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.
Price, speed, tax, and a Bitcoin-native file.
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 to 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 file.
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.
Choose São Tomé if your budget is the binding constraint. At $90,000 it is the cheaper way in than either Vanuatu or the Caribbean, handled through 21 CBI. It is the only other program cbi.vu points you to, and only as the budget exit.
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 to 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, 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: for selected 21 CBI invoices, settlement in BTC, Lightning, or USDT is available by prior arrangement after compliance clearance, and an on-chain source-of-funds history is the normal starting point of a clean Vanuatu file. Official government payments follow the relevant authorities in any program.
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. If budget is the constraint, São Tomé starts at $90,000 through 21 CBI. cbi.vu sells Vanuatu and does not service Caribbean programs.
Price the faster, cheaper option.
Run your exact numbers on the live Vanuatu calculator, read the 16-page Vanuatu Brief, or book a confidential file-read with Adam. One program, sold in depth, with the trade-offs against the Caribbean stated plainly.