Most CBI cost pages quote the headline government fee and leave the rest in fine print. The headline does not equal the total. This page itemises every line: government donation, due diligence, advisory, and per-applicant document fees. Paid in BTC, Lightning, USDT, or fiat.
Single Applicant
$90,000
Government donation
Family of Four
$95,000
Government donation, flat
Additional Dependent
+$5,000
Per person beyond four
| Line item | Single | Family of 4 |
|---|---|---|
Government donation (FNT) Non-refundable contribution to the Fundo Nacional de Transformação. | $90,000 | $95,000 |
21 CBI advisory fee (5% of government donation) Engagement, source-of-funds documentation, UCID liaison, oath coordination. | $4,500 | $4,750 |
Due diligence fee UCID background, AML/CTF, sanctions, source-of-funds assessment. Paid at engagement; flat. | $5,000 | $5,000 |
Passport issuance (per applicant) | $350 | $1,400 |
National ID (per applicant) | $150 | $600 |
Citizenship certificate (per applicant) | $250 | $1,000 |
All-in total | $100,250 | $107,750 |
For live BTC and sats equivalents at today's exchange rate, use the Cost Calculator. BTC rates shift; static sats figures go stale quickly.
Document-fee note: cip.gov.st publishes the three citizenship-document line items (passport, national ID, citizenship certificate) as a single ~$750 per-applicant bundle. The line-item split shown above is illustrative against that government-disclosed total; the all-in figure is the operative number for budgeting.
The 21 CBI advisory fee and the due-diligence fee settle on Bitcoin (on-chain), Lightning, or USDT at engagement. Credit cards and bank transfers also accepted as needed. The government donation moves through our authorized legal channel after UCID approval in principle; we coordinate the conversion with full transparency and lock the BTC/USD rate at the moment of payment.
The 90-day window from Approval in Principle to settlement gives Bitcoiners flexibility on timing. Most clients move on the rate they want, not the rate the bank decides. If a 90-day extension is required, UCID grants it on request.
Writing the cheque is straightforward. The work that earns the engagement fee is the source-of-funds package: origin discovery, custody mapping, on-chain analysis, reconciliation, and the UCID-formatted submission. For most Bitcoin files, the source-of-funds work is the largest single piece of the engagement.
The full methodology is public: Bitcoin source-of-funds methodology.
São Tomé is less than half the floor of every Caribbean CBI program and one-eleventh the cost of El Salvador's Freedom Passport. The trade-off is fewer visa-free destinations (~58 versus ~131 for El Salvador) and a slower-tier passport (~rank 74). What you get is the lowest entry point in the global CBI market, plus Non-CRS status and CPLP membership for Portugal/Brazil residency pathways.
São Tomé & Príncipe at $90,000 in government donation for a single applicant. The closest Caribbean alternatives are Dominica at $200,000, Antigua at $230,000, and St. Kitts at $250,000. STP is less than half the floor of every Caribbean CBI and one-eleventh the cost of El Salvador's Freedom Passport ($1,000,000).
Flat $95,000 in government donation for a family of up to four (main applicant, spouse, two dependent children). Each additional dependent beyond the four adds $5,000 to the government donation. 21 CBI's 5% advisory fee on the government donation is $4,750 for a family of four. Due diligence is a flat $5,000 at engagement. Per-applicant document fees (passport issuance, national ID, citizenship certificate) add roughly $750 per person.
Background checks at the Unidade de Cidadania por Investimento e Doação (UCID, based in Dubai), AML/CTF compliance screening, international sanctions database verification, criminal record verification, and independent source-of-funds assessment. Paid at engagement; non-refundable. The fee is the same whether the file clears in one review cycle or two.
BTC, Lightning, and USDT are our payment rails; credit cards and bank transfers also accepted as needed. We process the contribution through our authorized legal channel after UCID approval in principle. The 21 CBI advisory and due diligence fees are settled on the same rails at engagement.
No. The total cost is the government donation + 21 CBI advisory fee + due diligence fee + per-applicant document fees. We publish the full table on this page. The only variable cost is the BTC/USD exchange rate at settlement; we lock the rate at the moment of payment and document it in the engagement ledger.
After UCID issues an Approval in Principle. You have 90 days to complete payment (a 90-day extension is available on request). The advisory and due-diligence fees are paid earlier, at engagement. The government donation is the last money to move and is non-refundable once paid; UCID review is what protects the contribution before settlement.
Approximately $100,250 all-in: $90,000 government donation + $4,500 21 CBI advisory (5% of government donation) + $5,000 due diligence + ~$750 per-applicant document fees (passport, national ID, citizenship certificate). Use the calculator at /calculator for live BTC and sats equivalents at today's exchange rate.
If STP is the right shape for your family, the next step is a confidential call. Encrypted. No obligation. No payment required to start the conversation.
Adam Juchniewicz, CEO, 21 CBI
