With so much change happening so rapidly around us – inflation, broader macroeconomic volatility, geopolitical instability, energy uncertainty – it can be challenging to keep up with how all these disparate factors coming to bear on the prevailing attitudes toward global citizenship.

The World Citizenship Report is the world’s first-ever endeavour in investigating the value of citizenship through the lens of the global citizen. It answers how can we keep abreast of the shifting kaleidoscope of citizenship values and priorities using the World Citizenship Index, an innovative tool that takes a holistic approach to rank the world’s citizenships across multiple dimensions.

The World Citizenship Index is the product of a research-driven approach that goes beyond ordinary concepts of passport strength by placing greater emphasis on the diverse attitudes regarding key facets of citizenship. Unlike other rating tools, the World Citizenship Index ranking is designed to reflect a citizenship’s value through the lens of the newest generation of global citizens: the mass affluent population.

Biggest motivators to invest in alternative citizenship include quality of life, safety and security and financial freedom
The World Citizenship Report measures 188 countries across five motivators that are most relevant among the newest generation of global citizens – Safety and Security, Economic Opportunity, Quality of Life, Global Mobility and Financial Freedom.

This year, the Quality of Life ranked in first position of the five pillars, overtaking both Physical Safety and Financial Freedom.

Quality of Life looks at territories’ ability to provide its citizens with essential services required for a good standard of living, including higher standards of education and healthcare facilities.

Monaco, Denmark and Hong Kong took the top three spots in the Quality of Life pillar.

The United States came in at 29th position. African countries took the bottom 10 positions, with Somalia taking 185th place.

We are unfortunately living through a period where the standard of living is falling at the fastest rate in over a generation.

At the end of 2022, the UK Office for Budget Responsibility reported that UK households are set to suffer a 7.1 per cent fall in living standards over the next two years, the largest decline in six decades. And, according to the latest United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report published at the end of 2022, living conditions in 90 per cent of the world’s countries deteriorated in 2021 – something that hasn’t been seen since the height of the previous global recession caused by the financial crisis in 2007. Moreover, it marked the first consecutive year of decline in the 32-year history of the Human Development Index (HDI).
This data shows why quality of life is so highly coveted among global mass affluents, and indeed all individuals.

The Safety and Security motivator assesses how people in a certain country have the ability to enjoy greater social safety and security for themselves and their families and whether they have a safety net against being trapped in a territory with civil disorder.

Iceland took first place in the Safety and Security motivator, New Zealand came a close second place and Switzerland took third place. Afghanistan scored the lowest in this pillar.

Safety and Security remains an obvious top priority for the average mass affluent global citizen. This comes as no surprise given the uncertain state of the world – one need to look no further than the war in Ukraine as a painful reminder of the relative fragility of peace. Western nations now have a growing preoccupation or sense of danger around the prospect of war, having an active war so close to home compared with conflicts in Asia, Africa, and other parts of the world.

The Financial Freedom motivator measures the ability of a country to provide a favourable and stable regulatory climate for the establishment and functioning of businesses, as well as the holding of personal and business assets.

Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore took the first three spots in this pillar.

The growing desire for citizens to conduct their own financial affairs such as wealth management and estate planning without undue surveillance and burdensome regulations appears to be a feature of the current economic climate. While 43 per cent of World Citizenship Report survey respondents placed the heaviest emphasis on the employment opportunities typically associated with economic performance, those that placed importance on investments, estate planning, and wealth planning combined for a total of 37 per cent.

These sentiments reflect the growing perception that the rising costs of living and broader economic uncertainty are being accompanied by a creeping tax burden as state expenditures continue to escalate due to rocketing debt-servicing costs brought on by a tightening monetary landscape, rapid demographic changes, and other factors.

It must also be noted that governments themselves are being stressed by this tightening fiscal landscape due to the rising costs of servicing their debt – a factor that is fuelling the trend of rising tax burdens globally.

“In the 2022 edition of the World Citizenship Report, we only surveyed high-net-worth individuals (HNWI), this year, we expanded the survey to include a wider audience in order to gain a better perspective of what people prioritise in terms of their own nationality. The expanded audience of over 1000 participants included both HNWIs and the mass affluent from across the globe. Findings from the survey showed that while the research participants came from varied backgrounds and cultures, all with different needs and pain points, they all had one common goal: freedom,” concludes Micha Emmet, CEO of CS Global Partners.

Mr. Anthony joins Exiger from the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) of Antigua & Barbuda, where he was Deputy Chief Executive Officer. In that role, Mr. Anthony managed the daily operations of the CIU, helping to transform it into one of the largest, most efficient, and fastest growing programs in the world. Before this, Mr. Anthony spent more than 26 years in the banking sector – in both commercial and investment banking – in Antigua, St. Lucia, and Miami.

“Thomas’s expertise in banking, combined with his deep local knowledge, makes him uniquely qualified to advise the CIUs and the regional banks on how to most effectively address one of the most important issues facing the industry today: the pressure placed on global banks to comply with stringent AML regulations, causing them to ‘de-risk’ smaller, regional correspondent banking relationships,” said Michael Beber, Exiger’s President and CEO. “We are thrilled to welcome Thomas to Exiger, where he will work with both our due diligence and banking experts to assist in evolving standards in the industry and ensure the sustainability of citizenship by investment programs throughout the region.”

Exiger’s ICV Due Diligence Practice is a global leader in work related to citizenship by investment programs. The business is part of Exiger Diligence, which provides global public records research and investigative due diligence to global financial institutions, multinational corporations, and governmental agencies.

“Thomas has been, and will continue to be, a trusted advisor in the Caribbean region,” said Kim Marsh, Exiger Diligence’s Vice Chairman and Global Head of the ICV Practice. “His combination of extensive first-hand experience with citizenship by investment programs and deep knowledge of the banking sector will make him a tremendous asset to Exiger’s ICV practice, the Caribbean banks, and CIUs.”

“Exiger is the gold standard for due diligence and compliance,” said Mr. Anthony.  “Exiger’s industry-leading, technology-based, due diligence tools including DDIQ and Insight 3PM, will enable clients to conduct effective pre-screening, continuous monitoring and automated lookbacks. This will greatly enhance the quality, efficiency, and security of the CIUs’ due diligence process. I look forward to working with the entire Exiger team to provide enhanced services, advice, and support to the banks and CIUs operating across the Caribbean region.”

Mr. Anthony holds a degree in banking and finance from City Banking College and a degree in business administration and management from West London College.

About Exiger

Exiger is a global regulatory and financial crime, risk and compliance company.  Exiger arms financial institutions, multinational corporations and governmental agencies with the practical advice and technology solutions they need to prevent compliance breaches, respond to risk, remediate major issues and monitor ongoing business activities.  Exiger works with clients worldwide to assist them in effectively managing their critical challenges while developing and implementing the policies, procedures and programs needed to create a sustainable compliance environment.  A global authority on regulatory compliance, the company also oversees some of the world’s most complex court-appointed and voluntary monitorships in the private and public sectors, including the monitorship of HSBC.  Exiger has four principal business units being:  Exiger Advisory; Exiger Analytics, including DDIQ, the groundbreaking cognitive computing and intelligent search platform; Exiger Diligence and Exiger Insight 3PM.  Exiger operates through offices in New York City, Silver Spring (DC Metro), Miami, Toronto, Vancouver, London, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

The GIIC made the regulatory recommendations to increase the transparency and accountability of diplomatic appointments’ work with the country’s Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP). The recommendations are part of the GIIC’s collaboration with Professor Craig Barker, Dean of the School of International Law and Social Sciences, London South Bank University, and included proposals for more thorough due diligence, stricter appointment procedures and tighter controls.

“In order to manage the risks associated with these appointments, the appointment shall be for a maximum of two years, subject to renewal upon satisfactory performance.” shared the Hon. Gaston Browne. Further he shared “To ensure appropriate representation by non-national ambassadors-at-large, special envoys and honorary consuls, thorough background and other due diligence checks shall be conducted on persons under consideration and prior to their appointment.”

Mykolas Rambus, Chairman of the GIIC shared “For countries with citizenship by investment programs, diplomatic figures are of even greater importance. Conscious of preserving the integrity and standing of diplomatic and other passports of Antigua and Barbuda, the government has implemented even more rigorous appointment procedures including expanded due diligence and monitoring practices. Antigua and Barbuda have clearly taken steps to advance the reputation of the country and improve the performance of its citizenship by investment program.”

About the GIIC

The Global Investor Immigration Council (GIIC) is the investor immigration industry’s self-regulatory body, protecting integrity, ensuring transparency, and advancing advocacy for all constituents. The GIIC develops and maintains best industry practices, serves as a non-partisan, not-for-profit forum for all stakeholders to ensure dialogue, stability, and success. To learn more, please visit www.giic.uk.