World's First Comprehensive Guide To Citizenship By Investment Programmes Launched

Professional Wealth Management, a publication from the Financial Times, has launched the world's first comprehensive guide to the programmes that populate the economic citizenship industry – the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Index.
Economic citizenship – or citizenship by investment (CBI) – is a niche industry whereby a country grants an applicant citizenship in exchange for an investment in that country's economy. The industry has grown in recent years due to a global climate of change and, at times, political instability.
The CBI Index rates the 12 countries that offer CBI programmes, critically evaluating their performance and appeal across a wide list of indicators relevant to an applicant's decision-making process.
The CBI Index's methodology, the brainchild of researcher and analyst James McKay, utilises seven indicators, known in PWM's Special Report as 'pillars,' to rate the countries' programmes. The seven pillars are freedom of movement, standard of living, minimum investment outlay, mandatory travel or residence, ease of processing, citizenship timeline, and due diligence.
McKay says he is pleased to have created the first comprehensive breakdown of today's CBI programmes, a process that relied on a five-stage approach of both qualitative and quantitative analysis:
"The Citizenship by Investment Index is innovative in design – with its reliance on official sources and statistics of the highest quality – and I am pleased to have had an opportunity to contribute to this most dynamic of investment industries."
The CBI Index results placed the Caribbean island-nations of Dominica and St Kitts and Nevis in the top positions, with Dominica receiving a perfect score for minimum investment outlay, mandatory travel or residence, ease of processing, and due diligence. The results reflect not just the relative affordability of the Caribbean jurisdictions, but also their ability to offer streamlined processing supported by a strong framework of due diligence.
Alongside St Kitts and Nevis and Malta, Dominica rated the highest in the due diligence pillar due to the strict parameters it has set for vetting a potential applicant. All three of these countries collect either fingerprints or other biometric data, require police certificates from more than one country including the country of residence, and gather detailed information on the applicant's family and source of funds.
The CBI Index is an inaugural publication, and can be accessed on www.cbiindex.com.

Source: Mena