Immigration Central: All about Dominica’s citizenship by investment program

Roseau, Dominica. You do not need a Dominica address to get the passport renewed. You can give your primary residence as your address, and get it renewed through any Dominican Consulate. (Representational image: Nario Esprit via Unsplash)

Introduced in 1993, the Dominica Citizenship by Investment Program is one of the longest-running economic citizenship schemes in the world. Applicants obtain an irrevocable citizenship and passport without having to reside in the country or renounce their current nationality.

Key benefits and processing time

The program offers:

- Right to live, work, vote and study in Dominica

- Dual citizenship allowed

- Visa-free travel to 143 countries, including the Schengen States, the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong

- Processing time: 4 months

- Family dependents: Spouse, children up to 30 years old, parents/grandparents above 55 years of age, and unmarried siblings 18 to 25 years old.

- Passport validity: 10 years for persons above 16 years of age and 5 years for children under 16.

- Applicants are not required to attend an interview, and during the process, all correspondence with the government will be managed by the licensed broker on the client's behalf.

- Applicants are not required to visit the country even once, and there is no residency requirement whatsoever to obtain Dominica citizenship through investment.

- 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.

- You do not need a Dominica address to get the passport renewed. You can provide your primary residence as your address, and get it renewed through any Dominican Consulate.

Investment options

Option 1: A non-refundable contribution to the Economic Development Fund (EDF):

- Single applicant: US$100,000

- Spouse of the main applicant: US$50,000

- Sibling of the main applicant or of the spouse of the main applicant aged 18-25: US$50,000

- Any dependent other than the spouse of the main applicant or a sibling of the main applicant or of the spouse of the main applicant aged 18-25: US$25,000 each.

- Family of 4 including the main applicant, the spouse of the main applicant, and two other dependents other than a dependent sibling: US$175,000

Fees under the EDF category

Processing fee: US$1,000

Additional government fees are not required under the EDF category but must be paid under the real estate investment option.

Option 2: An investment of at least US$200,000 in an approved real estate development. The ownership should be maintained for a minimum of three years. Those holding the ownership for five years can re-sell the property under the citizenship by investment program.

The government application fee under the real estate category is:

- Main applicant: US$25,000

- Spouse: US$10,000

- Family of up to 4: US$35,000

- Family of up to 6: US$50,000

- Family of 7 or more: US$70,000

- Additional dependents: US$25,000 each

- Eligible siblings 18 to 25: US$50,000 each

Due diligence fees for both investment options:

- Principal applicant: US$7,500

- Spouse: US$7,500

- Dependents 16+ years of age: US$4,000 each

- Dependents 12 to 16 years of age: US$2,000 each

- Dependents under 12 years of age: Free

- Naturalisation fee per person: US$250

- Passport fee per person: US$60 (An additional fee of US$1,200 for an expedited passport issuance)

Rough estimate of total cost (investment + fees)

- Government donation (EDF) option: US$108,810

- Government donation (EDF) option for a family of 4: US$192,240

- Approved real estate option: US$233,810

- Approved real estate option for a family of 4: USD $252,240

(Family of 4 includes main applicant, spouse, and two children below the age of 12).

How to apply

The main applicant must be at least 18 years of age

Applications for new citizenship cannot be made directly by the applicant. The applicant will have to have to go through an Authorised Agent of the Dominica Citizenship by Investment Unit (CBIU) - only authorised CBIU agents can present applications under the program.

All documents must be in English. Supporting documents that are not in English must be translated by an accredited professional translator and duly notarised.

All financial transactions related to the Dominica Economic Citizenship Program are exclusively in US Dollars.

Which family members can be considered dependents?

A qualified dependent is:

- Spouse of the primary applicant

- Child of the primary applicant or spouse younger than 18 years of age

- According to program regulations, a child can be either biological or legally adopted.

- Child (between 18 and 30 years of age) of the primary applicant or spouse, fully supported by his/her parents and in full-time attendance at a recognised higher learning institution since age 18

- An unmarried daughter younger than 30 years of age of the primary applicant, living with and fully supported by her parent

- A physically or mentally challenged child older than 18 years of age and fully supported by his or her parents

- Parents or grandparents (above the age of 55) of the primary applicant or spouse, living with and fully supported by the primary applicant

- New children of successful Dominica Citizenship Program participants can become Dominica citizens without any additional investment. However, a US$2,000 government processing fee has to be paid to add a newborn as a citizen of the country.

Tax Benefits

Dominican passport holders who do not reside in the country get a tax-free status on all foreign income and capital gains, and are not liable for any gift, wealth or inheritance taxes in the country.

There is no restriction on the repatriation of corporate profits or imported capital, generous export allowances, duty-free trading in the Caribbean, and full exemptions from import duties.