ST JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda, Thursday November 9, 2017 – Antigua and Barbuda is ranked as the Caribbean’s top Citizenship by Investment programme, while Grenada and St. Kitts and Nevis are ranked second and third respectively, according to the Global Residence and Citizenship Programme (GRCP) 2017–2018 report.
The report, which has become the industry standard for benchmarking and measuring the attractiveness of investment migration programmes, was released by global residence and citizenship advisory firm Henley & Partners, ahead of its 11th Global Residence and Citizenship Conference which will be held in Hong Kong from November 14 to 16.
For the third consecutive year, Antigua and Barbuda’s Citizenship by Investment programme is the top-ranking one in the Caribbean, with a score of 61 out of 100. It’s followed by Grenada with a score of 60, and St Kitts and Nevis with a score of 59.
“While Antigua and Barbuda is ranked fourth globally, the recent reduction in the minimum contribution amount accepted by the country’s Citizenship by Investment Unit will likely affect the programme’s ranking in next year’s report,” Henley & Partners said in a statement.
The eight citizenship programmes included in the report were evaluated according to 10 indicators: Reputation, Quality of Life, Visa-free Access, Processing Time and Quality of Processing, Compliance, Financial Requirements, Residence Requirements, Relocation Flexibility, Physical Visit Requirements, and Transparency. Each indicator had an equal weighting of 10, producing a total score out of 100 for each country.
Antigua and Barbuda ranked fourth in the world, scoring second overall for Processing Time and Quality of Processing, Compliance, Investment Requirements, Transparency and Relocation Flexibility. It also scored highly in terms of Residence Requirements and Visa-free Access.
In ranking order, the eight countries featured in the GCPI are:
- Malta
- Cyprus
- Austria
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Grenada
- Kitts and Nevis
- Lucia
- Dominica
St Kitts and Nevis’ Citizenship by Investment programme is the top-ranked in the world in terms of Processing Time and Quality of Processing, as well as Residence Requirements and Physical Visit Requirements in the report. And it secured second place for Investment Requirements and Relocation Flexibility.
Grenada’s Citizenship by Investment programme, which was launched in August 2013, secured the number one spot in terms of Residence Requirements, Investment Requirements and Physical Visit Requirements.
St Lucia’s Citizenship by Investment programme, the newest of all the current programmes around the world, having only been launched in January 2016, secured the top spot in Investment Requirements, Residence Requirements and Physical Visit Requirements.
The programmes in the third edition of the GRCP were evaluated by a distinguished panel of independent experts — including immigration and citizenship lawyers, economists, country risk experts, academic researchers, and other specialists.