If St Vincent and the Grenadines' opposition NDP party were to win in the forthcoming election on November 5, it could mean the unveiling of yet another - the sixth - Caribbean-based Citizenship by Investment programme.
Following Saint Kitts & Nevis' recent announcement that it will reopen for tourism on October 31, the Caribbean island, which boasts the world's most established CBI Programme, has outlined the entry and travel requirements of its phased reopening and listed the hotels and resorts that are open.
With the UK set to leave the EU on December 31, and with no deal looking likely, citizenship firms have witnessed a spike in British HNWIs looking to obtain second passports or residency permits via economic residency or citizenship in order to secure easier access to the EU come 2021, with Malta, Portugal and even the Caribbean in demand.
In July 2020, the tourism-reliant Caribbean island of Barbados unveiled a 12-month visa to attract remote workers, and then in September, announced its intention to become a republic next year. With the pandemic having hit its tourism sector hard, could Barbados be revisit its plan from 2016 to launch a citizenship by investment programme?
While, predictably, the pandemic has triggered a sharp increase in demand for citizenship by investment, unpredictably, coronavirus has changed the who, why and where of the CBI landscape, with applicants from unexpected countries surging, reasons for economic citizenship changing, and some CBI countries really standing out from the citizenship crowd.
With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to create instability worldwide, and economic migration offering both an insurance policy and the option for a better life, there has been a huge spike in demand for citizenship by investment from high-net-worth investors in African, especially Nigerians and South Africans.
When it comes to securing economic citizenship, high-net-worth individuals are looking increasingly for Citizenship by Investment programmes that allow them to include their families, both immediate and extended. And the CBI Programmes are responding, with many adjusting their dependent criteria to cater to client demand. So which CBI countries are family friendliest?
Following the release of the latest CBI Index, for 2020, the Caribbean countries continue to outrank the rest of the world with their long-running, competitively priced and highly regulated Citizenship by Investment Programmes, with Dominica coming top, closely followed by Saint Kitts and Grenada.
One of the Saint Kitts & Nevis’ Citizenship by Investment-approved properties, The Four Seasons Nevis has seen a massive spike in sales during the pandemic with demand for its stunning beachside freestanding villas booming.
With ePassports proven to strengthen the security of Citizenship by Investment (CBI) passports, Dominica announces a move into biometric passports, while Saint Kitts is introducing biometric-shared background checks as part of its CBI programme due diligence.