Commonwealth of Dominica

Last year, the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit, announced several projected changes concerning Dominica’s Citizenship by Investment Program. He declared that the program experienced such great success in recent years through attracting funds from foreign investors into Dominica’s economy. An increase in applicants, however, requires increased staff as well as increased involvement from the government to improve the application process. In addition, he indicated that new investment options were being discussed.
 
Skerrit mentioned that due to the new and improved marketing strategies implemented, the number of applications is expected to increase for the program. As a result, the government would also have to increase their fees in order to offset new staffing requirements and to attract the best applicants while at the same time remaining competitive with other comparable programs.
 
Last month, at an immigration seminar in the Middle East, the head of the Citizenship by Investment Program Unit, Emmanuel Nantham, confirmed the statements made by Prime Minister Skerrit last year. At the seminar held in Dubai, Nantham repeated Skerrit’s announcement that charges and investment minimums will in fact increase, and it may happen as soon as August 1^st this year. He also said that anyone wishing to avoid these increased rates should submit their applications as soon as possible.
 
Having been established in 1993, Dominica’s Citizenship by Investment Program is one of the oldest and most trusted programs available. High net worth individuals from around the world are looking to invest in Dominica as it is gaining ground as a global financial center. There is no language, education, or business experience requirement for this program, making it a very simple application. This is also the cheapest Citizenship by Investment Program in the world, with a current investment requirement of only US$100,000 for a single applicant.
 
A second passport and second citizenship to Dominica offers visa-free travel to over 90 countries worldwide. There is no physical residence requirement to obtain or maintain citizenship, which is practical for those investors that have no intention to reside in Dominica, although the country offers one of the highest standards of living in the Caribbean. Citizenship in Dominica also offers investors tax relief as there is no wealth, gift, or inheritance tax, and there is no tax on foreign income or capital gains.
 
There are two investment options to obtain Citizenship by Investment in Dominica:

​1. Government Fund Contribution option requires applicants to make a non-refundable contribution to encourage the public and private sector. This investment option is subdivided into four different investment amounts, depending on the number of dependents included in the application, as follows:

a. Single Applicant: a non-refundable contribution of US$100,000 required.
- Will increase to US$175,000.

b. Main Applicant and Spouse: a non-refundable contribution of US$175,000 required.
- Will increase to US$225,000.

c. Main Applicant, Spouse, and two dependent children under the age of 18: a non-refundable contribution of US$200,000 required.
- Will increase to US$250,000.

d. Addition of US$50,000 for each additional dependent.
- Will remain the same.

2. Real Estate Investment option requires applicants to make a minimum investment of US$200,000 in an authorized real estate project, which must be held for a minimum of three years. Additional government processing fees as follows:

a. For the Principal Applicant: US$50,000.

b. For the Spouse: US$25,000.
- Will increase to a joint payment of US$90,000 for both Principal Applicant and Spouse.

c. For each dependent of the main applicant below the age of 18: US$20,000.
- Remains the same.

d. For each dependent of the main applicant between ages 18-25 years: US$50,000.
- Remains the same.

In addition to the above changes in minimum investment requirements, a new fee will be introduced for dependent children between the ages of 12 and 16; they will be charged US$2,000 as due diligence fee.
 
As the increased amounts have now been announced twice by authorities, including the country’s Prime Minister and head of the Citizenship by Investment Unit, it is official that these changes will be implemented. The set date is August 1st, 2016 and interested applicants are cautioned not to delay in starting their application process in order to secure the current program prices. Preparing and collecting the documents required may take some time so we advise you to start the process by contacting us today.
 
For more information on Dominica’s Citizenship by Investment Program, please click here.
 
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