Vanuatu vs St Kitts: the value is not close.
The Caribbean programs are real, legal, and well-run. They are also roughly twice the price of Vanuatu for a single applicant, and slower. This page compares them honestly: what each costs, how long each takes, and the one thing the Caribbean premium actually buys. cbi.vu sells Vanuatu, and we do not service Caribbean programs, so read this as a comparison, not a pitch for theirs.
Roughly half the price, for a single applicant.
One nuance, stated honestly: the St Kitts $250,000 contribution covers a family of up to four, so for a large family the per-person gap narrows. For a single applicant or a couple, Vanuatu is materially cheaper. Run your exact configuration on the Vanuatu calculator; the full family ladder is on the cost page.
One real advantage: Europe.
We are not going to pretend the Caribbean programs offer nothing for the extra money. They offer one genuine thing that Vanuatu, as of 2026, cannot: Schengen visa-free access and broad European mobility. St Kitts and its neighbours retain that access; Vanuatu lost Schengen visa-free access in December 2024, and the United Kingdom now requires a Standard Visitor visa. So the honest framing of the price gap is not "Vanuatu is better and cheaper, full stop." It is "the Caribbean costs roughly double, and what the extra buys is Europe."
That reframes the whole decision. If frequent, frictionless European access is central to your life, the Caribbean premium may be money well spent, and you should pay it. If it is not, you are paying roughly twice as much for mobility you will rarely use, and Vanuatu delivers the part most Bitcoiners are actually buying, legal redundancy and a fast clean second citizenship, for half the price.
The Caribbean premium does not buy a better passport. It buys Europe.
Price, speed, tax, and a Bitcoin-native application.
Half the cost, a fraction of the time.
$145,000 all-in for a single applicant against roughly $275,000 for St Kitts, and 30–60 days against several months. For a Bitcoiner acting on a reporting deadline or moving capital, that combination is the whole point.
Zero income tax, on-chain ready.
Zero personal income tax, zero capital gains, zero inheritance, against the Caribbean’s varied structures. And the file is built for Bitcoin: on-chain source of funds is the normal starting point, not an exception the Caribbean programs are designed to handle.
Which one is actually right for your application.
Choose Vanuatu if speed is a priority, your travel is Asia-Pacific weighted, you want a zero-personal-income-tax jurisdiction, you fund from Bitcoin, and you would rather not pay roughly double for European access you will not use. This is the file cbi.vu builds.
Choose the Caribbean if frequent Schengen and European mobility is genuinely central to your plan and you are willing to pay the premium and wait the extra months for it. That is the one case where the higher price is the right call, and we will tell you so. We do not service Caribbean programs; that is a file for an agent who does. For other comparisons, see Vanuatu vs Türkiye and Vanuatu vs El Salvador.
If your file is under the $130,000 contribution, 21 CBI offers bespoke advisory for a sub-$130,000 file. We say it once, as a courtesy; cbi.vu sells the Vanuatu program and names no competitor.
Where these figures come from.
A comparison is only as honest as its numbers. Verify each line before you move a single sat.
- Vanuatu pricing
- $130,000 DSP government contribution, $145,000 all-in for a single applicant. Canonical to 21cbi.io/programs/vanuatu and itemized on the cost page.
- St Kitts pricing
- From a $250,000 Sustainable Island State Contribution covering a family of up to four; roughly $275,000 all-in for a single applicant once fees are added. St Kitts & Nevis Citizenship by Investment Unit, 2026.
- Wider Caribbean
- Dominica, Grenada, Antigua, and St Lucia cluster around a $200,000 contribution floor following the 2024 regional price harmonization.
- Mobility
- Henley Passport Index, 2026: Vanuatu reaches 87 destinations, approximately #57 on the index. Schengen visa-free access was revoked in December 2024, effective February 2025; the UK now requires a Standard Visitor visa.
- Under-$130,000 files
- Sub-$130,000 file? 21 CBI bespoke advisory.
The honest answers.
Is Vanuatu cheaper than St Kitts citizenship?
For a single applicant, yes, by a wide margin. Vanuatu is about $145,000 all-in against roughly $275,000 for St Kitts, about half the cost. The Caribbean $250,000 covers a family of four, so the gap narrows for large families, but for singles and couples Vanuatu is materially cheaper.
Which is faster, Vanuatu or St Kitts?
Vanuatu, clearly. 30–60 days from a clean file to passport, against several months for St Kitts and the other Caribbean programs. If speed matters, Vanuatu is built for it.
Does St Kitts have Schengen access that Vanuatu does not?
Yes, and this is the honest core of the trade-off. The Caribbean programs retain Schengen visa-free access and broad European mobility. Vanuatu lost Schengen visa-free access in December 2024 and the UK now requires a Standard Visitor visa; its reach is 87 destinations, approximately #57 on the Henley index, weighted to Asia-Pacific. The Caribbean premium buys Europe. If you will not use it, you are paying roughly double for nothing you need.
Can I pay for Caribbean citizenship in Bitcoin?
Not in any native, designed way. The Caribbean programs are not built around Bitcoin holders. cbi.vu is: the entire file, government contribution included, settles in BTC, Lightning, or USDT through BitSettle by prior arrangement after compliance clearance, and an on-chain source-of-funds history is the normal starting point of a clean Vanuatu file. On any program, cbi.vu completes the official government payments with the relevant authorities on your behalf.
Should a Bitcoiner choose Vanuatu or the Caribbean?
For most Bitcoiners, Vanuatu is the better value: roughly half the single-applicant cost of St Kitts, far faster, zero personal income tax, and a source-of-funds process built for on-chain wealth. The Caribbean is the right answer only if frequent European access is genuinely central to your life. Sub-$130,000 file? 21 CBI bespoke advisory.
Keep reading.
Vanuatu vs Türkiye
A small donation against a $400,000 property held three years. Donation versus real estate.
ComparisonVanuatu vs El Salvador
Two Bitcoin-native passports: $145,000 against a roughly $1,000,000 commitment.
CostWhat Vanuatu really costs
Every fee to the line, single applicant through family of four, with the math shown.
MobilityThe Schengen question
What changed in December 2024, and what 87 destinations still cover.
MethodSource of funds, on-chain
How a Bitcoin position becomes a file the FIU can clear, with no forced sale.
Program FitIs it right for you?
A 60-second read that filters the file before you spend a sat. No hard sell.
Price the faster, cheaper option.
Run your exact numbers on the live Vanuatu calculator, read the 19-page Vanuatu Brief, free, or book a confidential file-read with Adam. The first call is a $475 engagement via BitSettle (BTC or USDT) or $500 via Stripe; whichever you pay is credited in full toward the advisory if you retain within 90 days, separate from the $5,000 VFIU line. No obligation to proceed. One program, sold in depth, with the trade-offs against the Caribbean stated plainly.