New Citizenship by Investment Programs: What Is Live and What Is Only Proposed

If you want to file an application this month, your realistic choices among the newcomers are São Tomé and Príncipe's donation route, Nauru's Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Program and Sierra Leone's GO-FOR-GOLD citizenship routes (whose reported October 2026 restructuring is not yet on the official site). All three are cheaper than any Caribbean program, which now start at about US$200,000 (see our Caribbean CBI comparison). All three also have much weaker passports: Henley's 2026 data gives São Tomé 59 visa-free, visa-on-arrival or eTA destinations, Sierra Leone 63 and Nauru 84, and none of them gives visa-free access to the Schengen area^[32].

Everything else is a watchlist item. St Vincent and the Grenadines, Argentina, Tonga and Nigeria have no program that accepts applications. Samoa has a law but no working program. Armenia's new route gives permanent residence, not a passport. Our rule of thumb: do not pay an agent a retainer for a program that has no published regulations, fee schedule and application forms.

The three programs below are taking applications and issuing passports. São Tomé and Nauru rest on a published decree or Act and publish full official fee schedules; Sierra Leone publishes prices for its Fast-Track and Heritage routes on its program website, but no implementing statute is online and its newest tiers are so far reported only by agents and industry media. They differ mainly in price, family rules and the travel risk attached to each passport. For a cost ranking across all live programs, see our guide to the cheapest citizenship by investment options.

Status: launched. Decree-Law 07/2025, made under Nationality Law 07/2022, took effect on 1 August 2025, and applications have been accepted since September 2025.

Price and fees: US$90,000 to the National Transformation Fund for a single applicant and US$95,000 for a family of two to four (plus US$5,000 for each further dependant), plus a US$5,000 submission fee and US$750 per person for citizenship documents, both paid with the application^[1][2].

Track record: the Citizenship by Investment Unit's first-year report (1 September 2026) counted 548 applications, 350 approvals, 12 rejections, 117 citizenships granted and 29 passports issued, with about two months on average to approval. It has not been posted on the official site, so these figures come from industry reports^[3].

Key terms: no residence or visit requirement. Under a CIU memorandum of 10 April 2026, the ID card and passport can be issued remotely after a video check; the same memorandum put on hold new applications from people who already hold three or more foreign nationalities and passports for dependent children over 18. A June 2026 memorandum extended expected end-to-end timelines to four months or more^[35].

Risks: the 27 September 2026 parliamentary election gave a plurality (24 of 55 seats, provisional; ADI 23; 28 needed for a majority) to the MLSTP, whose leader called for the decree to be revoked in 2025. No new government had been formed by 2 October 2026^[4][36]. The passport needs visas for Schengen, the UK and the US. Full detail is on our São Tomé and Príncipe passport guide.

Status: launched under the Nauru Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Act 2024 (No. 15 of 2024). The program office marked its first anniversary on 3 February 2026, and amended regulations took effect the same month^[6].

Price and fees (official schedule): a US$90,000 contribution for the principal applicant, after a US$25,000 anniversary discount that applies from 3 February 2026 to current and new applications filed before 31 December 2026; US$2,000 for each dependant aged 16 or over; US$15,000 per sibling. Add an application fee (US$5,000 principal, US$2,000 per dependant), due diligence (US$6,000 principal, US$3,000 per dependant 16+), a bank due-diligence charge of US$1,200–2,200 and US$500 per passport. Official processing is three to four months^[5].

Discrepancy: the program site describes a US$25,000 discount, which implies a US$115,000 list price. NTL International describes a US$105,000 standard price cut by US$15,000^[6], and launch pricing in 2025 was US$105,000 for a single applicant. The official figure of US$90,000 is the one that counts until 31 December 2026. The 2027 price is not published.

Key terms: no residence requirement. Since February 2026, applicants from Afghanistan, Belarus, Russia, Sudan and Yemen are 'restricted' rather than barred: they must show they have not lived there for five consecutive years or hold residence in a listed Western country, and have no current economic ties. North Korea, Iran and Myanmar remain barred^[6].

Risks: the UK made Nauru a visa-national country from 10 December 2025 and named the new CBI program as the reason, describing it as 'particularly vulnerable to misuse'^[7][37]. Nauru has no visa-free Schengen access^[32]. Read more in our Nauru passport program guide.

Status: launched. The GO-FOR-GOLD scheme began in December 2024 as a gold-backed permanent residence. In January 2025 it added fast-track naturalisation routes run with the Sierra Leone Immigration Department. Agents and industry media report a restructuring effective 1 October 2026; it had not appeared on the official program website by 2 October 2026^[9][10].

Reported tiers from 1 October 2026 (agent and press sources only, not yet official): a Solo Entrepreneur route at US$95,000 plus a US$5,000 due-diligence fee, with no dependants; Enterprise Citizenship for two unrelated applicants at US$80,000 each with one shared US$5,000 due-diligence fee; Heritage Citizenship (DNA proof of African ancestry) reportedly raised from US$100,000 to US$120,000; and Fast-Track Citizenship unchanged at US$140,000^[10][11]. The Outbound Investment report attributes the details to one of the program's designers and links to no government document.

Official schedule: the program website lists Fast-Track at US$140,000, with US$10,000 per spouse, child under 18, parent or grandparent, US$20,000 per adult child or sibling under 30 (and some other relatives), a US$30,000 '+1 business partner' option and due diligence of US$5,000 for up to five people (US$10,000 for six to ten), and promises approval within 90 days^[8]. When we checked on 2 October 2026, its Heritage page still showed US$100,000 and the Solo and Enterprise tiers were not yet listed^[9]. Until the site is updated, confirm the price in writing before you pay.

Risks: since 1 January 2026, the entry of Sierra Leone nationals into the United States has been fully suspended by presidential proclamation^[12]. The passport reaches about 63 destinations without a prior visa^[32]. The program is also run with a private promoter, not a stand-alone government CBI unit, and no implementing statute is published online. Our Sierra Leone passport guide tracks the new tiers.

Vanuatu is not a new program, but its 2025 overhaul often puts it on 'new program' lists. The CIIP option was suspended on 13 March 2025 for a regulatory review and relaunched on 26 May 2025, while the US$130,000 Development Support Program (DSP) stayed open throughout^[34][38]. The official DSP grid is US$130,000 for one person, US$150,000 for a couple and US$180,000 for a couple with two children, plus a US$5,000 FIU due-diligence fee per application^[39]. The bigger change happened earlier: every Vanuatu national has needed a Schengen visa since 4 February 2023, and the requirement became permanent from 3 February 2025 under Regulation (EU) 2025/11^[33]. The UK has also required visas since July 2023. Details are in our Vanuatu passport guide.

For the programs below, the honest answer to 'when can I apply?' is 'not yet, and possibly never'. We list them by how far each has got through the legal process, from closest to furthest.

Status: announced, not legislated. In his first budget address on 9 February 2026, Prime Minister Godwin Friday said a program would launch 'by the middle of 2026'. Proceeds would go to a legislatively established St Vincent and the Grenadines Investment Fund (SVGIF), the scheme would include 'residency requirements', and the government 'will not compete on volume'^[13].

Where it stands: the mid-year target has passed. As of September 2026 the enabling legislation had not reached the House of Assembly. Constitutional amendment bills deferred in April and July 2026 concern whether MPs may hold dual citizenship, not the CBI program itself^[14] (details on our St Vincent citizenship page). Former Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has questioned the government's capacity to implement it^[15].

Price: not published. Agents expect it to land near the US$200,000–235,000 Caribbean band, but that is an estimate, not a figure from the government^[14].

Risks: it would launch into an EU and US climate hostile to Caribbean CBI (see our explainer on the EU visa-free phase-out), and a residence rule tougher than its neighbours' would limit its appeal to passive investors. Follow updates on our St Vincent program tracker.

Status: announced, not yet open, and under legal challenge. Decree of Necessity and Urgency 366/2025 (28 May 2025) amended Citizenship Law 346 so that foreigners who make a 'relevant investment' can naturalise whatever their length of residence. It also created an Agency for Citizenship by Investment Programs under the Ministry of Economy. Decree 524/2025 (published 31 July 2025) set the procedure: the agency receives applications, checks whether the investment qualifies and coordinates security, financial-intelligence and intelligence checks, then sends a recommendation to the National Migration Directorate, which decides within 30 business days. The Ministry of Economy was left to define which investments qualify^[16].

Court case: on 18 June 2026, in the Volosh case, Chamber III of the federal civil and commercial appeals court held the decree's citizenship provisions unconstitutional^[41]. On 30 June 2026, in an appeal brought by a long-term resident whose ordinary naturalisation had been refused, the National Electoral Chamber declared the decree's transfer of citizenship powers to the migration authority null, reasoning that citizenship carries political rights and that the Constitution (art. 99(3)) bars decrees of necessity and urgency on electoral matters^[17]. Both rulings bind only the parties to those cases and neither dealt with the investment route directly, but that route sits in the same decree. The government is taking the question to the Supreme Court^[18], which had not ruled by early October 2026. Separately, on 14 April 2026 the Ministry of Economy cancelled the international tender for a firm to design and run the program (Resolution 522/2026), about a month after two losing bidders challenged the evaluation; the resolution itself cites the need for a strategic reassessment^[19].

Price: on 2 October 2026 the government formally presented the program in Paris: a non-refundable US$350,000 payment to the National Treasury or a US$800,000 subscription of a public bond created for the scheme, plus US$100,000 for a spouse and US$25,000 for each child under 18, with applications promised in the fourth quarter of 2026^[40]. These figures replace the US$500,000 contribution and US$1 million bond estimates that circulated earlier^[20]. Fees, bond terms and the application channel had not yet appeared in the Official Gazette.

Why it matters: an Argentine passport scores about 169 destinations on Henley's index, including the Schengen area^[32], far stronger than any other newcomer. That is exactly why the legal risk deserves weight. See our Argentina investor citizenship tracker.

Status: proposed, no bill. A leaked plan reportedly designed by Henley & Partners priced citizenship at US$190,000 for a single applicant and US$220,000 for a family of two to four. It projected up to US$400 million over five years. The previous cabinet reportedly rejected it^[22].

Where it stands: Lord Fakafanua, who became Prime Minister in December 2025, has backed the idea. He said in December 2025 that it 'cannot move forward without public consultation and approval by Parliament'^[21]. We found no bill tabled by 2 October 2026.

Risks: Tonga's 1980s–90s passport sales left a lasting scandal; critics say less than 10% of about US$30 million reached the Treasury^[21]. Tongan nationals also face partial US entry restrictions since 1 January 2026^[12]. More on our Tonga proposal page.

Status: law in force, program effectively dormant. The Citizenship Investment Act 2015 commenced on 31 January 2017. It is not a quick-passport scheme. The investor must invest SAT 4 million (about US$1.42 million) in a qualifying business and have a net worth of at least SAT 2.5 million. They first receive a permanent resident permit for three years and become eligible for citizenship only if they (or a family member) spent at least 15 days a year in Samoa^[23][24].

Proposals: in October 2025 the Samoa Chamber of Commerce proposed halving the threshold to SAT 2 million, tied to creating 15 skilled jobs or 50 jobs in total. Any change needs Cabinet approval, three readings and the Head of State's assent. The ministry has also said that applicants with state ownership or foreign-government ties are automatically disqualified^[24]. Our Samoa investor citizenship page covers the Act.

Status: bill stage. HB 2059, sponsored by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu and others, would amend section 28 of the 1999 Constitution to create 'citizenship by investment' for foreigners who invest above a set threshold or in strategic sectors. No figure appears in the bill^[25]. It passed second reading in the House of Representatives in March 2025^[27] and was among 37 constitution amendment bills scheduled for House votes in June 2026^[28].

Where it stands: on 16 September 2026, Premium Times reported that state police was the only amendment approved by both chambers so far, with citizenship by investment still 'being considered'^[26]. As a constitutional change it also needs approval by at least two-thirds (24) of the 36 state assemblies and presidential assent. We could not confirm the result of the House vote.

Risks: Nigerian nationals have faced partial US entry restrictions since 1 January 2026^[12], and the passport reaches only about 44 destinations without a prior visa^[32]. See our Nigeria investor citizenship bill page.

Status: law passed, start date set. Parliament adopted amendments to the Law 'On Foreigners' on 20 January 2026, effective 1 November 2026. They add 'investment in the RA' as a new ground for permanent residence^[29]. From the same date, all residence applications move to a new online system, the Migration and Citizenship Service has said^[30].

What it is not: it is not citizenship by investment. Armenian naturalisation still runs through residence. The new five-year permanent card removes the temporary-permit stage, but you still face the standard naturalisation tests.

Price: unknown. Thresholds and eligible assets are left to a government decree that had not been published by 2 October 2026^[29][31]. The reported state fee for the five-year permanent card is AMD 255,950 (about US$650)^[31]. Follow our Armenia investor residency guide for the decree.

New programs attract agents who sell before the rules exist. Run through these checks before you pay anything.

Worth a look: buyers who mainly want a back-up nationality or a second travel document at the lowest price and who accept limited visa-free travel. That includes applicants whose current passport faces bank or travel friction and families who want an inheritable citizenship for under US$100,000 a person.

Look elsewhere: if you need Schengen or UK visa-free travel, choose an established Caribbean program such as St Kitts and Nevis or Dominica, and weigh the EU phase-out pressure. If you want EU rights, a residence route that leads to naturalisation fits better; see citizenship by investment vs golden visa. If you want Argentina's passport, wait for the Supreme Court and do not prepay. For the full list of open programs, start at our citizenship by investment hub, and for schemes that have shut, see closed programs.