Citizen Grenada Citizen Grenada | Page 14

The Grenada Citizenship by Investment Programme young adults may obtain preferred access, and in some cases grants, to top schools and universities. LIFESTYLE BENEFITS Grenada offers its citizens social and political security, reinforced by its membership in the United Nations and the Commonwealth of Nations. Grenada’s local community is culturally vibrant, vivacious, and extremely friendly. Grenada has a long history, and locals are proud of their national heritage, which they celebrate throughout the year. Finally, Grenada is the perfect setting for both adventure and relaxation: its wildlife attractions, marine life, and national parks make it an exciting place to explore, while its super-yacht marina and pastel towns make it ideal for strolling and unwinding. BUSINESS ADVANTAGES OF GRENADIAN CITIZENSHIP Grenada has no foreign income, wealth, gift, inheritance, or capital gains tax. There is no restriction on the repatriation of profits and imported capital. Generous incentive packages exist including corporate tax incentives, full exemption from import duties, tax relief benefits, and export allowance. Grenada’s currency, the East Caribbean dollar (XCD), is pegged to the United States dollar (USD). Lastly, there is duty-free trading in the Caribbean. INTERNATIONAL MOBILITY Grenadian citizens can travel without visa restrictions to more than 115 international and Commonwealth countries. These include the United Kingdom and all other members of the European Union, and important business hubs such as Singapore and Hong Kong. Grenada is one of very few nations whose citizens can travel to the People’s Republic of China without first obtaining a visa. THE ARTON INDEX Arton Index is a comparative tool measuring programs for residence and citizenship from the perspective of the investor. The Index is constructed by indicators, grouped in categories. Indicators are based on ARTON’s industry experience, field analysis, and assessment of the key factors that high net worth individuals consider when they choose the program that will best fit their needs. The Index is revised semi- annually, in June and in December. Where significant changes occur in any of the assessed components for a given country, update is made off these two pre- determined assessment periods. KEY FINDINGS • Both Dominica and Grenada are excelled to the top mainly due to their recent adoption of the Schengen visa waiver 14 Citizen Grenada Citizen Grenada • Bulgaria remains Europe’s program of choice • UK and the USA rank last mainly due to the duration and complexity of the processes but still remain, along with Canada one of the best migration destinations. METHODOLOGY The Arton Index measures how appealing global residence and citizenship programs are to high net worth individuals. It is composed of 5 pillars. These principal dimensions by which programs can be assessed are divided into industry-related, including Speed, Cost and Simplicity, and general – Quality of life and Global mobility. Each category and its components make the individual score of a program. The maximum score that a program can get is 100 points. The methodology is construed in a way, to allow the application of an assessment grid that reflects the program type as the index is applied to both residence to citizenship programs and direct citizenship programs. The Index examines all countries that are considered as major representatives of the global citizenship industry. As on the last Index update, the countries assessed include: Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Dominica, Greece, Grenada, Hungary, Latvia, Malta, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, St. Kitts & Nevis, UK, USA. The list may be enriched in time. COST Cost is arguably the most important indicator for most of the investors and it has a maximum weight of 30 points. The three components that form the commitment an investor would have to make are taking into consideration, which are the required investment, the government fees and the cost of financing, where applicable. The methodology is based on the assessment of the cost for a family of 4 – principal applicant, spouse and two children aged 11-17. BACKGROUND Every year, more than 20,000 families are looking to invest in their future through investor programs for residence and citizenship. More and more high net worth individuals are inquiring into available options and countries are becoming even more eager to implement legislative policies that will secure their competitive positioning to attract those high net worth individuals and thus more foreign direct investments. The Arton Index is widely used by industry stakeholders to better assess each program’s specific benefits for investors who in turn obtain a very clear picture of the industry and empowers them to make the best choice when they contemplate on one of the most important decisions for themselves and their families. CG 15