In the second edition of the Henley & Partners – Kochenov Quality of Nationality Index, Barbados jumped ahead of The Bahamas to become the highest ranked Caribbean country at 52nd position on the list of 159 nationalities. The Bahamas which ranked first last year was second in 55th position followed by Antigua & Barbuda at the 56th position. Rounding out the top five for the Caribbean region are St Kitts & Nevis ranked 57th and Trinidad & Tobago ranked 59th.
A majority of the Caribbean nationalities actually moved up on the list from last year in large part due to now having visa-free access to the Schengen area (26 European countries) with Dominica, Grenada and Saint Lucia who have Citizenship By Investment Programs improving the most on the list. In fact, they were among the top five risers in 2016, along with nationalities for Timor-Leste and St Vincent & The Grenadines. Specifically, Dominica rose 25 places in 2016 (ranked 68th), Grenada rose 24 places (ranked 67th) and Saint Lucia rose 22 places (ranked 64th).
Rank For Caribbean Countries on Henley & Partners – Kochenov Quality of Nationality Index (QNI) – 2nd Edition
| Rank | Country | Value 2016 | Change in value 2015-2016 | Change in value 2012-2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 | Barbados | 43.2 | +3.4 | +2.2 |
| 55 | The Bahamas | 42.4 | -0.1 | +1.0 |
| 56 | Antigua & Barbuda | 42.0 | +4.0 | +3.4 |
| 57 | Saint Kitts & Nevis | 37.7 | -1.5 | -0.3 |
| 59 | Trinidad & Tobago | 41.2 | +8.6 | +8.4 |
| 64 | Saint Lucia | 39.6 | +9.3 | +8.6 |
| 65 | St Vincent & The Grenadines | 39.5 | +9.6 | +8..5 |
| 67 | Grenada | 38.9 | +9.1 | +9.2 |
| 68 | Dominica | 38.2 | +8.9 | +8.8 |
| 90 | Belize | 32.2 | +3.5 | +3.1 |
| 93 | Suriname | 30.8 | +2.0 | +2.9 |
| 96 | Jamaica | 30.0 | +1.9 | +2.2 |
| 98 | Guyana | 28.9 | +1.5 | +3.6 |
| 106 | Cuba | 28.6 | +1.3 | +1.4 |
| 115 | Dominican Republic | 26.9 | +2.1 | +1.8 |
| 126 | British Overseas Territories Citizenship | 24.7 | n/a | n/a |
| 141 | Haiti | 21.6 | +1.6 | +2.8 |
A new entry to the list above is the ranking for the British Overseas Territories Citizenship at the 126th position which includes Caribbean countries such as Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and Turks & Caicos. This is to acknowledge the fact that passports issued by British Overseas Territories do not automatically grant their citizens the right to reside or work in the United Kingdom ranked 12th of the list. They have to secure a second passport issued by the United Kingdom to acquire these rights. Also, visa-free travel arrangements vary depending on the overseas territory issuing the passport. However, for the purposes of the Henley & Partners – Kochenov Quality of Nationality Index, they were grouped together as visa-free access differences were minimal. For example, holders of a Montserratian passport can travel visa-free to Suriname and the same exception applies to holders of a Bermudian passport traveling to Montenegro.
Countries with British Overseas Territories Citizenship. Photo Credit: ©Henley & Partners.
Below are the rankings for France, The Netherlands and the United States which grants the same passport/nationality to citizens of their dependent territories in the Caribbean.
Rank For Countries with Caribbean Dependent Territories on Henley & Partners – Kochenov Quality of Nationality Index (QNI) – 2nd Edition
| Rank | Country | Value 2016 | Change in value 2015-2016 | Change in value 2012-2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | France | 82.4 | +1.5 | +0.9 |
| 8 | The Netherlands | 79.7 | -0.6 | -2.6 |
| 27 | United States | 68.8 | +5.3 | +4.9 |
* France – 4 dependents: Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy
* The Netherlands – 6 dependents: Aruba, Bonaire, St. Eustatius, Saba, Curacao, St. Maarten
* United States – 2 dependents: Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands
The methodology for the Henley & Partners – Kochenov Quality of Nationality Index which is becoming an important tool for those who wish to retire to the Caribbean and for ultra high net worth individuals evaluating citizenship programs like those offered in the Caribean ranked the 159 nationalities on the basis of seven parameters, which gauge both Internal Value (40%) and External Value (60%). The three parameters for Internal Value are: Human Development (15%), Economic Strength (15%) and Peace and Stability (10%), and the four parameters for External Value are: Diversity of Settlement Freedom (15%), Weight of Settlement Freedom (15%), Diversity of Travel Freedom (15%), and Weight of Travel Freedom (15%). Data for these seven parameters was sources from a variety of places including the World Bank, the International Air Transport Association and the Institute for Economics and Peace.
Henley & Partners: Quality of Nationality Index: Internal & External Factors Weights Photo Credit: ©Henley & Partners.
For more information, visit the website for the Henley & Partners – Kochenov Quality of Nationality Index which ranked the German nationality the highest in the world over the last five years with a score of 82.7 and Afghanistan as the lowest in the world with a score of 14.6.
