The figure used in every comparison is the qualifying contribution or investment. It is the largest single item and the least useful for comparing, because the additions differ substantially between programmes and scale differently with family size.
| Group 1 | qualifying contribution or investment |
|---|---|
| Group 2 | government and processing fees, per person |
| Group 3 | professional and document costs |
| Group 4 | continuing and exit costs |
Group 2 — the fees that scale by person
This is where comparisons most often go wrong, because these items are usually quoted for a single applicant and then applied to a family.
Typically per person:
- Due diligence fees, often at different rates for the main applicant, spouse, adult dependants and children
- Processing or application fees
- Passport issuance fees
- Certificate fees
Because the rates and the age bands differ between programmes, the ranking by total cost can invert once family composition is applied. A programme with a lower headline and higher per-person fees can end up more expensive for a family of five than one structured the other way.
The correct method is simple and rarely done: build the total for your actual family, naming each person and their age at the expected date of application.
Group 3 — professional and document costs
- Agent fees
- Legal fees, where separate
- Document procurement from several countries
- Authentication, per document, per country
- Certified translation, per page
- Medical examinations where required
- Courier and travel, including any required attendance
These do not vary much between programmes, but they are frequently omitted entirely from comparisons and they are not trivial for a family with a history across several countries.
Authentication and translation deserve a note: they are charged per document and per person, so they multiply in the same way group two does.
Group 4 — continuing and exit costs
The group most often ignored, and the one that separates a like-for-like comparison from a misleading one.
Where an asset route is chosen:
- Property taxes and transfer duties
- Maintenance, insurance and management over the holding period
- Costs of sale at the end
- The realistic difference between purchase price and resale value
The last item is the whole comparison. As covered elsewhere on this site, an asset route only competes favourably if resale approaches purchase price, and that assumption should be tested rather than adopted.
Where a contribution route is chosen, group four is largely empty — which is the honest advantage of that route and one reason a full accounting sometimes reverses an initial preference.
For any route, add: passport renewal over time, and any compliance costs attached to conditions.
Building the comparison
- List every person to be included, with ages
- For each programme, total groups one to three for that exact family
- Add group four over the period you expect to hold the status
- For asset routes, subtract a conservative resale estimate
- Compare the net figures
- Then, separately, weigh the non-financial factors from the framework article
Step four is where discipline matters. Using purchase price as the resale value makes an asset route appear almost free, and that single assumption usually determines the conclusion. Test the comparison at a substantial discount and see whether it survives.
What to ask a provider
- An itemised quotation for your exact family composition
- Which items are government fees and which are theirs
- Which items are payable regardless of outcome
- What is refundable if the application is refused, and at which stage
- What costs arise after approval
- Whether any quoted figure is subject to change before completion
The fourth is the one applicants most need and least often ask. Establish before paying anything which fees are lost if the application does not succeed — for most programmes, due diligence and processing fees are not returned, and knowing that changes how much preparation is worth doing first.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the headline figure poor for comparison?
Because the additions differ substantially between programmes and scale differently with family size — the ranking can invert once your actual family composition is applied.
Which costs are usually omitted?
Per-person fees applied across a family, document authentication and translation, and all continuing and exit costs — particularly the gap between purchase price and realistic resale on an asset route.
How should an asset route be tested?
By assuming a conservative resale value rather than purchase price. If the comparison only works at full recovery, the conclusion rests on an assumption you cannot control.
What should be established before paying anything?
Which fees are lost if the application is refused. Due diligence and processing fees are usually not returned, which changes how much preparation is worth doing beforehand.
