Dominica, Antigua or St. Lucia: Three Caribbean Passports Compared (2026)

What all three have in common

Since summer 2024 the five Eastern Caribbean programs have operated under an agreement on minimum prices. It ended the price war in which passports were at times offered for well under USD 100,000. Since then the floor for the fund route has been USD 200,000.

Three more things are worth knowing before comparing numbers:

• The fund contribution is gone. It is a non-refundable donation to the state, not an investment. Real estate gives you an asset, but costs more and has to be held for several years.
• Fees are not in the headline price. Due diligence, processing, the naturalization certificate, the passport and the interview are billed separately, plus fees for the licensed agent the application has to go through.
• There is a regional regulator that is not working yet. On 18 September 2025 the five states signed the agreement creating the Eastern Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Regulatory Authority (ECCIRA). It is meant to enforce common vetting standards and a shared residence duty of 30 days within five years. According to reports from September 2026 it had not started operating, and no start date had been agreed.

Dominica: the cheapest entry

Dominica's program has run since 1993 and is the oldest of the three. Under the current fee schedule of the Citizenship by Investment Unit there are two routes.

Economic Diversification Fund (EDF):

• USD 200,000 for a single applicant
• USD 250,000 for the main applicant with up to three dependants
• each additional dependant under 18: USD 25,000, 18 or older: USD 40,000

Real estate: at least USD 200,000 in a government-approved project, held for three years from citizenship (five years if the buyer is another applicant). On top, the state charges a government fee of USD 75,000 for a single applicant or USD 100,000 for a family of up to four. Real estate is therefore more expensive than the fund, not cheaper.

Fees on both routes:

• processing: USD 1,000 per application
• due diligence: USD 7,500 for the main applicant, USD 4,000 for each dependant aged 16 or over
• certificate of naturalization: USD 500 per person
• mandatory interview: USD 1,000 per interview, for everyone 16 and over
• depending on nationality and profile, enhanced due diligence at a cost the unit does not publish

A single applicant on the fund route thus lands at about USD 210,000 in government payments, before agent fees.

Residence: Dominica has had no minimum stay so far. In its August 2026 budget the government announced that new citizens are to spend 30 days in the country within their first five years, without a start date. In June 2026 Prime Minister Skerrit also said passports would in future be issued and renewed only in person in Dominica. Neither was in force in October 2026, but both should be planned for.

Processing time: Officially three to six months. IMI Daily's analysis of agent-reported cases from Q4 2025 found an average of 9.3 months, with cases ranging from 4 to 18 months.

Antigua and Barbuda: family at a flat price

Antigua is the program most clearly aimed at families. According to the CIU fee schedule the National Development Fund (NDF) route costs USD 230,000, the same for a single applicant as for a family of up to four.

The routes:

• NDF: USD 230,000, non-refundable
• UWI Fund (donation to the University of the West Indies): USD 260,000 including processing fees
• Real estate: at least USD 300,000 in an approved project
• Business investment: USD 1.5 million alone or USD 5 million jointly with at least one other person

Fees:

• processing: USD 10,000 for a single applicant, USD 20,000 for a family of up to four, USD 10,000 for each additional person
• due diligence: USD 8,500 for the main applicant, USD 5,000 for a spouse, USD 2,000 for children aged 12 to 17, USD 4,000 for dependants 18 and over, nothing for children under 12
• passport: USD 300 per person
• surcharge from the fifth person: USD 10,000 for children up to 5, USD 25,000 for ages 6 to 17, USD 50,000 for 18 and over

For a single applicant Antigua is the most expensive of the three: about USD 248,800 in government payments. For a family the picture flips, see below.

Residence: Antigua is the only one of the three with a presence duty that has applied for years. According to the CIU, you must spend a total of five days in the country during the first five calendar years after citizenship. Missing it puts the citizenship at risk without a refund of the investment, and renewal of the five-year passport depends on the same five days. A bill introduced in 2026 raises the duty to 30 days. Prime Minister Browne told Parliament the 30 days were already being applied administratively, while the CIU website still said five days in September 2026. Anyone planning today should budget for 30 days.

Interview: Antigua may require an interview, but it is not mandatory for every applicant.

Processing time: According to the same IMI analysis, 14.2 months on average, with cases between 10 and 18 months.

St. Lucia: fund, bond, projects

St. Lucia has the youngest program (since 2016) and the most routes. The program page lists:

• National Economic Fund (NEF): USD 240,000 for the applicant with up to three dependants. Each additional person under 18 costs USD 10,000, 18 and over USD 20,000.
• National Action Bond: USD 300,000 in government bonds, held in your own name for five years, plus a non-refundable administration fee of USD 50,000. It is the only route among the three where the capital in principle comes back, though without a return that offsets the fee block.
• Real estate project: USD 300,000 in an approved project plus administration fees starting at USD 30,000 for a single applicant.
• Enterprise project: from USD 250,000 in approved projects plus administration fees, or USD 3.5 million as a sole investor.

Fees:

• processing: USD 2,000 for the main applicant, USD 1,000 per dependant
• due diligence: USD 8,000 for the main applicant, USD 5,000 per dependant over 16
• interview and identity verification: mandatory for all applications received since 4 September 2023, payable by the main applicant only. The program page does not state an amount.

Residence: There is no fixed day count. Act No. 22 of 2025, however, obliges applicants to meet "prescribed requirements for residency and genuine link", to be set out by regulation. A 2026 statutory instrument added biometric capture but no days. Once ECCIRA starts, the 30 days would apply here too.

Processing time: St. Lucia is the slowest program. IMI Daily reported an average of 18 months for Q4 2025, with cases between 12 and 26 months.

What a family of four really pays

The headline price says little because the programs treat families differently. A worked example based on the official fee schedules as of October 2026: married couple with two children aged 8 and 13, cheapest fund route in each case, without agent or legal fees.

• Dominica (EDF): USD 250,000 contribution, USD 1,000 processing, USD 11,500 due diligence (only the two adults are over 16), USD 2,000 naturalization certificates, USD 2,000 interviews. Total about USD 266,500.
• Antigua (NDF): USD 230,000 contribution, USD 20,000 processing, USD 15,500 due diligence (the 13-year-old costs USD 2,000, the 8-year-old nothing), USD 1,200 passports. Total about USD 266,700.
• St. Lucia (NEF): USD 240,000 contribution, USD 5,000 processing, USD 13,000 due diligence. Total about USD 258,000, plus the interview fee and passports.

With older children this shifts: every child 16 or over adds due diligence in Dominica and St. Lucia and an interview fee in Dominica, while Antigua charges from age 12. From the fifth person Antigua gets expensive quickly if dependants are adults, while St. Lucia stays cheapest at USD 10,000 or 20,000 per extra person. Agent fees come on top everywhere and vary widely with the level of service bought.

The risks that materialized in 2025 and 2026

This is where the three now differ most. What used to be called a "theoretical risk" has already happened to two of them.

United Kingdom:

• Dominica nationals have needed a visa to visit the UK since 19 July 2023. The government explicitly cited abuse of the citizenship program.
• St. Lucia nationals have needed one since 5 March 2026, officially because of rising asylum claims. St. Lucia has defended its program, but the requirement stands.
• Antigua and Barbuda nationals still travel to the UK with an electronic travel authorization (ETA) as of October 2026.

United States:

• By proclamation of 16 December 2025 the US placed Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica on the partial entry restriction list from 1 January 2026. It covers immigrant visas plus visitor and student visas (B-1/B-2, F, J). The White House cited citizenship programs without a residence requirement as the reason.
• New visitor visas for both countries are now issued for a single entry and three months only, and both fall under the US visa bond program.
• In December 2025 Antigua secured that visas issued up to 31 December 2025 stay valid. New applications remain restricted.
• St. Lucia was not on the list as of October 2026.

For a German this is secondary as long as you travel to the US on your German passport. It matters if the second passport is meant as a real fallback or family members use it as their only passport.

European Union: This is the biggest risk for all three. Under Regulation (EU) 2025/2441, in force since late December 2025, the EU can suspend Schengen visa-free travel simply because a country sells citizenship for investment. On 25 June 2026 EU Commissioner Magnus Brunner wrote to all five Eastern Caribbean program states asking them to phase out their programs by 1 June 2028, with interim vetting steps due by September 2026. The Commission plans to report in December 2026. Antigua has rejected a unilateral phase-out and the heads of government are negotiating. As of October 2026 Schengen visa-free access is not suspended for any of the three. Nobody can seriously predict the outcome. Vanuatu shows the EU does take this step, details in the article on Vanuatu.

So the visa-free list of all three passports is not a fixed value but a snapshot. If you buy a Caribbean passport mainly for Schengen travel, you are buying a right that is being decided in Brussels right now.

What stays the same for Germans

Since 27 June 2024 Germans may acquire a second nationality without losing German citizenship. The details and the remaining pitfalls are in the article on dual citizenship for Germans.

Tax does not follow the passport. Germany taxes by residence and habitual abode, not nationality. A passport from Dominica, Antigua or St. Lucia changes nothing about your German tax liability unless you genuinely move. And none of the three opens the US E-2 investor visa: among the five Caribbean programs only Grenada has the required treaty with the US, more in the article on Grenada and the E-2 visa. How the numbers work out depends on your situation and belongs with an adviser who knows both legal systems.

The comparison in short

Dominica

• minimum: USD 200,000 fund (single), USD 250,000 for up to four people
• government cost, single applicant: about USD 210,000
• residence: none so far, 30 days in five years announced
• interview: mandatory from 16
• processing: about 9 months on average
• UK: visa since 2023, US: restrictions since 2026

Antigua and Barbuda

• minimum: USD 230,000 fund, the same for up to four people
• government cost, single applicant: about USD 248,800
• residence: five days in five years, 30 days in a pending bill and reportedly already applied
• interview: case by case
• processing: about 14 months on average
• UK: still ETA, US: restrictions since 2026

St. Lucia

• minimum: USD 240,000 fund for up to four people, bond USD 300,000
• government cost, single applicant: about USD 250,000 plus interview fee
• residence: no day count, legal basis for a "genuine link" since 2025
• interview: mandatory since September 2023
• processing: about 18 months on average
• UK: visa since March 2026, US: not on the restriction list

Who each program fits

Dominica fits singles and couples looking for the lowest price who do not depend on the UK or the US and can live with a future presence duty. It also has the shortest realistic processing time.

Antigua and Barbuda fits families with young children, because the fund contribution does not rise and children under 12 pay no due diligence. It is the only one of the three with visa-free UK access, but with the harshest US consequences for new visas and a presence duty you have to take seriously.

St. Lucia fits people for whom US travel on the second passport matters, and families of more than four. For those who do not want to give capital away, the bond is the only route with repayment. The price is the longest wait and, since March 2026, a UK visa.

Singles who care mainly about stability may also look at the oldest program in the region, St. Kitts and Nevis, even though it costs more.