For the second year running, Dominica's citizenship by investment (CBI) programme has declared the best in the world in a special report issued by Financial Times subsidiary Professional Wealth Management.

The report, titled the 2018 CBI Index, awarded Dominica perfect marks in five of the seven areas measured. The island-nation scored top results for its security and vetting procedures (referred to in the report as due diligence), affordability (minimum investment outlay), speed (citizenship timeline), efficiency (ease of processing) and undemanding travel or residence requirements.

Dominica's CBI Programme encourages international businesspersons and high net-worth individuals, as well as their families, to invest in Dominica and obtain second citizenship. While Dominica presents one of the world's oldest programmes, established in 1993, it is now one of 13 nations in a growing economic citizenship sector, fuelled by investors seeking new, international opportunities.

Dominica's strong results can be attributed to the following features:

The due diligence process is multi-tiered, with the nation drawing on international counter-terrorist and anti-money laundering experts, ensuring only persons of the highest moral fibre apply;

The application process is streamlined, with citizenship typically approved in less than two months (and within three months by regulation);

There are no mandatory travel or residence requirements - a feature welcomed by the typically time-poor applicant;

Dominica's Programme is the world's most affordable CBI option, with investment thresholds starting from $100,000 for a main applicant.

Dominica's Prime Minister Dr Roosevelt Skerrit said: "The results of the 2018 CBI Index are, in many ways, even more meaningful in the wake of last year's Hurricane Maria. We showed unfathomable resilience, and a consistent and diligent approach to service, resuming application processing for our citizenship programme within less than a week of the event. I can safely assure investors that our Citizenship by Investment Programme is indeed hurricane-proof."

The CBI Index is the only comprehensive study of citizenship by investment jurisdictions, critically analysing the countries operating government-legislated programmes around the world. The results are based on the seven factors most relevant to the typical investor seeking a second citizenship: Due Diligence, Minimum Investment Outlay, Ease of Processing, Citizenship Timeline, Freedom of Movement, Standard of Living, and Mandatory Travel or Residence. – TradeArabia News Service