Passport Comparison · 2026-04-02 · 9 min
Caribbean CBI and European Residence Are Different Machines
A scorecard can illuminate trade-offs. It cannot turn a Golden Visa into a citizenship grant, or the reverse.
Clients often place St. Kitts and Nevis next to Portugal, Malta or the United States on a single spreadsheet. The columns look neat. The legal outcomes are not comparable without footnotes.
Caribbean citizenship by investment, where granted, is nationality after a qualifying investment and diligence. Portugal’s residence products are permits. Malta’s exceptional pathways, where they exist, involve residence, higher capital and a longer naturalisation logic. The United States EB-5 route is immigrant residence with a later, separate citizenship process.
How to compare without misleading yourself
Compare purpose first. If the objective is a second nationality without a residence project, Caribbean CBI is the relevant category. If the objective is life in the Schengen Area or a path to EU citizenship, the analysis belongs in a different file.
Our passport comparison tool uses informational indicators — mobility, investment flexibility, family planning, residency flexibility and programme simplicity. They are not government rankings and they are not predictions of approval.