CBI Index 2024 releases: Comprehensive Overview of operational CBI Programmes

The CBI Index, an in-depth report to examine and evaluate global Citizenship by Investment schemes, has released its eighth edition on Wednesday. This comprehensive report was designed under the theme “Transparency meets Transition: A CBI Reset.”

The release of this report during an era when world is struggling with the rising issues of geopolitical tensions and global pressure, sheds light on the wider opportunities available for people and the measures being taken by CBI Programmes to grapple those challenges.

The CBI Index stands as the benchmark tool for offering a practical, data-driven insight for all the operational CBI programmes. The study that comprehensively evaluates and compares the active Citizenship by Investment Programmes has accordingly ranked those, considering the nine pillars of assessment.

The 12 nations with operational CBI Programmes included in the rankings: Turkiye, Antigua and Barbuda, Jordan, St Kitts and Nevis, Austria, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Cambodia, Vanuatu, Dominica, Egypt, and Malta. The active CBI Jurisdictions are rated by the CBI Index on the basis of intricate combination of benchmarking, statistical analysis, and comparative investigation.

CBI INDEX

The CBI Index is a rating system which was developed about a decade back with a vision to evaluate the pros and cons of the Citizenship by Investment Programme on the basis of various measures. It was founded by James McKay, an independent research consultant with expertise in global trend analysis.

As per the founder, “the CBI Index has established itself as a imperative instrument for individuals who embarks on the daunting journey of choosing a CBI programme in the current climate. Just as we’re seeing in financial markets, investors are having a difficult time in maintaining and safeguarding the value of their portfolios whilst navigating the elevated macroeconomic and geopolitical instability of today. And here, investment migration is not at all different.”

Since the establishment of the CBI Index, it has been providing all the global investors with a comfortable and well-visioned pathway to utilize their assets towards grabbing a bilateral citizenship following one of the finest CBI programmes.

THREE PHASES OF CBI INDEX 2024

This CBI Index 2024 has been prepared in a three-stage process to produce the in-depth insights and information. The First phase includes a thorough primary and secondary research to chart all major developments in the world of economic citizenship in the last 12 months.

The Second phase comprised a comprehensive exploration of official macroeconomic and programme statistics which were used in evaluating CBI Index country performance.

On the other hand, the researches analysed and induced all the collected data and maintained the statistical continuity and integrity of the original index architecture in the Final Stage.

RANKINGS OF CBI INDEX 2024

St Kitts and Nevis shined for the fourth consecutive year in the CBI Index rankings, claimed top spot with a massive score of 84%. Not only this, the CBI Programme of the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis was the only nation who scored in full under four aspects, including, Mandatory Travel or Residence, Ease of Processing, Due Diligence, and Certainty of Product.

Caribbean countries shone through well, marked the top five spots to their name with St Kitts and Nevis followed by Dominica scoring 80%, Grenada 77%, Saint Lucia and Antigua and Barbuda at 74% affixing to the second, third, fourth and fifth positions respectively.

The overall score of Antigua and Barbuda was increased by a point because of the nation maintaining and enhancing the standards of due diligence by introducing mandatory security processes and Certainty of Product following the signing of MoA.

Malta, Turkiye, Vanuatu and Egypt clinched the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth position, scoring 58, 57, 54 and 53 points respectively. Followed by the only EU-member state, Austria who maintained to stand at tenth place, scoring 49 points. Jordan and Cambodia are at the bottom of the rankings, claiming 11^th and 12^th position, scoring poorly in various aspects of the nine pillars.

CARIBBEAN FIVE

The Caribbean Five retained their top rankings once again for the CBI index 2024. These rankings highlight a good balance processing efficiency, vetting and global mobility power inherited by the CBI Programmes of these nations amidst the challenging global requirements.

Also, the Memorandum of Agreement signed between five Organization of Eastern Caribbean States including, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia and St. Kitts and Nevis have turned out to play a significant role in standardising their CBI Programmes, maintaining due diligence while ensuring the minimum investment thresholds.

St. KITTS AND NEVIS: LEADING THE LIST YET AGAIN

The Citizenship by Investment Programme of St Kitts and Nevis whose history traces back to 1984 has been holding the legacy of 40-year history of leading the field of economic citizenship. The full scores by St Kitts and Nevis in aspects including, Mandatory Travel or Residence, Ease of Processing, Due Diligence, and Certainty of Product epitomises their excellence in the realm of CBI.

The top ranking by St Kitts and Nevis in CBI Index showcases their excellence in attracting discerning investors and providing them a more transparent future. The exceptional performance by St Kitts and Nevis is a testament to their commitment to create their highest amount of confidence and comfort among the investors.

NINE PILLARS UNDER WHICH CBI EXAMINES PROGRAMME ATTRIBUTES

1. Standard of Living
2. Freedom of Movement
3. Investment Options and Threshold
4. Mandatory Travel or Residence
5. Citizenship Timeline
6. Ease of Processing
7. Due Diligence
8. Family
9. Certainty of Product

STANDARD OF LIVING

This pillar considers an ability of the country to promote freedom, and to protect the rights of individuals to act and to express themselves without undue constraints. The nations namely, Malta and Austria scored the highest rankings with 9 nine points, offers the highest level of wealth, comfort and material goods.

FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT

The second pillar measures the relative strength of the citizenship programme of each country on the basis of three factors including, the number of destinations to which a country’s passport allows travel without restriction; the number of business-friendly centres to which it provides access; and the degree to which a given citizenship provides settlement rights in other nations. In this pillar as well, both Austria and Malta turned out to be the highest scorer with a perfect ten.

INVESTMENT OPTIONS AND THRESHOLD

This pillar examines the requirement of the capital needed to acquire citizenship moving forward with one of the various options made available to the applicants. Antigua and Barbuda, Egypt and Saint Lucia attained the highest score for the pillar which shed light on their offers to the applicants. Also, the nation which requires the lowest minimum investment receives the highest number of points. Therefore, these countries namely, Antigua and Barbuda, Egypt and Saint Lucia scored 9 points followed by St Kitts and Nevis, with a score of eight.

MANDATORY TRAVEL OR RESIDENCE

This pillar examines the travel or residence conditions which has been imposed on applicants both before or after the granting of citizenship. The countries like, Dominica, Grenada, Jordan, St Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia, they all achieved perfect ten, having no travel or minimum residency requirements.

CITIZENSHIP TIMELINE

This pillar examines the time taken by the programmes for providing citizenship to the applicants. This pillar conducts a thorough examination of the processing times mandated by each jurisdiction. The nations such as Dominica, Jordan, and Vanuatu scored the highest points, offering citizenship in the limited timeframe.

EASE OF PROCESSING

The aspect analysis the complexity associated with the CBI Programmes thus scoring them based on the smoothness of the process. The three Caribbean jurisdictions of Dominica, Grenada, and St. Kitts and Nevis share the top rank with Malta for the Ease of Processing Pillar. These nations lack complexity during the CBI application process.

DUE DILIGENCE

This pillar ensures the programme to be transparent and effective. St Kitts and Nevis once again retained its top spot from 2024, emphasises the implementation of “Six Principles” and following the standards of due diligence.

FAMILY

It measures the extent to which investors can acquire citizenship for their immediate and extended family. Antigua and Barbuda and Grenada again have the most family-friendly programmes for the 2024 CBI Index, leading with the perfect score of ten.

CERTAINTY OF PRODUCT

It analysis several measures such as longevity, popularity and renown, stability, reputation and adaptability. And, standing on all those factors, St Kitts and Nevis becomes the only nation to attain full points in the Certainty of Product Pillar.

DOWNLOAD THE CBI INDEX 2024 REPORT BY CLICKING ON THE LINK