Special Report August/September 2021 A GUIDE TO GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP THE 2021 CBI INDEX in association with CORPORATE STATEMENT MAP The 14 citizenship by investment jurisdictions Austria Bulgaria Montenegro Turkey St Kitts and Nevis Egypt Antigua and Barbuda Malta Cambodia Dominica Jordan St Lucia Vanuatu Grenada 2 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021 CONTENTS August/September 2021 pwmnet.com cbiindex.com Published by: Financial Times Ltd, Bracken House, 1 Friday Street, London EC4M 9BT +44 (0)20 7873 3000 www.pwmnet.com Staff members can be contacted by dialing +44 (0)20 7775 followed by their extension number. Editor-in-Chief Yuri Bender 6376 [email protected] Deputy Editor Elisa Trovato 6374 [email protected] Group Chief Sub-Editor Elliot Smither 6379 [email protected] Deputy Production Editor Nicholas Bunce 4318 [email protected] Advertising Andrew Campbell 6865 Projects Director [email protected] Adrian Northey 6333 Global Business Director [email protected] Head of Marketing, Audience Marketing Raj Rai 6340 [email protected] Marketing Manager, Audience Marketing Dimple Khatri SPECIAL REPORT +44(0)20 7873 4028 [email protected] Design Kostya Penkov 3255 A GUIDE TO GLOBAL [email protected] Production Daniel Macklin 4120 CITIZENSHIP [email protected] Printed by Walstead Group in the UK THE 2021 CBI INDEX Annual subscriptions: £415 | €525 | $675 Subscription Enquiries: tel: +44(0)20 7873 4240, 04 INTRODUCTION [email protected] Having lost mobility during the health crisis, Change of Address Notification wealthy individuals are showing increased [email protected] interest in citizenship by investment schemes, © Financial Times 2021 though some programmes remain controversial PWM is a trademark of Financial Times. “Financial Times” and “FT” are registered trademarks and service marks of the Financial Times Ltd. 12 NOMAD VISAS All rights reserved. No part CORPORATE CBI jurisdictions stand to benefit from the new of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form work-from-home normal, and from the employees of advertising without prior STATEMENT permission in writing from the who want to trade in office life for a chance to editor. No responsibility for loss occasioned to any person 06 THE 2021 CBI INDEX work overseas acting or refraining from acting as a result of material in this The CBI industry continues to evolve, with key publication can be accepted. developments including Cyprus abolishing its 14 PAYMENTS On any specific matter, reference should be made to an Programme, a new Maltese citizenship offering, CBI and cryptocurrency already have a storied appropriate adviser. Registered Office: Number One Southwark and the addition of Egypt to the economic history, but with the rise of decentralised finance, Bridge, London SE1 9HL, UK citizenship arena perhaps now is the time for jurisdictions to The Financial Times adheres to a reconsider their stance on this new method self-regulation regime under the FT Editorial Code of Practice: 07 LOOKING TO 2022 of payment www.ft.com/editorial code Though family inclusiveness seems to have reached an apex, it is expected that CBI nations 16 METHODOLOGY will continue to enhance the integrity of their The CBI Index is built around nine pillars, real estate offerings and may move closer to designed to measure global citizenship harmonised due diligence standards programme features and jurisdictional desirability 08 OPERATIONAL PROGRAMMES Not all countries with CBI legislation are 20 KEY FINDINGS included in the CBI Index. The question the The CBI Index’s key findings present CBI Index asks is whether programmes are an evaluation of each country both overall fully operational. and within the parameters of the nine pillars 10 RESPONSIBILITY Governments that fail to take due diligence 26 THE NINE PILLARS seriously face a very real risk of a premature end An overview of the nine pillars that form the to their economic citizenship programmes, as CBI Index, and where the 14 countries rank seen recently in Europe among them youtube.com/ Professional Wealth @FT_PWM Published in FTPWM Management Group association with: PWMNET.COM 3 Covid lockdowns add to the appeal of second citizenships WRITTEN BY YURI BENDER Clients, he says, are particularly INTRODUCTION interested in island nations such Having lost mobility during as Antigua and Barbuda, and St the health crisis, wealthy Kitts and Nevis, although few plan I don’t believe that the individuals are showing to actually live permanently in the half-baked, politically- increased interest in jurisdictions they invest in. While high net worth migrants citizenship by investment motivated pressures to from restrictive regimes typically schemes, though the favour cities like London, Paris or clamp down on these programmes remain Los Angeles, there is a recognition controversial among practitioners that the programmes will be more peripheral islands, as well he Covid-19 pandemic as providing a potential second sufficient to suppress the appears to have given passport, can serve as an ultimate demand side a new lease of life to a “bolthole” should things go wrong colourful cross-border in the authoritarian country where PARAG KHANNA FUTUREMAP industry, which offers they make their money. wealthy individuals and their Traditionally, clients came from Tfamilies second citizenships in Asia, Russia and the Middle East, obtaining a Maltese passport and the return for investments into tourism but new sources of investment are protection it offered once issued. facilities or infrastructure. also being identified. “We are seeing But following twin pressures from Countries recently offering high- more and more clients from Africa, European regulators, and domestic profile Citizenship by Investment and Nigeria in particular. Nigerians protests linked to the assassination (CBI) programmes include are favouring a St Kitts passport to of journalist Daphne Caruana Caribbean players St Kitts and Nevis, allow them to travel to London and Galizia, which led to the resignation and Dominica, which have used CBI other places more easily,” reports Mr of prime minister Joseph Muscat in revenues to successfully mitigate Errington. 2019, Malta replaced its Individual the effects of national disasters, Investor Programme with a new and Mediterranean jurisdictions, STORMS IN THE MED strategy. Maltese authorities have Malta and Cyprus, where they have Once attractive Mediterranean hubs since promised greater transparency encountered major political issues. have not, however, been enjoying and increased dialogue with the EU. Both private banks and law firms the success of their Caribbean peers. A recent judicial inquiry identified report increased interest among The Cyprus Investment Programme, a “culture of impunity” within the clients seeking new citizenships previously popular amongst a higher echelons of government, and passports since the advent of Russian audience, appreciative of which had spread to regulatory the pandemic. Wealthy investors, their country’s huge influence in bodies. say commentators, only began to the coastal resorts of Larnaca and Both Malta and Cyprus had been appreciate mobility once it was Limassol, where Russian is widely criticised by European authorities. abruptly withdrawn due to Covid. spoken, has been withdrawn, Mr Errington says Malta in particular following infringement procedures raised the ire of EU neighbours OPENING UP from the European Commission in for going against the principles of Many popular CBI destinations 2020. membership of the economic bloc. are once again opening up to “The Maltese and Cypriot markets EU neighbours, critical of Malta’s international visitors. “The have trailed off, mainly due to highly lucrative scheme denigrating Caribbean islands remain popular scandals,” says Mr Errington. Until the traditional European freedom and are quite easy to work with,” recently, he says, Asian investors of movement concept, were left reveals John Errington, managing planning to extract their money “jealous and sceptical, if not hostile”. director of London-based CBI from home territory found Malta Despite this negative publicity, specialists Errington Bose attractive, due to an efficient most commentators believe there is Immigration Services. banking system, the relative speed of an inevitability of rival jurisdictions 4 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021 INTRODUCTION SPECIAL REPORT vying to attract wealth through CBI tax avoidance and lax vetting are On hold: the Cyprus industry is increased collaboration Investment schemes, particularly within the often seized on and amplified by Programme has been between competing centres, which realist, highly competitive political opposition movements, keen to withdrawn, following all share the aim of attracting climate facilitated by Covid-19. create a political backlash against infringement well-qualified, high net worth procedures from the “The more autocracy you have, CBI strategies. European entrepreneurs. the more you will see citizenship “This does not mean the policy is Commission in 2020 Promoters of investment for sale in the liberal jurisdictions,” wrong,” suggests Indian-American migration, including the likes of suggests Loretta Napoleoni, an academic Parag Khanna, founder Malta, Ireland, Singapore and Italian political commentator who of consultancy FutureMap and the United Arab Emirates, are analyses international finance and author of ‘Move: The forces uprooting establishing ‘Green Zone Networks’ security issues. us’, which plots future migration of states respecting each other’s