Caribbean five dominates CBI Index 2024, St Kitts and Nevis tops for 4th consecutive year

The 8th edition of the highly anticipated CBI Index 2024 was officially released on Wednesday under the theme ‘Transparency meets Transition – A CBI Reset’ and offered insights into the global migration industry. 

The Caribbean islands offering Citizenship by Investment Programme have once again overwhelmingly retained top positions with impressive scores in nine pillars, according to the Index.  

St Kitts and Nevis has been named the best with a score of 84%, followed by Dominica (80%), Grenada (77%), Saint Lucia (74%) and Antigua and Barbuda (74%). 

In a comprehensive analysis of 12 jurisdictions offering economic citizenship, the top five positions have been held by nations in the Eastern Caribbean region with St Kitts and Nevis retaining the top position for the 4th time in a row.  

The report provides an in-depth analysis of the significant challenges faced by the CBI industry recently and sheds light on opportunities in an industry which is increasingly struggling with calls for greater transparency.  

Dominance of Caribbean CBI Programmes  

The 2024 CBI Index has once again shown the world the dominance of the Caribbean CBI Programme and their continuous efforts to lead the migration industry.  

Dominica has also retained its 2nd position in the overall ranking for the CBI Index 2024. According to the CBI Index, Dominica’s points drop does not reflect a substantive diminishment in the Programme’s processing or vetting standards, in fact, the programme’s strong due diligence, certainty of product and other key aspects have solidified the island’s reputation among OECS nations for thorough vetting and compliance.  

The ‘Caribbean Five’ retain their leading rankings for the CBI Index 2024, once again reflecting a good balance processing efficiency, vetting and global mobility power – CBI Index 2024 

Interestingly, the European countries such as Malta, Turkiye and Austria have also held their positions among the top ten.  

The Turkish Programme which last held 8th position has now moved up to 7th with a score of 63% while Egypt stays in the same position of 9th with a better score of 59% than the last year. Cambodia stands at the bottom of the table with a score of 49% just behind Jordan. 

DOWNLOAD THE FULL CBI INDEX 2024 REPORT HERE

The dominance of the Caribbean CBI Programmes over their European and Asian counterparts showcases the region’s utmost commitment to maintain the hightest possible standards while adapting to the global trends.  

The Nine Pillars  

The CBI Index is unique in its global approach as it features the nine-pillar architecture that lends itself to rankings that reflect what high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) value most in alternative citizenship. 

Through these nine pillars, the CBI Index offers perfect insights to the discerning investors into distinguished Citizenship by Investment Programmes operating worldwide.  

The pillars that constitute the 2024 CBI Index is as follows: 

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

   

Each pillar is carefully selected to ensure a comprehensive measurement of the performance of each programme. By assessing the 12 CBI programmes across these parameters, the CBI Index equips investors with a clear understanding of why certain programmes are better than others. 

“The CBI Index is the only independent study that comprehensively evaluates and compares all active Citizenship by Investment programmes in the world,” outlined the Index.  

According to the Index, Malta retains the highest score of 9 in the Standard of Living pillar. This score reflects the small country’s strong performance right, particularly for Life Expectancy, Relative Safety, and Freedom, for which it achieves a perfect score. Austria stands on the 2nd place with 8 scores above Grenada, Turkiye, Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis and Dominica, all of which stands at 3rd position. 

Both Malta and Austria lead the Freedom of Movement pillar rankings with a perfect score of 10, showcasing both the high degree of global mobility and the right to live and work in all EU member states which these countries’ citizenship offers. The four Caribbean nations of St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia, and Grenada follow with a score of seven. 

In the Investment Options and Threshold pillar, Antigua and Barbuda, Egypt and Saint Lucia ranks at the top with 9 scores, reflecting the value and investment diversity offered to applicants by these countries. St Kitts and Nevis follows them at 2nd place with 8 scores.  

The rankings show that despite the increased minimum investment threshold for the five Caribbean nations following the Memorandum of Agreement, they remain competitive, and their broad selection of investment options helps to secure their top rankings. 

The Mandatory Travel or Residence Pillar sees the same ranking as 2023 with Dominica, Grenada, Jordan, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Austria at the top as they have no travel or minimum residency requirements. 

Dominica, Jordan and Vanuatu rank in the first position for the Citizenship Timeline Pillar as these nations offer applicants with the benefit of completing applications in less than four months.

The three Caribbean jurisdictions of Dominica, Grenada and St Kitts and Nevis along with Malta stays at the top of the Ease of Processing pillar as they provide the efficient processing of applications without compromising the due diligence procedures.  

In Due Diligence, which is one of the most important pillar, St Kitts and Nevis retains its top position for 2024, reflecting implementation of the ‘Six Principles’ and the tighter enhanced due diligence standards set by the MoA, as reflected by the introduction of the ‘Continuing International Due Diligence’ Unit. Dominica and Grenada follow with nine points at 2nd place. 

The 8th pillar Family sees Antigua and Barbuda and Grenada sharing the top spot with a perfect score of 10 as they offer a highly accommodating application structure that allows for siblings, parents as well as grandparents of both the main applicant and the spouse.  

The last pillar of Certainty of Product sees St Kitts and Nevis as the only country to attain a perfect score of 10 for its swift response to the recent unprecedented international pressure imposed on all Caribbean Citizenship by Investment programmes. Dominica stands at 2nd with 8 points because of its e effective adoption of tighter vetting and compliance standards. 

Due Diligence  

The CBI Index 2024 perfectly showcases how the industry is in transition with greater emphasis now on stronger regional cooperation, due diligence, continual programme improvement as well as international collaboration.  

The due diligence focuses on each nation’s commitment to ensuring that their programme remains transparent as transparency has emerged as a key value of the wider Citizenship by Investment industry in 2024.  

The parameters on which due diligence is based are wide including fingerprinting, biometrics, source of funds, investor protection, mandatory interviews, excluded nationalities, police certificates and much more. This is to ensure that only legitimate investors can acquire the citizenship of any of the 12 jurisdictions.  

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According to the Index, while St Kitts and Nevis retains the top position, Antigua and Barbuda’s overall score increased by a point, helped by a strong performance in Due Diligence with the introduction of mandatory interviews, as well as for Certainty of Product following its adherence to the MoA. 

“Assurance that due diligence is conducted appropriately and concisely instils confidence in partner states, investors and the like that in turn grants the industry the necessary space to thrive,” stated the CBI Index.  

Notably, a high standard of due diligence not only inspires investors' confidence but also assures the integrity of the citizenship.