Caribbean nations Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia make it to top of CBI Index,2022

The government-authorized funds or real estate investments at a bargain of legal immigration status are gaining grounds amongst the elite class of individuals. Adding to the convenience of these investors is the CBI Index, the comprehensive evaluation of citizenship by investment programmes of various countries in thirteen distinct jurisdictions. Prospective investors seeking alternative citizenship can easily choose the appropriate programme from the index that meets one’s requirements.

The latest edition of the CBI index, titled ‘A Guide to Global Citizenship: The 2022 CBI Index’ has been launched on August22 , 2022. Unsurprisingly, the Commonwealth of Dominica has once again emerged as the country with the world’s best CBI Programme, along with St Kitts and Nevis at the same spot. These countries are globally recognized for their oldest and longest-running CBI programmes.

This has been the second consecutive year that St Kitts and Nevis has equalized Dominica as table toppers in the CBI Index released by the PWM Magazine of Financial Times. 

Not so far from these,is yet another Caribbean island nation, Saint Lucia, that has overtaken Grenada. Thereby securing the third position out of the thirteen featured countries in the index. The Caribbean nations have been taking over the index as all the five nations included in the index have secured the top five positions. These nations have aced the ‘Ease of processing’ pillar of CBI Index rankings for the sixth consecutive year.

The featuring Caribbean nations provide investors with an option to contribute a specific non-refundable amount to government funds which entitles the investors with citizenship for themselves and their families as well.

The CBI Index ranks the countries on the basis of nine parameters , known as ‘pillars of excellence. The countries are evaluated for their social and government developments for the preparation of the index. The index provides detailed insights of a country for investors to make smarter moves.

In the ‘Freedom of Movement’ pillar, Dominica and Saint Lucia have scored seven. Additionally, St Kitts and Nevis provide visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to 156 countries. Saint Lucia, on the other hand, has the highest entrepreneurial value, with access to 15 out of 20 business hubs. At the same time, Dominica provided access to 14 business hubs as per 2022 index.

Saint Lucia has secured the fourth rank in terms of ‘Standard of living’. While Dominica and St Kitts and Nevis stood at fifth position. The highest life expectancy of 78.2 years was also recoreded in Dominica.

Considering the outlay of investment, Dominica and Saint Lucia have topped the charts with a requirement of a ‘Minimum Investment Outlay’ of just USD 100,000.

St Kitts and Nevis has excelled with a perfect ten in ‘Citizenship Timeline’ pillar . The processing time of 3 months taken by Dominica and Saint Lucia has made them the first runner-ups in this aspect.

The straightforward processing of applications followed by Caribbean Jurisdictions of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica , Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia have driven them to top of the ‘Ease of Processing’ pillar for the sixth time in a row.

The applicants for citizenship of undergo rigorous background and Due-Diligence checks. The process ensures national safety as the nations demand information on income source and police certification from the applicant’s country of residence and citizenship as well.Owing to the multilayered, comprehensive checks, Dominica and St Kitts secured perfect ten in the ‘Due Diligence’ pillar.

The countries exhibited similar scoring in the Family pillar as the family eligibility criteria remained unchanged across all the programmes. 

The ‘Certainty of Product’ of Dominica and St Kitts and Nevis is unmatched. Its longevity, popularity and stability has made them to bag perfect ten in this pillar.

Dominica has been consistent from the last six years in terms of minimum investment outlay, due diligence verifications, a streamlined application process and sustainable development projects , financially aided by CBI resources.

On the flip side, St Kitts and Nevis consumed the least time for processing of the applications. However, Dominica takes an edge in its ‘Due Diligence’ undertakings. 

While the newest Caribbean programme, Saint Lucia, has progressed a lot over the years. It has jumped into third overall in the CBI Index 2022 mainly due to major improvements in due diligence, more specifically with the introduction of a biometric passport and minimum investment outlay that is in life with Dominica at USD 100,000 (for a single applicant).

The Small Island Developing States (SIDS) 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 impact 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 enabling many of these island nations to fulfil their true ambitions to become independent, developed, prosperous countries,” stated CBI Index 2022. 

Every year since 2017, the Citizenship by Investment Index, mostly known as the CBI Index, is released by the Professional Wealth Management (PWM) Magazine of Financial Times. Over a certain period of years, it has evolved into a practical tool, both 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.