The tenth edition of the CBI Index came out in October 2026. It scores 14 programmes across nine categories, each worth up to ten points. St Kitts and Nevis ranks first for the sixth year running, and Dominica is second once again with 75 points. Both citizenship units announced the result on 16 October 2026.
Background
The CBI Index has been published since 2017. The first edition appeared on 7 July 2017 in Professional Wealth Management, a Financial Times publication, as the first comprehensive comparison of the countries that grant citizenship in return for investment. Even then, St Kitts and Nevis led on due diligence. It also topped the 2025 edition; a sixth consecutive first place means it has held the top spot without a break since the 2021 edition.
Research for this edition was led by independent analyst James McKay, founder of McKayResearch. The method follows the OECD Handbook on Constructing Composite Indicators: official economic, programme and policy data are combined with the index's own industry research. According to Dominica's unit, only measures that have been officially confirmed and implemented are counted. Reforms that have been announced but are not yet in force do not enter the score.
The criteria include standard of living, due diligence, family rules and the long-term reliability of a programme. If you are choosing a programme for decades, these are exactly the questions you should be asking yourself: Will the programme keep the promises it makes today? How thoroughly does the state vet applicants? How much effort does the process take? Do I have to live there?
The landscape has shifted noticeably since 2024. On 24 September 2025, the five Eastern Caribbean states that run programmes (Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia and St Kitts and Nevis) signed the agreement creating a joint regulator, the Eastern Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Regulatory Authority. Its job is to set common standards and monitor compliance with them.
What has changed
St Kitts and Nevis: first place for the sixth time
According to the Citizenship Unit's announcement of 16 October 2026, St Kitts and Nevis ranks first for the sixth consecutive year. It earned full marks in four of the nine categories:
- Due Diligence, as the only programme with ten out of ten
- Certainty of Product, meaning the programme's continuity and reliability since 1984
- Ease of Processing
- Mandatory Travel or Residence
St Kitts and Nevis runs the oldest programme of its kind. That it stands alone at the top for due diligence fits the reforms of the past two years: the Citizenship Unit has been a separate body corporate since October 2024 and, two days before the index came out, reported that Deloitte had completed the first stage of an independent review of its work.
Dominica: second place again
According to the announcement by Dominica's Citizenship by Investment Unit on the same day, Dominica is second again with 75 points, two more than in 2025. It scored full marks for Certainty of Product, Ease of Processing and Mandatory Travel or Residence, plus nine points for Due Diligence and nine points for time to citizenship.
The two programmes at a glance
| St Kitts and Nevis | Dominica | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry via contribution | USD 250,000, family of up to four | USD 200,000 for a single applicant, USD 250,000 with up to three dependants |
| Real estate | from USD 325,000, seven-year holding period | USD 200,000, three years from naturalisation |
| Due diligence fee, main applicant | USD 10,000 | USD 7,500 |
| Interview | main applicant and every dependant aged 16 and over, virtual or in person | everyone aged 16 and over, usually virtual |
Dominica requires no residence, either before or after naturalisation. In St Kitts and Nevis, the decision comes 120 to 180 days after the acknowledgement of receipt.
What it means for Germans, Austrians and Swiss
A ranking is an outside assessment, not a guarantee. It measures programmes, not applicants: whether your documents pass the checks, how long your own application takes and what it costs you and your family in total appear in no index. Only a look at your own case answers those questions, with the amounts, fees and family rules of the programme in question. What a ranking does do is help you sort programmes by the points that matter for a decision meant to last decades: continuity, vetting, effort and obligations after naturalisation. Both leaders score full marks for programme reliability and for the travel and residence requirements category.
What the categories mean for you
- Certainty of Product asks whether a programme will last. For you that counts twice: the citizenship should still hold in twenty years, and it passes to your children. A programme with a long, unbroken history gives you the firmest footing for that.
- Due Diligence measures how thoroughly the state vets its applicants. Strict vetting means more paperwork for you, but it protects the value of the citizenship you acquire, because it does not end up with the wrong people.
- Ease of Processing rates how clear and predictable the procedure is. For you that means reliable timelines instead of months of silence.
- Mandatory Travel or Residence rates the travel or residence obligations a programme imposes. Full marks stand for light obligations, a plus for anyone who does not want to rebuild their life in Germany, Austria or Switzerland.
Dominica also received nine points for time to citizenship. Under the regulations, a first response comes within three months of submission through the licensed agent; the unit itself cites at least three months to approval in principle.
For families, the difference lies in who can be included. In St Kitts and Nevis, spouses, children under 18, unmarried children aged 18 to under 30 who are supported by the applicant or their spouse, children aged 18 and over with a physical or mental disability (no upper age limit) and parents aged 55 and over who live with and are fully supported by the applicant can be added to the application. In Dominica, it is spouses, children under 18, children aged 18 to 30 in higher education if they are fully supported, and parents and grandparents over 65 if they are substantially supported. In Dominica, a child under 18 born or adopted after naturalisation can be added later.
What happens to your current nationality depends on your country:
- Germany: Since 27 June 2024, acquiring another nationality at your own request no longer costs you your German citizenship, and a retention permit (Beibehaltungsgenehmigung) is no longer needed. More in dual citizenship for Germans.
- Austria: You lose Austrian citizenship automatically by operation of law if you acquire a foreign nationality at your own request, unless retention (Beibehaltung) was applied for and granted before the acquisition. Details in second citizenship for Austrians.
- Switzerland: Since 1 January 1992, Swiss law has allowed multiple nationality without restriction, as long as the other state does not require you to renounce. More in Swiss dual nationals.
What you can do now
- Set your goal. Are you after the most affordable safeguard for yourself alone, cover for the whole family, or value that stays in a property? That decides which route fits. The investment options are explained in donation or real estate.
- Run the numbers for your family. On the contribution route, the base amount in both programmes covers up to four people, and each additional person costs extra: in St Kitts and Nevis USD 25,000 under 18 and USD 50,000 from 18, in Dominica USD 25,000 under 18 and USD 40,000 from 18. All the rules are under family.
- Read up on both programmes. Routes, fees and timelines are set out on the St Kitts and Nevis programme and Dominica programme pages. For a fuller picture, see Dominica at a glance and St Kitts and Nevis: the new rules.
- Take due diligence seriously. Both programmes score highly on vetting. What the state checks before naturalisation and how to prepare for it is covered under due diligence.
- Compare regions. The Caribbean, the Pacific, Africa and the Middle East at a glance are in CBI regions compared, every open programme side by side in the comparison and the total costs under costs.
For you as a reader from Germany, Austria or Switzerland, this means the ranking is a good starting point, but the decision turns on your family, your assets and your plans. The index comes out every year. What was measured in 2026 rests on measures already in force; anything that has only been announced will show up in a later edition.