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The Caribbean Dominates the 2021 CBI Index for Best Citizenship by Investment Programs 

On August 18, 2021, the Professional Wealth Management (PWM) magazine, a publication from the Financial Times, published its fifth edition annual report titled "A Guide to Global Citizenship: The 2021 CBI Index." According to the 2021 CBI Index, Caribbean nations Dominica and Saint Kitts and Nevis have the best citizen by investment (CBI) programs in the world. The report lists Dominica's and Saint Kitts and Nevis's CBI programs as having received 80 out of 90 points, tying them for first place (imigrantinvest.com, prnnewswire.com).  

The 2021 CBI Index marks the fifth consecutive year that Dominica has been named the best country from which to receive a second citizenship. This is the first year for Saint Kitts and Nevis to receive top honors for their CBI program. 

According to PR Newswire, "The CBI Index evaluates all active citizenship by investment (CBI) programs across the globe using nine pillars that are considered the highest priorities for investors seeking to apply to such programs" (prnewswire.com). These pillars are:  

• Freedom of Movement 
• Standard of Living 

• Minimum Investment Outlay 
• Mandatory Travel or Residence 
• Citizenship Timeline 
• Ease of Processing 
• Due Diligence 

• Family  
• Certainty of Product 

Both Dominica and Saint Kitts and Nevis received perfect scores for the pillar of Mandatory Travel or Residence for their lack of required travel or residence obligations for applicants. They were also awarded full points for the pillars of Ease of Processing, Due Diligence, and Family. In addition, Dominica scored perfectly in the Minimum Investment Outlay and Certainty of Product pillars. Saint Kitts and Nevis, for a second consecutive year, was the only country to receive top marks in the Citizenship Timeline pillar (prnewswire.com). This is due to the country's Accelerated Application Process (AAP) that grants citizenship for successful applicants within 60 days or less (prnewswire.com).  

Not only did the Caribbean win the first two spots on the CBI Index, but it also swept the first five in the 2021 report, with Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Antigua and Barbuda directly following Dominica and Saint Kitts and Nevis. 

Sources: 

imigrantinvest.com 

prnewswire.com