Dominica ‘remains best country for second citizenship’ – report

A special report from the Financial Times has named the citizenship by investment programme in Dominica the best in the world – for the second year running. Professional Wealth Management, a publication from London-based newspaper, has just released the 2018 CBI Index.

The index is is the world's only comprehensive study into the jurisdictions that offer citizenship by investment. The ranking system is designed to measure their performance and appeal.

The report notes that the expanding industry attracts more investors seeking greater mobility and business opportunities, often prompted by shifting global economic and political tensions.

The scoring system covers seven areas associated with the economic citizenship industry.

Dominica managed perfect marks in five the of the categories, including affordability, efficiency/ease of processing and due diligence.

The scheme is one of the oldest in the world, having launched in 1993. It encourages high net work??? individuals and their families to invest in the Caribbean island in exchange for a second nationality.

> Full report: CBI Index 2018 <

There are now 13 active programmes across the world.

The result, which come less than a year after the island was rocked by a dramatic category five hurricane, have been welcomed by Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit. “The results of the 2018 CBI Index are in many ways even more meaningful in the wake of last year’s Hurricane Maria,” he said.

“We showed unfathomable resilience, and a consistent and diligent approach to service, resuming application processing for our citizenship programme [in] less than a week after the event.

“I can safely assure investors that our citizenship by investment programme is indeed hurricane-proof.”

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Who is in the CBI Index?

Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, St Lucia, Vanuatu, Cyrus, Malta, Bulgaria, Turkey, Austria, Jordan, Cambodia.

(descending from highest score)

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[caption id="attachment_5960" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Roosevelt Skerrit breaks down when discussing the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria in Dominica.[/caption]

The 2018 CBI Index shows a bumper results for the Eastern Caribbean region, with the top five nations from the area.

This echoes the scores from 2017.

According to the report, Dominica’s strong results can be attributed to a multi-tiered due diligence process that draws on the expertise of counter-teorrism and anti-money laundering professionals.

The fact that successful applications are typically granted citizenship within three months, and that there is no mandatory travel or residency requirements are also highlighted.

Dominica’s programme is also among the world’s most affordable, with investment thresholds starting at US$100,000.