St. Kitts and Nevis don take first place for the 2026 CBI Index, making am the sixth consecutive year the country go top for the ranking. The result land for the tenth-anniversary edition of the index, where dem assess 14 citizenship programmes across the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific.
For the 2026 ranking, St. Kitts and Nevis score perfect marks for four of the nine pillars: Due Diligence, Certainty of Product, Ease of Processing, and Mandatory Travel or Residence. The report note say na only the St. Kitts and Nevis programme collect perfect 10/10 for Due Diligence among all the programmes wey dem rank. The CBI Index dey score each of the nine pillars out of ten, with maximum 90 points for the 14 programmes.
Chairman of the Board of Governors of the St. Kitts and Nevis Citizenship Unit, Calvin St. Juste, tok say the sixth straight first place reflect steady work behind the programme, no be one single achievement. Him talk about rigorous due diligence, transparent governance, and close cooperation with international partners. Him also note say St. Kitts and Nevis pioneer citizenship by investment almost four decades ago, and the country dey take the responsibility that come with that history seriously.
The recognition come after the Citizenship Unit turn statutory body for October 2024, with stronger governance framework and operational oversight. Since then, the Unit don bring mandatory interviews, expanded international due diligence, biometric verification, and stronger oversight of authorised agents and international marketing agents. The Unit also get zero-tolerance approach to unauthorised discounting and misrepresentation.
The CBI Index don dey published every year since 2017, and independent research consultant James McKay lead the 2026 research, using the OECD Handbook on Constructing Composite Indicators. For the tenth edition, Business Insider report say all five Caribbean programmes rank ahead of the rest. Dominica close di gap to three points, with perfect score for Certainty of Product wey e share with St. Kitts and Nevis. St. Kitts and Nevis processing time dey between three and four months, and e score nine for that pillar.
For Africa, São Tomé and Príncipe rank tenth and Egypt rank 11th. São Tomé get the fastest route to citizenship for the index, but im passport score two out of ten for freedom of movement. Botswana still dey draft regulations for im proposed $75,000 programme.
