Buy Your Way In: What It Costs to Get a Second Passport or a Golden Visa

A second passport used to be a quiet product sold to the very rich. Now it is marketed openly, and the world's politics is giving more people a reason to look. Some countries sell citizenship outright, usually for a donation or a property purchase. Many more sell residence, often called a golden visa, which lets you live there and can lead to citizenship years later if you actually move. This page lists every program I could document, with the price of the cheapest route, what you get back, how long it takes and what you would pay in tax once you arrive. Every figure is dated, and the page is checked every week, because these programs change constantly.

01The World Map of What It Costs

Darker means more expensive. Choose citizenship, residence, or the cheapest of either. Tap or hover over a country for its price, and click it for the details. The five Eastern Caribbean programs are shown enlarged in the box over the Atlantic, and small countries are marked with dots.

Lowest qualifying amount for a single applicant: the smallest donation, investment or deposit that qualifies under any of the country's routes, even where that route has conditions (the table lists them under "Also required"). Converted to US dollars at European Central Bank reference rates for November 4, 2026 (Gulf, Jordanian and Cayman currencies at their official dollar pegs). Fees, legal costs and family members are extra; the calculator below adds them. A price is the amount that must be paid or invested, whether or not it can come back.

02Every Program, Cheapest First

Open programs come first, sorted by the lowest qualifying amount in US dollars, then programs that are announced, unpriced or closed. Click a column heading to sort, or a country for its details. "Money back" says whether the main amount is a payment you never see again, money that is returned, or an asset such as property that you keep and can sell.

03What a Family Really Pays

The advertised price is for one person. Spouses, children and parents add government fees, background-check fees and, in some programs, a bigger donation. Pick a program and your family, and this adds up the government side of the bill. The chart below runs the same family through every program at once.

The same family, every program

Blue: money paid away (donations, fees, the Gold Card gift). Orange: money that stays yours or comes back (property, funds, the EB-5 investment), which carries its own risks and costs. Government fees only: lawyers and licensed agents charge extra, property purchases add transfer taxes, and figures marked unconfirmed rest on one source. Euro programs converted at the rate above.

04The Taxes Once You Live There

A passport does not decide your tax bill. Where you live does. Buying citizenship in a country you never visit usually changes nothing about your taxes, but moving to a golden-visa country usually makes you a tax resident there once you pass its day count, often 183 days a year, and that is where the real cost or saving is. Several countries now compete for wealthy arrivals with flat taxes on foreign income.

Zero income tax on individuals: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman (a 5% tax on incomes above OMR 42,000 is law from 2028), Saudi Arabia (on wages), St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Vanuatu, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and Monaco (except for French citizens). Territorial systems tax only income earned inside the country: Panama, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Georgia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore (mostly), Jordan and Grenada. Not every passport country is a tax haven: Dominica taxes residents up to 35% (a flat 10% on local income only is proposed for 2027) and Saint Lucia up to 30%, both on worldwide income in 2026.

Top national rate on personal income for 2026, from Deloitte and PwC country tax guides (updated January to October 2026) and government pages. Local and regional taxes, social charges and the exact thresholds vary. "Brought in" means foreign income is taxed only when sent into the country.

05If You Are an American

The United States taxes its citizens on their income wherever they live, something almost no other country does. A second passport from Grenada or a golden visa in Portugal does not change that: you still file a US return every year and owe tax on your worldwide income, with a credit for foreign tax paid. The only way out is to give up US citizenship, and that can come with an exit tax. A bill to switch Americans abroad to residence-based taxation was introduced in December 2024 and died with that Congress.

Foreign earned income exclusion, 2026	$132,900 of wages or self-employment income. It does not cover dividends, interest, capital gains or rent, so an investor living off a portfolio in a zero-tax country owes full US tax on it.
Foreign bank account report (FBAR)	Required once your foreign accounts total more than $10,000 at any point in the year.
Foreign asset report (Form 8938)	Living abroad: more than $200,000 at year end or $300,000 at any time (single); $400,000 or $600,000 for a married couple filing jointly.
Exit tax on renouncing, 2026	You are a "covered expatriate" if your average US income tax over the last 5 years was more than $211,000, your net worth is $2 million or more, or you cannot certify 5 years of tax compliance. Covered expatriates are taxed as if they sold everything the day before; the first $910,000 of gain is excluded.
Fee to renounce	$450, cut from $2,350, effective April 13, 2026.
Gold Card holders	A green card, so a US tax resident on worldwide income. The $5 million "Platinum Card", meant to allow 270 days a year in the US without US tax on foreign income, is listed on the official site as coming soon and is not available.

America sells its own way in. The Gold Card, launched in December 2025, costs a $1 million gift plus a $15,000 processing fee, and each spouse and child needs their own, so a family of four pays about $4.06 million. In an April 28, 2026 court filing the government said 338 people had applied and 165 had paid the $15,000 fee, and the Commerce Secretary told a House subcommittee on April 23, 2026 that one card had been approved. A lawsuit challenging the program (AAUP v. DHS) is pending in federal court in Washington; the government's motion to dismiss was fully briefed on September 1, 2026, and there was no ruling as of November 4, 2026. The older EB-5 visa requires $800,000 invested in a rural or high-unemployment area, or $1,050,000 elsewhere, covers a spouse and children under 21, and rises with inflation on January 1, 2027. About 6,660 EB-5 petitions were filed in fiscal 2025.

For more on leaving: Italy's proposed exit tax, and what leaving costs in other countries, and how far your dollar goes abroad.

06The Doors That Closed

Since 2014 the rich democracies have been shutting their programs, and pressure on the countries that still sell passports keeps growing. The European Union's top court ruled in April 2025 that a country cannot sell EU citizenship, which ended Malta's program. The EU can now suspend visa-free travel for any visa-free country that sells citizenship, and in June 2026 it reportedly asked the five Eastern Caribbean states to end their programs by June 1, 2028. The United States restricted visas for Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica from January 1, 2026, citing citizenship sold without residence.

Feb 2014	Canada closes its federal investor program Quebec's separate program later reopened, at CAD 1.2 million.
Oct 2018	The OECD flags 21 programs Named as potentially high-risk for hiding money from tax authorities, because they offer low taxes without real residence.
Sept 2020	Moldova repeals its citizenship program
Nov 2020	Cyprus cancels its passport program An inquiry later found 53% of the passports were issued illegally.
Feb 2022	The UK closes its investor visa
Apr 2022	Bulgaria abolishes citizenship by investment
Dec 2022	Montenegro's program ends
Feb 2023	Ireland closes its investor program; Vanuatu loses EU visa-free travel Vanuatu was moved to the EU's visa-required list permanently in 2025. The UK began requiring visas from Vanuatu and Dominica in July 2023.
Oct 2023	Portugal drops real estate from its golden visa
Apr 2024	The Netherlands abolishes its investor scheme
July 2024	Australia closes its investor visas; the Caribbean sets a $200,000 floor The five Eastern Caribbean states agreed that no passport would sell for less than $200,000, ending the $100,000 passport.
Apr 2025	Spain ends its golden visa; the EU court rules against Malta Malta replaced its program with a citizenship-by-merit route that has no price.
Dec 2025	Canada closes its Start-up Visa; the EU can suspend visa-free travel over passport sales The EU rule took effect December 30, 2025.
Jan 2026	US visa restrictions on Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica take effect
Mar 2026	The UK requires visas from Saint Lucia
May 2026	Portugal doubles its wait for citizenship to 10 years
Jan 2027	Latvia ends its property, bond and deposit routes (scheduled)
June 2028	The EU's requested deadline for the Caribbean programs A request, not a law.

The money matters to the countries that sell. The IMF counts St Kitts and Nevis's citizenship fees as a share of its economy, and the chart shows how quickly that income fell when the price went up and the pressure grew.

Citizenship-by-investment fees, % of GDP. Source: IMF, St Kitts and Nevis 2026 Article IV consultation (May 2026). For Grenada the IMF reported a fall from 14.7% of GDP in 2024 to 3.5% in 2025 (2025 Article IV, January 2026); for Dominica, about 37% of GDP in fiscal 2022/23 (2024 Article IV).

07How This Works, and What It Leaves Out

What counts. A program is listed when a government sells citizenship or residence for a set investment or payment, or when it did at some point since 2014. Ordinary work, retirement and digital-nomad visas are left out, except the Philippine retiree visa, which works like a deposit-for-residence program. Countries that grant citizenship case by case with no published price, such as Austria, are listed without a price.

The price. The map and table show the cheapest route for one adult. Where several routes exist, the others are in the details. Local currencies are converted at one dated set of exchange rates, so a program priced in euros moves with the euro.

The family calculator adds the government-side costs that each program publishes: the donation or investment, application and processing fees, due diligence (background check) fees, certificate and passport fees. It leaves out lawyers and licensed agents (one adviser lists USD 25,000 for Nauru alone), bank fees, travel, property transfer taxes and the cost of money tied up for years. Where a fee band changes at 17, 16- and 17-year-olds are counted in the older band.

What it leaves out.

• A passport is only as useful as the doors it opens, and visa-free access is changing fast for several of these countries.
• Getting residence is not the same as getting citizenship: most golden visas lead to a passport only if you actually live in the country for 5 to 10 years and pass language or civics tests.
• Some countries do not allow dual citizenship, or only with permission.
• Programs change with little notice. Check the official program site before committing any money.

This is a guide for research and curiosity, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Each figure is tagged with its source; "unconfirmed" means it rests on one source or the sources conflict.

08Sources

Each program's own sources are listed in its details on the map. The main sources for the page:

• Official program sites: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, US Gold Card, Immigration New Zealand
• IRS: US citizens and residents abroad, expatriation tax, Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 amounts), Form 8938 and FBAR; Federal Register, renunciation fee (Mar 13, 2026)
• Court of Justice of the EU, Case C-181/23, Commission v Malta; Regulation (EU) 2025/2441; European Commission recommendation (Mar 28, 2022); La Moncloa on the end of Spain's golden visa
• IMF Article IV press releases: St Kitts and Nevis (May 2026), Grenada (Jan 2026); OECD, CRS avoidance through residence and citizenship by investment (Oct 16, 2018)
• Tax: PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries and Deloitte country tax highlights 2026; DWF on Italy's 2026 budget; EY on Turkey's new regime; KPMG on Cyprus non-dom extensions; gov.uk on long-term residents
• Program news and figures: IMI Daily, law and advisory firms named in each program's details, and the ECB euro reference rates

Programs and prices checked on November 4, 2026. Related: Italy's proposed exit tax · How Far Your Dollar Goes Abroad · all Special Features