Visas & Entry

Second Passport in 2026: How Citizenship by Investment Really Works, the Real Costs, and the Scams to Dodge

A verified 2026 guide to citizenship by investment — the real minimum amounts from St Kitts to Malta, what a second passport actually buys, and how…

By Laxman Rawal · Aug 19, 2026

Read the full story

A second passport has become one of the most-searched financial products of 2026 — pitched as insurance against instability, a tax play, and a shortcut to visa-free travel. The industry has a formal name, citizenship by investment (CBI), and a handful of…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

What citizenship by investment actually is

CBI is a legal transaction: a country grants you citizenship — a full passport — in return for a qualifying economic contribution. In the Caribbean that contribution takes one of two shapes. The cheaper route is a straight donation to a national development…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

The real 2026 price list

These are the figures we could verify against official citizenship-unit pages and well-sourced records for 2026. Prices in this space move — and stale numbers are the single most common trap — so treat every figure as the current floor to reconfirm, not a…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

The Caribbean donation route

Five Caribbean nations — St Kitts & Nevis, Dominica, Grenada, Antigua & Barbuda and St Lucia — run the world's longest-standing and cheapest citizenship programmes, and in 2024 they agreed a regional US$200,000 minimum to stop a race to the bottom. Two…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

Europe: residency, not a passport

Europe is where the story turned in 2025. Malta ran the EU's only true cash-for-citizenship scheme — a €600,000 to €750,000 contribution — until the European Court of Justice ruled in April 2025 that it breached EU law, and Malta abolished the…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

What a second passport actually buys

Three things, realistically. Mobility: a strong second passport can lift your visa-free access into the 140—150-country range, useful if your first passport is weak. A backup: a second citizenship is a genuine hedge for people from politically or economically…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

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