London, Nov. 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The results of the mid-term elections in the United States will have some telling impacts on the US economy and investment options both locally and abroad. Upcoming gridlocks and bipartisan standoffs over government funding could become more common, and with the political uncertainty that this entails, many intelligent investors continue to look abroad to diversify their investments and hedge their risks.
The US government is anticipated to decrease federal spending. This will be directly impacted by the difficulty of passing government spending bills as a result of party politics in its legislative branches. A stimulus during a recession is also said to be less likely. Furthermore, national initiatives which are seen as polarizing may likely have tougher regulatory oversight in the coming years.
While Americans don’t need to renounce their US citizenship to obtain a second citizenship, many are seeking international investment opportunities that can provide them with another edge, and that also offer economic and political safety and security options that may not be expected back home.
The US failed to rank in the top ten of this year’s World Citizenship Report, symbolizing a significant shift in what economic giants can tangibly offer the global elite. The WCR showcases the world citizenship index and is a distinctive tool that compares world citizenships from the perspective of a global citizen. The index's methodology evaluates 187 jurisdictions across five key motivators defining citizenship for the global citizen.
The report finds that citizenship by investment (CBI) is an effective tool for the world's wealthiest, and it has become a trend exacerbated during the pandemic. CBI offers an alternative and time-effective solution for those who do not have a marriage, descent, or naturalization attachment to other countries. It ultimately enables applicants to obtain a second citizenship, often within three to four months, without any former ties to the nation, if they can pass a multi-tiered vetting procedure.
“For the WCR, reliance was placed on official statistics to evaluate a score for the defined motivators of Safety and Security, Quality of Life, Economic Opportunity, Global Mobility and Financial Freedom. Backed by research from leading data banks, interviews and a survey undertaken by over 500 wealthy investors, the WCR emphasizes pivotal factors that play a role in choosing the right second citizenship,” says Micha Emmett, CEO of CS Global Partners, the world's leading government advisory and marketing firm. "High-net-worth individuals must consider a myriad of factors when deciding something as monumental as where to obtain second citizenship and build a second home.”
With over a dozen CBI programmes now on the market, prospective applicants must consider all the factors important to choosing the programme that best suits their needs. This includes location, benefits and, most notably, cost. As far as investing goes, the reward should far exceed the cost, and this applies to CBI programmes as well.
It's important to consider how many people an investor is acquiring citizenship for, as costs may vary depending on whether it’s for a single applicant or a family. The destination of investment will also have an impact on costs. Caribbean programmes like those offered by St Kitts and Nevis, Dominica and Saint Lucia are considerably more cost-effective than CBI programmes offered by European countries. For example, countries like Austria require a minimum of three million euros as investment, while Malta’s new offering asks investors to contribute a minimum of 600,000 euros. And in comparison, Caribbean programmes are consistently ranked as the best in the world as routes to acquire a second citizenship, while investment thresholds are considerably less at 100,000 US dollars for a single applicant to Dominica and to Saint Lucia, while the threshold for St Kitts and Nevis stands at 150,000 US dollars for a single applicant.
Another important cost to consider is time. Citizenship by investment provides a direct and time-efficient path to legally acquiring citizenship and can be the most efficient route for time-poor businesspeople. If one were to pursue CBI in Austria – a country that has established one of the industry’s most ambiguous processing systems – a turnaround time of no less than two years is to be expected. The Caribbean provides more appealing options to the ever-busy investor, at least where processing speed is concerned. And, if speed is top-of-mind, only St Kitts and Nevis can provide an inevitable, 60-day turnaround.
When considering St. Kitts and Nevis, the programme offers three main ways in which an applicant can apply for second citizenship: a one-time donation to the Sustainable Growth Fund, investing in pre-approved Real Estate and the Alternative Investment Option The process is straightforward as there are no interview, language, education or business requirements for any investment options. Applicants are not even required to travel to the country, nor is there a minimum residence stay either before or after citizenship has been obtained.
Top reasons investors have listed for choosing Caribbean nations as CBI options include the benefit of living in an English-speaking location, global mobility to internationalist business operations, tax and business-friendly environment and proximity to the USA. As an example, St Kitts and Nevis guarantees financial privacy by not making any information about offshore business owners and top managers public. Other benefits include the booming tourism industry, the island scenery, and a thriving local and expat community. St Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean is also one of the first in the Eastern Caribbean to pilot a digital currency and has passed a Virtual Assets Bill in 2020 to enable citizens to trade in assets like cryptocurrency in a simplified and straightforward way.
Aside from analyzing the performance of countries, the WCR looks at ways high net-worth individuals protect and grow their wealth. This includes implementing an effective financial plan that considers inheritance and wealth taxes and investing in emerging valuable assets like cryptocurrency.
The next edition of the WCR is set to be released in 2023.
