How our cost figures work

Cost figures on this site follow one rule: we only add up what an official or cited source publishes, and we say so when a figure is missing. A missing fee is never counted as zero.

The qualifying investment

The starting figure is the minimum qualifying investment for the route you choose, taken from the programme record in the programme's own currency. Routes backed by an asset, such as real estate, bonds, shares, deposits or a business, are labelled as possibly recoverable subject to holding rules. Contributions and donations are labelled as non-refundable.

Government fees

Application, processing, interview and certificate fees are calculated only where the programme's official wording states them without ambiguity. For those programmes we store the fee as a rule, for example a fixed fee per application plus an amount for each person above a stated age, and the calculator applies it to your family. For every other programme the line reads "Official fee confirmation required."

Due diligence fees

Most citizenship programmes charge for background checks per person, usually from a stated age. The calculator counts each family member against that age. Where checks may cost more, for example when enhanced checks apply, the line says so.

Estimates and quotation items

Some costs are real but not fixed. Taxes, legal and registration costs on a real estate route, and other mandatory charges set by third parties, are listed as estimated expenses without a figure, because they depend on the property, the adviser and the country. Professional and agent fees are quoted individually for each engagement and are never included in a calculated total.

The total

The headline figure adds every known line, but only when all of them are in the same currency. If any line still needs confirmation, the result is marked as a partial estimate and the number of missing items is shown.

Currency conversion

The programme's own currency is always the figure of record. You can also show a total in US dollars, euros, UAE dirhams or pounds sterling. Conversions use the European Central Bank's euro reference rates for one stated day, and the official fixed pegs for currencies tied to the US dollar, such as the UAE dirham. Rates are not live, and the date is shown next to every converted figure. Converted figures are rounded to the nearest 10, 100 or 1,000 depending on their size, so they never look more precise than the rate behind them.

What this means for you

Use the calculator to compare programmes on a like-for-like basis and to see which costs are still unknown. Before you commit, ask for the official fee schedule and a written quotation for professional fees.