Wealthy individuals across the globe are showing their keen interest in making investments in real estate and funds approved by the government in exchange for legal immigration. The CBI Index released by Professional Wealth Management Magazine of Financial Times rated this citizenship by investment programmes in thirteen different jurisdictions to make the selection procedure more effortless for the investors who desire alternative citizenship.
The index was launched on Monday, 22 August 2022. The title “A Guide to Global Citizenship: The 2022 CBI Index” was chosen for this index.
According to this index, Dominica is once again ranked as the world’s best Caribbean country, along with the isle sister st Kitts and Navis. Currently, these two Caribbean countries offer the oldest and most extended CBI programs worldwide.
According to the CBI Index, released by PWM Magazine of Financial Times, St Kitts and Nevis placed first equally like Dominica in 2022 as the highest ranked CBI programs for the second consecutive year.
There are 13 countries included in the CBI index report, 2022.
Like Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis, another Caribbean country, Saint Lucis also ranked third for the highest CBI programs replacing Grenada. Five countries from the Caribbean region were included in the 2022 index report. They all secured the top 5 positions in the list of 13 countries.
In the “Ease of Processing Pillar,” these CBI programmes achieved a maximum score of ten for the sixth year in a row.
In a featured report, it was mentioned that all Caribbean countries have a donation option. Through this, the investor can donate a specific amount of money to the government funds to get citizenship of the country for themselves and their families. The amount is non-refundable.
The ranking of the Caribbean countries is usually based on nine pillars. The researchers say that they observed every detail of the global social and government developments to prepare the index launched in 2017. The index report helps us to pay attention to the facilities given by every Caribbean programme. It allows the investor to choose favourable conditions for their requirements.
St Kitts and Nevis, Dominica and St Lucia scored seven in the”pillar of freedom of movement”. The recent report added that St Kitts and Nevis provide visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to 156 countries across the globe. It is the highest among every country that offers free visa access to its citizens. More than that, just like Saint Lucia, it has access to 15 key business hubs out of 20, more than Dominica, which has access to 14 according to the estimate given by the CBI index 2022.
Saint Lucia ranked fourth in the”pillar of the standard of living”, while Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis succeeded in achieving the fifth position. Among all jurisdictions, Dominica has the highest life expectancy of 78.2.
Saint Lucia and Dominica achieved the first position in the”pillar of minimum investment”outlay. According to the index report 2022, they scored a maximum score of ten based on their minimum investment expenditure of just 1,00,000$.
St Kitts and Nevis ranked first in the pillar of the “Citizenship Timeline”.
They got a maximum score of ten, while Dominica and Saint Lucia secured the second position due to the process’s duration, which takes more than three months.
The five Caribbean authorities of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia once again scored a maximum of ten for the Ease of Processing pillar for six years in a row. The application process is straightforward in the CBI jurisdictions related to the caribbean.
Dominica and St Kitts and Nevis again scored a perfect ten in the “Due Diligence” pillar due to their several and complete background checks on individuals older than the age of 16. These nations’ uncompromising process helps ensure that global security and peace will remain maintained. Both countries also demand Police certificates from the applicant’s country of residence and another from the country of citizenship. Dominica and St Kitts also require detailed information to understand the applicants’ source of funds.
The scoring of all Caribbean countries, Dominica, Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, remained the same in the “Family” pillar as the previous year’s index. According to the report, the family eligibility standards remain unchanged across all CBI programmes.
In the pillar “Certainty of Product”, Dominica obtained an excellent score of ten this year alongside St Kitts and Nevis because of their longevity, popularity and stability.
As mentioned in the report, Dominica has maintained its highest ranking for six consecutive years due to the combination of things they developed through the funds collected from the CGI programme. This includes affordable minimum investment payment, comprehensive due diligence, a streamlined application process, and sustainable development.
Just like Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis have the fastest application process because they take less time to process compared to other CBI jurisdictions. But recently, it has fallen behind Dominica due to less constancy.
Saint Lucia, the newest CBI programme in the Caribbean region, has developed a lot in recent years. Saint Lucia’s rank has bounced to third in the CBI index 2022. It has made many improvements in due diligence, introducing 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) like Dominica, Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis utilize the CBI funds to fulfil their financial requirements. These citizenship by investment programmes are essential for these nations to keep their sustainable development projects in progress. These countries are highly affected by immediate climate change, which accelerates natural disasters. With the help of CBI funds, these countries can shorten the impacts by building resilience. The economic citizenship programme has an enormous effect on economic activity. The CBI index highlighted how the movement of money improved fiscal outcomes and encouraged economic growth in Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis.
CBI Index 2022 expressed that ” CBI funding gave these island nations an opportunity to fulfil their true ambitions to become independent, developed, prosperous countries.”
Since 2017, the Citizenship by Investment Index, primarily known as the CBI Index, has been released yearly by the Professional Wealth Management (PWM) Magazine of the Financial Times. The CBI index has become a practising tool for those who wish to compare citizenship by investment (CBI) programmes as a whole and for those who want to examine every detail and characteristic of each programme.