The 2020 CBI Index: Industry responses to the Covid-19 pandemic
The citizenship by investment industry has been quick to respond to the global Covid-19 crisis. Sponsored by CS Global Partners
Citizenship by investment (CBI) countries — particularly those with long-established systems and experienced processing staff — have largely been quick to respond to the Covid-19 crisis. They have provided a range of solutions, both temporary and permanent, to alleviate administrative burdens for applicants and authorised agents.
Further reading
A guide to global citizenship: The 2020 CBI Index
Sourced from research commissioned by CS Global Partners
Closures and online submissions
In the Caribbean, Grenada was the first CBI jurisdiction to warn stakeholders that the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China, may affect the processing times of applications made by Chinese citizens and residents. Grenada was also the first country to suspend receipt of hard copies of applications.
Other Caribbean countries quickly followed and, by the end of March 2020, the CBI units of Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Lucia had all issued circulars announcing that they would move their processes online to reduce transmission of the disease. Dominica, whose unit had already accomplished a swift switch to remote processing in the aftermath of the 2017 hurricane season, drew on experience to adapt to the social distancing requirements of Covid-19 and continue to process at a rapid pace. Grenada, on the other hand, took some weeks to implement a working CBI management online information systems platform.
The response of Pacific island-nation Vanuatu, where, as late as July 2020, not a single case of Covid-19 had been reported, stood in contrast to the Caribbean CBI countries. Indeed, while the Caribbean reduced in-person gatherings — but retained capacity — Vanuatu’s citizenship commission remained fully open while warning applicants that it would be unable to deliver citizenship certificates to successful applicants abroad. Additionally, provision was made for applicants to take the oath of allegiance via video conference link until the easement of travel restrictions.
The Montenegro Investment Agency suffered an interruption in application submissions under the newly fledged Montenegrin CBI programme, citing the nation’s Covid-19 border closure as the primary cause for the standstill.
Documentary adjustments
A number of countries, including Grenada and St Kitts and Nevis, also applied temporary adjustments to documentary requirements to further ease the document-gathering process for applicants, many of whom were subject to rigorous lockdown protocols in their home countries.
Regulatory changes
Cypriot authorities, in a bid to alleviate the economic consequences of Covid-19, indicated in April that they would begin processing applications scheduled for 2021 in 2020, although it is unclear when approvals for these applications will be issued.
St Lucia’s Citizenship by Investment (Amendment) Regulations, 2020, made on 12 May, introduced a limited-time offer for the purchase of ‘Covid-19 relief bonds’. These temporary bonds, available until 31 December 2020, can be issued in exchange for a lower investment, but must generally be held for longer than under previous regulations.
Other Covid-19 limited-time offers were also introduced by St Kitts and Nevis, and Antigua and Barbuda, both of which are particularly appealing to large families.
Use of CBI funds
In Malta, 80 per cent of the revenue from the Individual Investor Programme (minus payments to the programme’s sole concessionaire and the Malta Individual Investor Programme Agency) was temporarily redirected into the Consolidated Fund. Normally, only 30 per cent would flow into the Consolidated Fund and the rest would be delivered to the National Development and Social Fund. The additional income diverted to the Consolidated Fund is to be used to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 by bolstering the country’s economy and health sector.
