The Fastest Citizenship by Investment Programmes

Vanuatu is the fastest citizenship by investment available, with approvals possible in as little as a month on a single, straightforward contribution route. It carries no residency requirement and no tax on income, capital gains or inheritance. The trade-off is passport strength: Vanuatu is a weaker travel document than the Caribbean options, so it suits speed-and-contingency goals more than maximum mobility.

If you want speed without sacrificing passport quality, St Kitts & Nevis is the standout. Its accelerated option can deliver a decision in around 45–60 days while still giving you one of the strongest passports in the Caribbean. For many clients this is the better balance than the very fastest route.

São Tomé & Príncipe, launched in 2025, targets a roughly two-to-three-month timeline on a fully remote process, as does Nauru at around three months. Both are inexpensive and quick, with the same caveat as Vanuatu — they are best understood as an affordable, lawful second nationality rather than a strong travel document.

The other Caribbean programmes — Dominica, Antigua & Barbuda, St Lucia and Grenada — typically run in the three-to-six-month range. That is still fast by any normal immigration standard, and it buys you stronger passports and, in Grenada's case, the strategic E-2 option.

Published processing times assume a clean file. In practice the biggest variable is you: complete, consistent documentation and a clear source-of-funds story keep an application on schedule, while missing clearances or unexplained gaps cause the delays. Read due diligence and the application process to understand what keeps a file moving — and treat every timeline, including ours, as indicative and subject to government processing.