[dropcap]F[/dropcap]ollowing the establishment on August 4, 2015 of Saint Lucia’s Citizenship by Investment Programme, the island became the latest Caribbean nation to offer passports for sale, joining St Kitts & Nevis, Dominica, Grenada and Antigua & Barbuda.
The Citizenship by Investment (CBI) index is a ranking of the various CBI programmes across the world, published by the Financial Times’ Professional Wealth Management (PWM). The second edition of the ranking was released on August 22 of this year, with thirteen countries being ranked. The purpose of the index, as outlined by the PWM, is to: “Provide a rigorous and systematic mechanism for assessing citizenship programmes, to facilitate the decision-making process for individuals considering them, and to bring value to the citizenship industry.”
The index utilizes seven pillars, or categories, in the rankings. Each pillar is worth a maximum of ten points: freedom of movement, standard of living, minimum investment outlay, mandatory travel or residence, citizenship timeline, ease of processing and due diligence.
The report breaks down each pillar. Freedom of movement deals with the number of destinations to which the passport allows travel without restriction. Standard of living is a measure of the quality of life offered. The PWM indicates: “Reliance was placed on the United Nations’ Human Development Index (HDI) for factors such as life expectancy, education, security, and income.” Minimum investment outlay rewards the highest number of points to the country requiring the lowest minimum investment. Mandatory travel or residence examines the “travel or residence conditions imposed on applicants.” Citizenship timeline analyses “the average time taken from when an application is submitted to when the applicant is granted citizenship and receives his or her passport.” Ease of processing measures the “complexity of the citizenship by investment application process.” The last pillar focuses on “each nation’s commitment to ensuring that their programme remains transparent and effective at evaluating potential candidates.”
Neighbouring Dominica tallied 63 points and retained its number one position in the rankings. It was followed by St. Kitts & Nevis, Grenada and Antigua and Barbuda, with 60, 57 and 56 respectively. Saint Lucia scored 7, 6, 10, 10, 8, 9, and 5 in the pillars for a total score of 55, good enough for 5th place (same position as last year’s index). With this ranking, Saint Lucia sits last in the Caribbean but ahead of Vanuatu, Cyprus, Malta, Bulgaria, Turkey, Austria, Jordan and Cambodia.
Although the CBI programmes of Saint Lucia and Dominica are on opposite sides of the ranking, they share many similarities. There are no requirements to travel to or reside in the countries, dual-citizenship is allowed and they each offer visa-free access to over one hundred countries. Both countries offer passports for the lowest fee on the market, a one-time investment of US $100,000. Where the programmes differ is the processing time for applications and due diligence practices, which favour Dominica. The reputations of the two programmes are also vastly different. Dominica’s CBI programme is known for “being one of the world’s most efficient and transparent options for economic citizenship.”
The report describes Saint Lucia’s programme as the Caribbean’s most politically divisive. It states: “The removal of unique features such as the $3m net worth requirement and the 500-applicant annual cap, opened the programme to criticism within St Lucia’s political establishment. It also generated uncertainty, as the opposition pledged to review all successful applications for Citizenship—and potentially ask for larger contributions—upon returning to power.”
These statements were made via a St. Lucia Labour Party press release on January 12, 2017. The release said: “The Labour Party believes that the removal of the US$3 million net worth, the cheapening of the level of donation as a qualifying investment and the removal of the annual limit of 500 applications and the guarantee of processing all Desert Star Holdings (DSH) applicants in 35 days should all be reconsidered for the sake of the reputation of Saint Lucia.”
It went on: “The SLP wishes to inform that a Labour Party Government will review every citizenship granted by the UWP under these new requirements. The Labour Party believes that the CIP should be presented as a premium, selective and highly valued option and not sold as the cheapest option available to any and everybody!”
Nestor Alfred, the Chief Executive Officer of the Saint Lucia Citizenship by Investment Unit was at press time unavailable for comment.
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