Having alternative Citizenship is very common nowadays. People prefer to expand their investments into government-authorized funds or real estate in exchange for legal immigration status, especially among wealthy people.
The CBI Index, which was published by Professional Wealth Management (PWM) Magazine of Financial Times, ranked Citizenship by investment programmes in thirteen different jurisdictions so that they can make this process more easier for investors seeking alternative Citizenship.
PWM magazine launched this Index on Monday, 22 August 2022, entitled “A Guide to Global Citizenship: The 2022 CBI Index“.
History repeated as Dominica once again ranked the world best in terms of Citizenship, along with the sister isle St Kitts and Nevis. These countries presently offer the world’s oldest and longest-running CBI Programme.
“For the second year running, St Kitts and Nevis join Dominica in 2022 in equal first place overall as the highest ranked programmes in the CBI Index.”
Not only Dominica or Saint Kitts and Nevis but also Saint Lucia is reflected in the top positions and exchanged its seats with Grenada and becomes the third best programme.
There are total 13 countries that took part in the 2022 CBI Index Report, and five nations came from the Caribbean, with all of them securing the top five positions.
These programmes maintained a perfect score of ten for the “Ease of Processing Pillar” for the sixth year in a row.
There is also a donation option for those who are featured in the Report, and via this option, an investor can contribute a specific non-refundable amount in government funds in exchange for Citizenship for themselves and their families.
The criteria of rankings are based upon nine pillars.
As per researchers, social and government developments worldwide are also observed to prepare the Index, which was launched in 2017. With the help of Index, we can look closely at the specifies of every programme so that an investor can make intelligent choices based on their requirements.
The three countries Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia scored seven in the Freedom of Movement Pillar.
Reports also indicated that St Kitts and Nevis has visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to the highest number of countries (156).
Moreover, Saint Lucia has access to 15 of the 20 key business hubs assessed in the 2022 CBI Index, followed by Dominica, with access to 14.
In the Pillar ‘Standard of Living,’ Saint Lucia ranked fourth, while Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis secured fifth. Among all jurisdictions, Dominica has the highest life expectancy of 78.2.
In the whole CBI Index report, Dominica and Saint Lucia secured the highest spot in the pillar of minimum investment outlay with a perfect score of ten due to their minimum investment outlay of just USD 100,000.
In the “Citizenship Timeline” pillar, St Kitts and Nevis hold the top position with a perfect score of ten, while Dominica and Saint Lucia secured the second position because of their processing time of three months.
The five Caribbean jurisdictions of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia retain a perfect score of ten for the Ease of Processing pillar for a sixth consecutive year. It is based on the straightforward application processing offered by most CBI jurisdictions based in the Caribbean.
Both countries, Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis retained perfect scores for the “Due Diligence pillar” due to their multi-layered, comprehensive background checks on each applicant and their dependants over the age of sixteen.
The strict procedure helps in assuring that national and global security remains maintained. These two nations also demand police certificates from both an applicant’s country of residence as well as their country of Citizenship.
Dominica, St Kitts, and Nevis expressly ban or order enhanced due diligence on applicants from some nationalities and require detailed supporting information to understand the applicants’ source of funds.
The scoring of all thirteen countries remained the same in the Family Pillar, and Report also added that the family eligibility criteria remain the same across all the programmes.
Due to its longevity, popularity, and stability, Dominica received a perfect score of ten this year alongside St Kitts and Nevis in the pillar “Certainty of Product.”
Reports also stated that Dominica’s consistency in maintaining the top position for six consecutive years is based upon the combination of things such as affordable minimum investment outlay, comprehensive due diligence, a streamlined application process, and sustainable development projects funded through CBI funds.
Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis remain the fastest due to their processing time among all CBI jurisdictions. However, it falls behind Dominica in due diligence.
The CBI Programme of Saint Lucia is new, but still, it has progressed a lot. It has jumped into third overall in the CBI Index 2022 mainly due to major improvements in due diligence, more specifically with the introduction of a biometric passport and minimum investment outlay in life with Dominica at USD 100,000 (for a single applicant).
The Small Island Developing States (SIDS) such as Dominica, Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis use CBI funds in order to meet their economic needs. These CBI Programmes are important for these cuntries so that they can run their SIDS.
These countries also face climate change that is reviving natural disasters; using CBI revenues, these countries curtail the impacts by building resilience. The economic citizenship programme has a sizeable impact on economic activity. The CBI Index emphasized that in Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis, the inflows have improved the fiscal outcomes and stimulated economic growth.
“CBI is enabling many of these island nations to fulfil their true ambitions to become independent, developed, prosperous countries,” stated CBI Index 2022.
Every year since 2017, the Citizenship by Investment Index, mostly known as the CBI Index, is released by the Professional Wealth Management (PWM) Magazine of Financial Times. Over the years, it has evolved into a practical tool, both for those who wish to compare Citizenship by investment (CBI) programmes as a whole and for those who want to compare specific aspects of each programme.