At Arton we are in constant contact with high net worth individuals, and we are privileged to see how their needs and considerations evolve. These relationships help us streamline and focus on what is important to our clients. It is a challenge to simplify complexity, but this is what we excel at. We empower our clients to find the right fit with ease. Now you have all the tools in your hands.
Although it is still important, mobility is no longer the principle driver for a second residence or citizenship. Each Global Citizen program offers a host of unique benefits. We have distilled these benefits into five key pillars – these are the benchmarks against which you can evaluate each program and compare them against one another based on your particular needs and goals.
COST |
SPEED |
GLOBAL MOBILITY |
QUALITY OF LIFE |
SIMPLICITY |
ARTON INDEX SCORE |
CHANGE |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (30) | (20) | (20) | (10) | (20) | (100) | ||
 Dominica |
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 Grenada |
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 Saint Lucia |
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 Antigua & Barbuda |
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 Montenegro |
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 St. Kitts & Nevis |
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 Quebec, Canada |
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 United Kingdom |
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 Portugal |
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 USA |
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 Cyprus |
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 Bulgaria |
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Arton Index has been updated on January 29, 2023.
Overview
The Arton Index is a comparative tool measuring programs for residence and citizenship from the perspective of the investor. The index is constructed by indicators and grouped into categories. Indicators are based on Arton’s industry experience, field analysis, and assessment of the key factors that high net worth individuals consider important when they choose the program that will best fit their needs. The index is revised semi-annually in June and December. Where significant changes occur in any of the assessed components for a given country, updates are made off these two predetermined assessment periods.
Key Findings
Methodology
The Arton Index measures how appealing global residence and citizenship programs are to high net worth individuals. It is composed of five pillars. These principal dimensions by which programs can be assessed are divided into the industry-related categories of Speed, Cost and Simplicity, and the general categories of Quality of Life and Global Mobility.
Each category and its components make up the individual score of a program. The maximum score that a program can achieve is 100 points. The methodology is constructed 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 major representatives of the global citizenship industry. As on the last update, the countries assessed included the following: Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Dominica, Greece, Grenada, Hungary, Latvia, Malta, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, St. Kitts & Nevis, the U.K. and the USA. The list may be enriched in time.
Cost is arguably the most important indicator for most investors and as such has a maximum weight of 30 points. The three components that form the commitment an investor would have to make 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 four (principal applicant, spouse and two children aged 11-17).
Speed has a maximum weight of 20 points and examines the duration of the application process and the time required to qualify for citizenship. This pillar takes into account the average processing times as defined in the national legislation of each jurisdiction. The most points are awarded to the fastest times.
Global Mobility has a maximum weight of 20 points and is based on an assessment of two different components. The first is whether or not the passport allows visa-free travel for its citizens to a predetermined group of financial centers and socio-cultural hubs. The second component is the total number of countries the passport can reach visa-free.
Quality of Life has a maximum weight of 10 points and takes into consideration data from two reliable external sources to see the worldwide ranking of the examined countries. The two external indices are also selected based on their coverage since they examine all countries covered by the Arton Index.
Simplicity examines the level of complexity of each program assessed. Programs with complex procedures and requirements score fewer points while those with simplified procedures and incentives score higher.
Background
Each year more than 20,000 families seek to invest in their futures 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 and attract high net worth individuals and foreign direct investment.
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. The index empowers them to make the best choice when they contemplate one of the most important decisions for themselves and their families.
