Citizenship by Investment Dominica
Established in 1993, the Dominica Economic Citizenship Program legally offers individuals and families worldwide an irrevocable second citizenship and passport in only four to six months with no visit to the country required. The Caribbean island nation has an excellent international reputation, and consequently, the Commonwealth of Dominica passport provides visa-free or visa on arrival access to more than 115 countries around the world including the entire European Union, Switzerland, UK, Singapore, Russia, Brazil, and Hong Kong. The Dominica citizenship through investment program is legally entrenched in law, and since local law does not contain any restrictions on holding dual nationality, obtaining second citizenship by investment in the country is a confidential process that does not require a person to renounce their existing citizenship.
In addition to having no physical residency requirement, the Commonwealth of Dominica citizenship by investment program has no language, age, business experience, or educational requirements, and there is no mandatory interview. The economically secure country with a parliamentary democracy enjoys one of the highest standards of living in the Caribbean, has no taxes for non-residents, boasts the lowest crime rate in the entire region, and is arguably one of the most naturally beautiful places on earth with lush green mountains, countless pristine rivers and waterfalls, and stunning white and black sandy beaches. Best of all, the Commonwealth of Dominica offers the cheapest citizenship by investment program in the world with reputable second passports starting at only $100,000 USD.
UPDATE: The cost of citizenship in Dominica will remain unchanged until at least 2021. The Caribbean citizenship program's investment criteria was previously scheduled to increase significantly with the minimum price of a Dominica passport rising 75% to $175,000. This major cost increase has now been put on hold indefinitely, although prices could increase once the COVID-19 pandemic is over so we encourage you to act fast.
Section 101 of the Dominica Constitution and Section 8 and Amendment 20(1) of the Citizenship Act define the investor program in law, legally granting eligible persons instant citizenship in the country by a Certificate of Naturalization. The Dominica Citizenship by Investment Unit (CBIU), a recently established government authority within the Ministry of Finance, enforces all regulations under the passport program and is the regulatory body that ensures only worthy applicants are accepted. In order to be considered eligible, the main applicant must be at least 18 years of age and must meet all the Dominica immigration requirements outlined below.
Clean Background Check
The Dominica Economic Citizenship Program will only accept individuals of outstanding character and repute. To ensure only credible persons of impeccable standing are given citizenship, the Government of Dominica has a preeminent private investigative agency perform a comprehensive due diligence procedure on all applicants older than 18 years of age. Dominica is committed to an exemplary standard of due diligence to protect the integrity of its citizenship investment program, and only individuals with no criminal record and whose funds have been legally derived will be permitted to acquire citizenship in the country.
Good Health
In order to be approved for Dominica nationality, applicants should have excellent health and must show that they do not suffer from any contagious diseases.
Financial Investment
To be eligible for Dominican citizenship by investment, a candidate must either make a significant economic contribution to a government fund or purchase approved real estate on the island. In both cases, the applicant must officially commit to making the investment before applying to the investor program, but does not actually have to pay in full until after approval in principle.
Government Fund
The Dominica Economic Diversification Fund (EDF) finances public and private sector projects in the country in an effort to increase national development and support the islands social progress and financial security. Public sector projects identified for financing by the fund include renovating the local hospital, building new schools, constructing a national sports stadium, and promoting the Island of Dominica offshore industry. Private sector projects financed by the fund primarily focus on advancing the nation's information technology, tourism, and agricultural sectors.
To qualify for Dominica citizenship by investment under this option, the following non-refundable monetary contributions must be made to the Economic Diversification Fund:
Single applicant - USD $100,000 Main applicant and spouse - USD $150,000 Main applicant, spouse, and up to 2 children - USD $175,000 Additional dependents - USD $25,000 each Eligible siblings 18 to 25 - USD $50,000 each
These contribution amounts are significantly lower than other citizenship by investment countries in the region with comparable passports. The Dominican Economic Citizenship Program offers astounding value to its participants, and no other reputable investor citizenship program has such affordable investment criteria making Dominica the cheapest citizenship by investment program in the world. The cost to become a Dominica citizen will likely increase substantially in 2021 or 2022, bringing the country's prices more in line with other Caribbean citizenship programs.
Candidates applying under the government donation option must agree to pay the total amount specified by the program within 30 days of receiving an Approval in Principle letter from the CBIU. Until the applicant has passed the due diligence phase and is officially approved in principle, however, they are not required to actually make the contribution. Upon formally receiving conditional CBIU approval, donations are deposited by wire transfer into a designated governmental escrow account at the National Commercial Bank of Dominica. If an application is rejected or withdrawn, the candidate will be refunded the entire deposit amount minus a small application fee within one month of the rejection or withdrawal. If the application is successful, the money will be removed from the escrow account by the Government only after an Oath of Allegiance has been signed before a Notary Public and naturalization certificates as well as passports have been issued to the principal applicant and their family.
Dominica has a special government agency within the Department of Finance that handles all matters regarding economic citizenship including management and adjudication of applications, enforcement of regulations, and marketing of the program abroad. This entity is called the Dominica Citizenship by Investment Unit (CBIU), and the outcome of all nationality applications is at the sole discretion of the CBIU director and senior examiners.
The first step towards procuring a Commonwealth of Dominica passport is to contact an Authorized Agent of the Caribbean economic citizenship program. It is not possible to submit an application directly to the Dominica Citizenship by Investment Unit (CBIU) - only authorized CBIU agents can present new citizenship applications under the program. Before an accredited individual or company will accept a new investor client, he or she will customarily perform some basic due diligence on the potential client and will walk them through the entire process from start to finish. If no issues surface during initial due diligence, the investor can retain the services of the agent who will then prepare and submit a citizenship of Dominica by investment application on their behalf. As part of this process, the immigration professional will also handle all auxiliary documentation preparation and validation, and can even arrange the professional translation of foreign language documents into English.
There is no residency requirement whatsoever to obtain Dominica citizenship through investment, and applicants are not even required to visit the country a single time. Once a person has acquired Dominica nationality, there is also no obligation to ever visit the island in order to maintain citizenship, and Dominica passport renewals are unconditionally available to all citizens at all times. Dominica is a fantastic country, however, and new citizens are encouraged to visit and are of course very welcome to live, work, or study on the island.
In most cases, it is possible for Dominica economic citizenship participants to keep their newly acquired second passport a secret since the process is completely confidential and there is absolutely no disclosure of information unless required for due diligence purposes. The country fully recognizes dual citizenship, which means the Government of Dominica will never force a person to renounce their existing citizenship in order to be granted a new nationality, and will never exchange information with foreign governments. The names of successful citizenship by investment candidates in Dominica will also never be published publicly. The Government of Dominica even allows people to legally change their surname via a Deed Poll procedure once they have been a citizen for more than one year. Please note: although Dominica dual citizenship is permitted, a person's current country of citizenship may have restrictions prohibiting them from possessing a 2nd passport.
Interested in learning more about Dominica investment citizenship? Contact us for a consultation.
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