The Commonwealth of Dominica and St Kitts & Nevis shared first place in the annual CBI Index report produced by Professional Wealth Management (PWM) magazine, published by the Financial Times.
The study, now in its fifth year, evaluates all active citizenship by investment programmes across the globe. Nine pillars are considered in the ranking, including:
- Freedom of Movement
- Standard of Living
- Minimum Investment Outlay
- Mandatory Travel or Residence
- Citizenship Timeline
- Ease of Processing
- Due Diligence
- Family
- Certainty of Product
This is the fifth consecutive year that Dominica has topped the rankings for second citizenship, but it shares that leading position for the first time with fellow Caribbean nation St Kitts & Nevis.
In fact, Caribbean countries fared best in the rankings, taking the top five spots with Grenada, St Lucia and Antigua & Barbuda all scoring highly.
Vanuatu, Malta, Montenegro, Turkey and newcomer Egypt completed the Top 10 CBI countries.
Part of that success has been attributed to how these experienced CBI countries adapted their CBI programmes to reflect changing priorities during the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes included reducing investment thresholds and allowing more family members to be included in applications.
Wealthy investors turn to CBI
While the Cyprus programme was abolished in 2021, demand for CBI continues to rise, fuelled in part by the pandemic. Egypt also launched its own CBI programme this year.
“Both private banks and law firms report increased interest among clients seeking new citizenships and passports since the advent of the pandemic,” said Yuri Bender, PWM’s Editor in Chief. “Wealthy investors, say commentators, only began to appreciate mobility once it was abruptly withdrawn due to COVID.”
Click here to download the full report.