WILL THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE NEW 30-DAY CBI RESIDENTIAL REQUIREMENT BE DELAYED UNTIL 2026?

All this press coverage, in the investment migration media, about the virtues of having economic citizenship holders spend thirty days, within a five year period, in their new jurisdiction, may look nice, and in response to the American complaint about non-residents, but don't expect it to be a requirement anytime soon. All five CBI & CIP states must sign before it become effective.

In fact, I would be surprised if it is ratified before 2026; remember, when the five Eastern Caribbean CBI states signed the Memorandum of Agreement, SAINT LUCIA delayed signing for several months, and hustled through a large number of citizenships during that period, its CIU, under the control of INVESTMENT MINISTER ERNEST HILAIRE, frantically working nights and weekends, to complete sales at illegally discounted rates. Which EC state, looking to evade the 30-day residency requirement for their clients, will drag its heels this time?

If you have any doubts, take a close look at the attached portion of the Draft Agreement ( which is still not yet in final form, nor have comments and objections published, a month after they were due) to see the loophole. If the discounted sales pricing fraud was any indication, it will be quite a while before the Parliaments of the five CBI states pass the proposed legislation.