The CBI Index Report 2022: An Incredible Year for the Caribbean Countries

What is a CBI report?

Citizenship by investment program is a program targeted toward foreign investments. It is an opportunity to acquire a second citizenship and passport in another country by investing in its economy. The performance and appeal of the countries that offer CBI programs are validated using the CBI Index rating system across a diverse range of indicators. The CBI programs benefit not only the host country but also those who think of home as a place where opportunities lie.

The Index assists those who are looking  to compare CBI programs offered by various countries, or just compare specific aspects of each program. There are a lot of changes and challenges in the CBI industry. The CBI Index provides foreign investors with a reliable analysis of the reputable programs that will help them in selecting the destination for their second citizenship that best fulfills their requirements.

Nine pillars of the CBI Index

The below indicators constitute the pillars with the help of which the CBI Index is estimated.

• Freedom of movement
• Standard of living
• Minimum investment outlay
• Mandatory travel or residence
• Citizenship timeline
• Ease of processing
• Due Diligence
• Family
• Certainty of product

Freedom of movement

The freedom of movement estimates the relative strength of the citizenship of each country. It is measured using three weighted factors:

• The number of destinations that one can travel to without restriction using the country’s passport.
• The number of key business hubs the country provides access to.
• The extent to which citizenship provides settlement rights in other nations.

Standard of living

The standard of living metric is used to assess the quality of living offered by the countries. The standard of living is critical to those who are planning to relocate and secure a flourishing and content lifestyle. It is also vital to those who are interested in local business opportunities or those who are required to transfer and protect their assets.

Minimum investment outlay

The minimum investment outlay is the key pillar in estimating the CBI Index and it measures the investment required from the investors to be eligible for the program. The CBI investment increases based on the number of dependents included in the application.

Mandatory travel or residence

The mandatory travel or residence indicator is used to measure the residence and travel restrictions levied on the applicants both before and after providing citizenship.

Citizenship timeline

The citizenship timeline is the metric used to measure the average time taken by the country to offer citizenship to the applicants applying through the CBI program.

Ease of processing

The end-to-end complexity in applying the CBI is measured by the ease of processing indicator. In some countries, the process is intensive and time-consuming, while in other  countries, the application process is streamlined with clear directions on how to proceed. The CBI application process must be effortless, smooth, and hassle-free and only then can the program attract many applicants.

Due diligence

Due diligence is the indicator to measure the integrity of the CBI program. It focuses on the dedication of the nation to make sure that the process is transparent and effective at assessing the potential candidates for citizenship.

Family

The family indicator assists in measuring the extent to which one can acquire citizenship for their immediate and extended family. In the era of increasingly complex relationships, investors search for programs that accommodate a diverse range of family members under the primary application.

Certainty of the product

The certainty of the product is determined across five dimensions: stability, popularity, renown, reputation, and adaptability. Also, it measures the responsiveness and adaptability of the program to major global events that have an impact on global mobility and due diligence requirements, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russia-Ukraine war.

The CBI Index report 2022

The CBI Index report 2022 was released by the Professional Wealth Management (PWM) magazine of the Financial Times on August 22, 2022. The sixth edition of the CBI Index report once again has two Caribbean countries at the top, Dominica and St Kitts and Nevis as the holders of the world’s best citizenship by investment programs.

Dominica remains at the top for the sixth consecutive year in the CBI Index, and St Kitts and Nevis remain in the same position for the second year in a row. Another Caribbean country, Saint Lucia, which is relatively new to the CBI industry has moved one rank up and secured the third position. These three Caribbean nations have pushed the other ten nations in the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia down and secured the top positions.

Dominica 

Dominica once again scored a perfect score in six of the nine pillars under assessment for the sixth consecutive year. The CBI Index report outlined the efficiency of Dominica, in streamlining the application process, due diligence, and sustainable development projects facilitated by CBI funds.

Dominica also has a perfect score for its family friendliness. They allow immediate and extended family members with children under 18 (over 18 under special cases) under the CBI application of both the applicant and their spouse included in the application.

St Kitts and Nevis

St Kitts and Nevis joined Dominica at the top for the second year in a row, scoring a perfect ten in six pillars of the CBI Index. St Kitts and Nevis also scored 81 points (90 percent) in the report.

The only citizenship by investment program that secured full points in the citizenship timeline is in St Kitts and Nevis. This is because it offers accelerated application processing for an additional fee. The citizenship can be processed within a maximum of 60 days with the accelerated processing scheme instead of the standard three months processing time.

Final scores

The final scores obtained by the 13 jurisdictions in the CBI Index report 2022 are listed in the below table.

Rank	Country	Points	Percentage
1	Dominica	81	90
1	St Kitts and Nevis	81	90
3	Saint Lucia	78	87
4	Grenada	73	81
5	Antigua and Barbuda	69	77
6	Malta	60	67
7	Montenegro	56	62
8	Vanuatu	55	61
8	Egypt	55	61
10	Turkey	53	59
11	Jordan	46	51
12	Austria	45	50
13	Cambodia	44	49

 

Related articles

Here are some related articles that might interest you:

• Citizenship by investment
• Grenada citizenship by investment
• Malta citizenship by investment
• Dominica citizenship by investment