Making investments into government-authorized funds in exchange for Legal citizenship status are becoming very popular among wealthy people. The CBI Index 2022 which is released by Professional Wealth Management Magazine of Financial Times has ranked the citizenship by investment programmes of respective nations on thirteen different jurisdictions to make the process easier for people looking for another citizenship.
On Monday, 22 August 2022, the CBI Index was launched with the title “A Guide to Global Citizenship: The 2022 CBI Index.”
The Commonwealth of Dominica has once again topped the bar along with sister isle of St Kitts and Nevis. The Twin-islands and Dominica are considered for running the world’s oldest and longest running CBI Programmes.
Besides Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis, another Caribbean country, Saint Lucia secured the top position and replaced Grenada as the third best programme. Thirteen countries were featured in the CBI Index report 2022 in which five nations from the Caribbean were included, 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 consecutive year.
The beautiful island-nations of the Caribbean have fund option, which paves the way for an investor to directly make an economic investment in exchange for citizenship of the respective nation.
The Index report gives brief and specific information about every programme so that investors can make an intelligent choice based on their requirements.
Dominica, Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis secured seven scores in the CBI Index’s first pillar, Freedom of Movement. According to the report, St Kitts and Nevis provide visa-free access to the highest number of countries, which is 156. In contrast, as mentioned in CBI Index 2022, Saint Lucia allows access to 15 countries out of 20 key business hubs, followed by Dominica with access to 14.
Saint Lucia secured the fourth rand in The Standard of Living pillar, while Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis secured fifth. Among all the jurisdictions, Dominica has the highest life expectancy of 78.2.
“Dominica and Saint Lucia ranked top in the pillar of minimum investment outlay with a perfect score of ten due to their minimum investment outlay of just USD 100,000”, Index reports.
St Kitts and Nevis hold the top position in the “Citizenship Timeline” pillar with a perfect score of ten. At the same time, Dominica and Saint Lucia secured the second position due to the 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 a straightforward application process offered by CBI jurisdictions in the Caribbean.
In CBI Index 2022, Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis secured perfect scores for the Due Diligence pillar due to their multi-layered, comprehensive background checks on applicants and their dependants over the age of sixteen.
This would help in assuring that national and global security remains maintained. Dominica, St Kitts, and Nevis also demand police certificates from an applicant’s country of residence and citizenship. Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis require detailed supporting information to understand the applicants’ source of funds.
Dominica, Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis remained the same in the “Family” pillar as the previous year’s Index. The report added that the family eligibility criteria remain unchanged across all the programmes. Investors can get citizenship not only for themselves but for their families also.
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.”
As per the report, Dominica’s consistency in maintaining the topmost position for six consecutive years is based on a combination of things such as an affordable minimum investment outlay, comprehensive due diligence, a streamlined application process, and sustainable development projects funded through CBI funds.
Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis provide the fastest applications due to their processing time among all CBI jurisdictions. However, it falls behind Dominica in due diligence.
Saint Lucia is one of the newest members of the Economic Citizenship programme, Saint Lucia, has progressed a lot over the years. It has jumped into third overall in the CBI Index 2022 mainly due to significant 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, which is for a single applicant.
The Small Island Developing States such as Dominica, Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis utilize the CBI funds to meet their economic needs. These citizenship by investment programmes are crucial for these countries to keep their sustainable development projects running. These countries are often the victim of climate change that is accelerating natural disasters; using CBI revenues, these countries curtail the impacts by building resilience. The economic citizenship programme has a sizeable effect 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 helping many of these island nations to fulfil their true ambitions to become independent and developed,” stated CBI Index 2022.
Every year since 2017, the Citizenship by Investment Index, mostly known as the CBI Index, has been released by the Professional Wealth Management (PWM) Magazine of the Financial Times. It has evolved as a practical tool 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.
