2026 Report

The CBI Index 2026 presents an unusual combination of stability and change. While every programme retains the same ranking position as in 2025, 11 of the 14 jurisdictions record a change in their overall score. Beneath the stable hierarchy, the factors determining programme competitiveness continue to evolve as greater regulatory coordination, pressure on mobility and changing expectations around the connection between applicants and issuing states reshape the global CBI landscape.

Caribbean Leadership Enters a New Phase

The Caribbean continues to define the upper reaches of the CBI Index, with the region occupying all five leading positions in 2026. However, the competitive advantages that underpin this performance continue to evolve. Regional cooperation is moving beyond the harmonisation of minimum investment thresholds and due diligence standards towards a more institutionalised regulatory framework. The development of the Eastern Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Regulatory Authority (ECCIRA), together with plans for greater physical presence by CBI citizens, points towards programmes designed around stronger and more demonstrable connections between applicants and the citizenship-issuing states themselves.

St. Kitts and Nevis retains first place with 78 points, matching its 2025 score. Its continued leadership reflects a strong performance across Due Diligence and Certainty of Product, alongside a Citizenship Timeline that remains competitive following the final assessment of its processing period at three to four months. Its unchanged headline score therefore masks continued evolution in the regulatory framework surrounding one of the industry’s longest-established programmes.

Dominica strengthens its second-place position, rising two points to 75. Improvements in Freedom of Movement, Family Members and Certainty of Product contribute to its stronger performance, while its established due diligence framework and adaptability continue to support its position among the leading Caribbean programmes. The result leaves three points separating Dominica from St. Kitts and Nevis.

Grenada remains third but increases from 70 to 72 points, while Saint Lucia records the strongest overall improvement in the 2026 Index, rising three points to 71. Both benefit from retaining maximum scores for Mandatory Travel or Residence under requirements currently in force. Saint Lucia also records gains in Citizenship Timeline and Certainty of Product, including the programme passing the ten-year milestone. These improvements come despite new pressures elsewhere, most significantly the United Kingdom’s introduction of a visa requirement for Saint Lucian nationals in March 2026. Antigua and Barbuda completes the Caribbean Five with 65 points, one lower than in 2025.

Newer Programmes Build Their Track Record

Nauru strengthens its position as the highest-ranked programme outside the Caribbean, increasing by two points to 64. Now completing its first full cycle of operation, the Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Program is beginning to establish the track record that was necessarily absent when it entered the Index in 2025. The programme continues to link citizenship revenues explicitly to climate resilience and economic diversification, while the government has demonstrated early willingness to adjust its proposition through a first-anniversary reduction in the required contribution. Its development provides an early test of whether a new entrant can build credibility around a more explicitly development-led model of investment citizenship.

Vanuatu also improves, rising to 59 points. The programme continues to operate without the European mobility privileges it once enjoyed, but recent measures indicate a more active response to the governance weaknesses that contributed to their loss. The Citizenship Commission and Financial Intelligence Unit have strengthened due diligence procedures and investment verification, while a new payment system links citizenship application payments directly to the Treasury and standardises invoicing. These remain remedial steps within a programme facing considerable reputational challenges, but they demonstrate greater adaptability than in previous editions.

Diverging Fortunes Beyond the Leaders

Malta retains eighth place but falls to 56 points as the status of investment-linked citizenship within the EU becomes increasingly constrained. Following the April 2025 judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the government discontinued its previous investor framework and amended its citizenship legislation around naturalisation by merit. This is an important distinction as Malta’s Community Malta Agency has explicitly stated that Citizenship by Merit is neither a programme nor a continuation or alternative to its former citizenship by investment framework. The resulting uncertainty weighs particularly on Malta’s Certainty of Product score despite its continued strengths in Standard of Living and Freedom of Movement.

Türkiye follows with 55 points. Its one-point decline comes despite the programme remaining competitive across several pillars, with weaker performance for popularity and a marginal reduction in Freedom of Movement offsetting some of its established advantages. São Tomé and Príncipe also falls by one point to 54 in its second year in the Index, while Egypt remains unchanged on 53.

Austria holds its score of 49 points, continuing to occupy 12th position. Jordan improves slightly to 47 points but remains constrained by comparatively weak Freedom of Movement and family provisions. Cambodia completes the rankings with 43 points. Although its programme has now operated for two decades, a substantial increase in its qualifying investment threshold during the review period has weakened one of its previous competitive advantages.

The unchanged ranking order therefore understates the extent of change taking place across the CBI industry. Established programmes increasingly face the challenge of responding to higher expectations around regulation, due diligence and the connection between citizenship and issuing states while preserving the flexibility and processing efficiency valued by applicants. This is happening at the same time newer and lower-ranked programmes are being pushed to demonstrate greater adaptability and institutional credibility. Ten editions into the CBI Index, programme maturity is increasingly being measured by the ability to respond to these pressures while preserving a competitive proposition for applicants.