The second passport landscape has changed significantly in the past three years. What was available in 2022 is not the same as what is available in 2026. The EU's ongoing campaign against citizenship-by-investment programmes, the closure of several Caribbean programmes to certain nationalities, and the increasing scrutiny of CBI routes by FATF and the OECD have all reshaped the market.
Let me give you the honest current picture.
What Has Closed or Degraded
Malta's citizenship-by-investment programme — the Malta Exceptional Investor Naturalisation programme — has been under sustained EU pressure and has become significantly harder to access for certain nationalities. The due diligence requirements have increased. The processing times have extended. It remains available but is not the straightforward route it was three years ago.
Cyprus's CBI programme was formally shut down in 2021 following a journalistic exposé that showed the programme being offered to candidates who had been convicted of serious crimes. The programme has not reopened. Cyprus now offers residency routes but not citizenship-by-investment in the traditional sense.
Portugal's Golden Visa has been significantly restricted. Real estate investment — the primary route most people used — no longer qualifies in most of Portugal's major cities. The programme continues through fund investment and other capital transfer routes, but is less accessible and less popular than it was.
The Caribbean programmes — Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Antigua, Saint Lucia — remain broadly available but have faced increased scrutiny, particularly for applicants from Russia, China, and certain Middle Eastern countries. Processing times have extended and due diligence costs have increased across all programmes.
What Still Works
Vanuatu remains one of the fastest and most accessible citizenship-by-investment programmes globally. It is not an EU passport and the visa-free travel is more limited than Caribbean options, but for someone who needs a second passport quickly and is primarily concerned with having an option, Vanuatu continues to deliver.
Jordan has a citizenship programme that is underused and underappreciated. Significant investment is required, but Jordan is a politically stable country, the passport has reasonable travel access, and it represents genuine diversification for certain profiles.
Sao Tome and Principe remains the undervalued option I have recommended for years. Good Schengen access, accessible investment threshold, and virtually no queue.
Turkey offers citizenship through real estate investment at a $400,000 threshold. The Turkish passport has had a complicated few years in terms of visa-free access, but Turkey's geopolitical position — bridging East and West, maintaining relations with Russia while remaining a NATO member — gives the passport a certain practical utility that is hard to replicate.
Residency-to-citizenship routes — where genuine, sustained residency in a country eventually leads to citizenship — remain the gold standard for those with the time. Switzerland at fifteen years for ordinary naturalisation (eight for those well-integrated). Ireland at five years. Malta at five years for naturalisation through residency rather than investment.
The Most Important Principle
The most important thing I tell clients about second passports is this: get the one you actually need, for the reasons you actually have, not the one that sounds most impressive at a dinner party.
A Caribbean passport is useful if you need a travel document that works independently of your primary passport. It is not useful for someone who primarily wants EU residency rights — it delivers none.
A Maltese or Irish citizenship is useful if EU freedom of movement is your primary goal. It is not useful if you primarily need banking privacy — it delivers none.
Match the instrument to the need. The market is full of people who bought an expensive passport that solved a problem they did not have.
Work with Sebastian
If a second passport is part of your planning and you want an honest, current assessment of which routes actually fit your specific situation and goals, this is exactly the conversation I specialise in. Let's make sure you are buying the right thing. Book a consultation.