Antigua and Barbuda has earned a perfect score for family provisions in the 2026 CBI Index, sharing the highest rating with Grenada and Nauru for accommodating relatives through citizenship-by-investment programmes.
The country received 10 out of 10 points in the index’s Family category, which assesses how widely and flexibly programmes allow investors to obtain citizenship for immediate and extended family members.
Antigua and Barbuda and Grenada retained their positions at the top of the family assessment, while Nauru joined the leading group following further examination of the provisions available through its relatively new programme.
The report attributed Antigua and Barbuda’s and Grenada’s results to application structures that accommodate a broad range of dependants.
The assessment goes beyond whether an investor can include a spouse and young children. It examines provisions for adult children, parents, grandparents and siblings, as well as whether qualifying relatives of the main applicant’s spouse can benefit.
Those distinctions matter because most programmes accommodate spouses and children under 18, while eligibility for older children and extended family members varies considerably, the report said.
For families comparing citizenship options, the breadth of those provisions can determine how many relatives qualify and whether they can obtain citizenship together.
The index distinguishes between relatives who can apply and acquire citizenship alongside the main applicant and those who may become eligible at a later stage, after the principal application has been approved.
It also considers how restrictive the eligibility conditions are within individual family categories.
For adult children, programmes allowing people aged 18 or older to qualify with relatively few restrictions receive greater recognition than those requiring evidence of a high degree of dependency.
The framework also recognises provisions for dependants living with a disability, reflecting the different circumstances programmes may need to accommodate.
The perfect family score therefore reflects the index’s assessment of the breadth and flexibility of Antigua and Barbuda’s provisions. It does not mean every relative automatically qualifies; inclusion remains subject to the programme’s eligibility rules.
Saint Lucia, Dominica and Malta followed the three leaders with nine points each. St. Kitts and Nevis received eight.
According to the report, those programmes also offer comparatively broad family eligibility, but differences in their treatment of adult children, parents and other extended relatives prevented them from receiving the maximum score.
Vanuatu scored seven points. Egypt, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Türkiye received five each, while Austria and Jordan scored four. Cambodia received two points, the lowest family rating among the 14 programmes assessed.
The Family category is one of nine measures used in the annual index, now in its 10th edition. For Antigua and Barbuda, the result identifies the accommodation of dependants as a particular strength of its citizenship-by-investment offering.
This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: Antigua and Barbuda earns top marks for families in citizenship index.