Muaz Kalaycı: Second citizenship costs are rising
Something has changed in the conversations happening inside citizenship advisory offices, and it is not subtle. Two years ago the typical client arrived having researched passport rankings.
Advisors who work across the second citizenship by investment sector say the question has shifted entirely: clients now want to know what their family does if a government changes, a banking system tightens, or a tax authority starts asking questions they cannot easily answer at home.
“Today they come with a problem,” says Muaz Kalaycı, who advises clients on citizenship pathways across multiple jurisdictions. “They want to know that if something changes in their home country, their family has somewhere to go, their business has a jurisdiction to operate from, and their assets are not trapped.”
THE CARIBBEAN PROGRAMS TAKING MOST OF THE DEMAND
Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia have processed most of the applications coming out of this shift. No residency requirement, citizenship in three to six months, investment thresholds that vary depending on family structure and program. Dominica starts at around $92,000 for a single applicant. Saint Kitts and Nevis runs from around $269,000 and offers access to over 149 countries including the Schengen Area and the UK. Saint Lucia sits somewhere between the two.
These programs have been running long enough that the documentation requirements, due diligence processes, and processing workflows are well understood by experienced advisors. For clients who need a predictable result on a fixed timeline, that familiarity matters.
Terms have moved, though. All three programs raised their thresholds at least once since 2022. Malta, which leads to EU citizenship and operates under strict annual quotas, consistently sees more demand than available slots. Processing across the sector has slowed as governments face growing pressure from international bodies to tighten how these programs are administered.
“The clients who waited two years are paying more and waiting longer,” Kalaycı says. “That is the direction this market moves in.”
WHAT IS ACTUALLY DRIVING APPLICATIONS NOW
Visa-free travel comes up early in most conversations but rarely closes the decision anymore. What takes up more of the meeting now is tax planning, where assets sit, what the family does if the political situation at home gets worse. Some clients are working against something specific on the calendar, a business sale, a tax year ending, an election coming up.
Picking the wrong program has gotten more costly. A family of four in the wrong Caribbean program might pay significantly more than they needed to, or find out weeks in that a child does not qualify under an age rule that nobody explained upfront. Some clients have had to start the whole process over after a program changed its terms mid-application.
“A client who ends up in the wrong program does not just lose money,” Kalaycı says. “They lose time, and sometimes they lose the window entirely. Our job is to slow things down and ask the right questions before anything is signed.”
WHAT IS COMING
Botswana and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are both working toward program launches. New programs entering the market have historically absorbed additional demand without doing much to relieve pricing pressure on the established ones. Compliance costs, government revenue expectations, and reputational scrutiny all push thresholds upward over time regardless of how many programs are available.
“For investors who have been thinking about this, the most expensive decision is usually the one that keeps getting postponed,” Kalaycı says.
Industry estimates suggest the sector processed several billion dollars in qualifying investments globally during 2025, with the Middle East accounting for an increasing share of total applicant volume, though precise figures vary depending on methodology and which programs are included in the count.
