states, the United Kingdom (ETA required from January 2025), Singapore, Hong Kong, Ireland, and most of the Caribbean and Latin America. Does not include the United States, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand.
Grenada: approximately 140 to 148 countries depending on source. Includes Schengen, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, and notably mainland China, where Grenadian passport holders have visa-free access for stays of up to 30 days. Does not include the US as a visa-free destination but holds an E-2 Treaty with the United States (see below).
Dominica: approximately 140 countries. Includes Schengen, UK, Singapore, and China. Similar overall profile to Grenada.
Antigua and Barbuda: approximately 150 to 154 countries. Includes Schengen, UK, Hong Kong, and Singapore. One of the stronger access profiles among the five.
Saint Lucia: approximately 145 to 156 countries. Includes Schengen, UK, and comparable profiles to Antigua. From August 2025, Saint Lucia ePassports are valid for 10 years for adults.
St. Kitts ranks highest on the 2025 CBI Index and in most independent passport strength assessments among the five Caribbean programmes. For practical travel purposes across most of Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean, the five passports are broadly comparable. The US remains a visa-required destination for all five.
The US question: E-2 and what it actually means
The most commonly cited differentiator for Grenada is its E-2 Treaty Investor Visa eligibility with the United States. Grenada has held an E-2 treaty with the US since 1989. None of the other four Caribbean CBI programmes hold this treaty. For applicants whose primary goal is access to the United States for business purposes, this is a meaningful and real distinction.
What the E-2 visa provides: it allows Grenadian citizens to live and work in the US by investing in and managing a qualifying US business. It is renewable indefinitely as long as the business remains operational. The investor’s spouse may work freely in the US. Dependent children under 21 may attend school. It does not lead to a green card directly, though it can be a stepping stone toward EB-5 immigrant investor status.
There is an important qualification that every adviser should understand and communicate clearly. The AMIGOS Act (enacted as part of US immigration legislation in late 2022) introduced a three-year domicile requirement for applicants who acquired treaty country citizenship through a financial investment. This means that an investor who obtains Grenada citizenship through the CBI programme is required to be domiciled in Grenada for a continuous period of at least three years before applying for an E-2 visa. This is not a minor administrative requirement. It requires genuine ties to Grenada, not just holding a passport.
There are legal strategies that can address this. If the primary CBI applicant’s spouse subsequently obtains Grenadian citizenship by registration through marriage (which, under the Grenadian Constitution, does not carry the same domicile requirement as a financially-acquired citizenship), the primary applicant may be able to apply for a derivative E-2 visa through the spouse’s treaty nationality. These structures require specialised US immigration legal advice and are not guaranteed pathways.
The practical conclusion: the E-2 treaty advantage is real, but it is not as immediate or straightforward as most Grenada CBI marketing suggests. An applicant who wants US business access within the next one to two years, without establishing genuine Grenada residency, will find the pathway more complicated than advertised. An applicant with a longer-term horizon, or one who is genuinely prepared to domicile in Grenada for three years, has a legitimate route.
For applicants whose primary goals are European travel freedom, tax optimisation, or a passport for future mobility without a specific US business requirement, the E-2 advantage is not relevant and should not drive the programme selection.
Family structure: who each programme suits best
The contribution route family economics differ meaningfully across the five programmes, and the right choice shifts depending on family size and composition.
Large families with adult dependants. St. Kitts and Antigua both allow parents aged 55 or over as dependants. Grenada, Dominica, Saint Lucia, and Antigua also include parents and grandparents. The age threshold varies: Antigua is 55, as is St. Kitts since October 2024. Each adult dependant raises the SISC investment by US$50,000 in St. Kitts, which makes larger family groups more expensive on the contribution route. For families with multiple adult dependants, Antigua’s NDF flat structure of US$230,000 for up to four people with only US$15,000 per additional member can be more cost-efficient.
Adult children. Antigua and Barbuda allows dependent children up to age 30. Grenada similarly allows dependent children up to age 30. Dominica allows children up to age 31 under Henley’s programme description. St. Kitts limits this to age 25 (for children in full-time education) or any age for physically or mentally challenged dependants. For applicants with children in their mid-to-late 20s, Antigua or Grenada may be structurally cheaper than St. Kitts.
Siblings. Antigua and Barbuda allows unmarried siblings of any age as dependants, which is the broadest family inclusion policy of the five programmes. This is a meaningful distinction for applicants who want to include a sibling in the same application. No other Caribbean CBI programme offers this as standard.
Five-day residency requirement. Antigua and Barbuda requires applicants to spend five days in Antigua within the first five years of citizenship. This is the only Caribbean programme among the five with any physical presence requirement, though it is minimal. The other four programmes have no visit requirement at all.
Programme track record and governance
St. Kitts and Nevis established the world’s first citizenship by investment programme in 1984. It has 40 years of operational history, the longest of any CBI programme anywhere. The February 2026 rescission of the United States FinCEN advisory that had been in place since 2014 was a significant marker of confidence in the programme’s reforms under the CBIU Act 2024. St. Kitts ranked first in the 2025 CBI Index for the fourth consecutive year.
Dominica established its programme in 1993, making it the second oldest. Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Lucia all launched in 2013 or 2015.
ECCIRA, which came into force in October 2025, covers all five programmes and is intended to create consistent due diligence standards, data sharing, and governance across the regional market. The practical effect is that differences in due diligence rigour between programmes should diminish over time. For 2026 applicants, St. Kitts and Dominica have the longest track records of operational due diligence at scale. Grenada’s programme is administered by its Investment Migration Agency. Antigua and Saint Lucia have both strengthened their processes in recent years, including introducing mandatory interviews for principal applicants and some dependants.
Processing timelines
All five programmes publish official processing windows that are somewhat aspirational. In practice, timelines vary with application volume, document completeness, and due diligence complexity.
St. Kitts advises 120 to 180 days from application acknowledgement to Approval in Principle. Adding document preparation and passport processing, allow six to nine months total from first agent engagement.
Dominica publishes three to four months from submission to approval, though six to nine months is a more reliable planning figure for well-prepared applications.
Grenada typically runs three to six months. Antigua and Barbuda has faced processing backlogs in recent years, with some applications reaching nine months or more. Saint Lucia is generally six to nine months.
How to choose
The right programme depends on what the applicant is actually trying to achieve. A few decision frameworks that reflect how the five programmes genuinely differ.
US business access is the priority. Grenada is the only viable option among the five. Understand the AMIGOS Act domicile requirement before committing and get specialist US immigration legal advice alongside the CBI agent engagement.
Lowest entry cost for a single applicant. Dominica at US$200,000 EDF contribution, before fees. All-in including due diligence, interview, and certificate fees, a single Dominica application runs approximately US$210,000 to US$215,000 before agent fees.
Lowest cost for a family of four with young children. The five programmes produce broadly comparable all-in costs for a standard family-of-four on the contribution route. St. Kitts at US$271,260 all-in (CIU calculator), Grenada and Dominica in a similar range depending on agent fees. The differences are not large enough to be the deciding factor for most applicants at this family size.
Large extended family with adult children or siblings. Antigua and Barbuda. The NDF covers up to four people for US$230,000, adds only US$15,000 per additional member, allows children up to age 30, and uniquely permits unmarried siblings of any age as dependants.
A refundable investment option. Saint Lucia exclusively. The National Action Bond at US$300,000 plus a US$50,000 administration fee is redeemable after five years. No other Caribbean CBI programme offers a fully refundable investment route.
Strongest programme track record and governance. St. Kitts and Nevis. Oldest programme, highest CBI Index ranking, and the only programme to have had a long-standing US regulatory advisory formally rescinded following comprehensive reforms.
Property route with the shortest hold period. Dominica. Three years on the open market (five years if selling to another CBI investor).
Property route with the most established secondary market. St. Kitts. The Frigate Bay and Half Moon Bay markets have the most developed resale activity of any Caribbean CBI property market, with consistent demand from both CBI applicants and the Ross University student housing market.
What all five programmes share
Dual citizenship is permitted across all five. None requires residency to maintain citizenship. All produce lifetime citizenship, inheritable. All carry broadly comparable tax environments: no personal income tax, no capital gains tax, no inheritance tax on any of the five islands. All require applications through licensed Authorised Agents. All conduct due diligence through independent third-party firms. None accepts applications from nationals of Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and Russia.
St. Kitts programme data sourced from ciu.gov.kn. Dominica programme data sourced from cbiu.gov.dm. Grenada programme data sourced from cbi.gov.gd and publicly available IMA guidance. Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Lucia programme data sourced from official programme schedules and Henley and Partners programme factsheets. ECCIRA legislation confirmed from official national assembly records. E-2 visa information sourced from USCIS.gov and US immigration legal guidance regarding the AMIGOS Act domicile requirement. All investment minimums and fee structures reflect the post-July 2024 regional price alignment. This article is for information only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Last updated: April 2026.
