Citizenship of Dominica

The Commonwealth of Caribbean countries offers foreigners citizenship by birth, naturalization, marriage, for subsidies to the economy. A single investor can buy the citizenship for $100,000, married couples with two minor children can buy it for $200,000. The amount of payments is determined by the number of applicants in the application.

The acquisition of legal status opens up new horizons for businessmen, financially secure families, relocators, and students. They can permanently live in a hospitable and safe island country, work, and profit from the CBI (Citizenship by Investment) program.

Methods to obtain the passport

In the states of the Commonwealth of the Caribbean, the principles of investment migration apply. The law was adopted in 1993 to stimulate the economy, to acquire an indefinite Dominican passport. Until 2020, Dominica was considered offshore. In 2019, at the insistence of the European Commission, Dominica was placed on the blacklist. This lowered the reputation rating and attractiveness of foreign sponsors. To restore the authority of the island, the Parliament adopted bills, including for transparent business conduct.

The signing of the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance led to changes in the banking sector and IBC companies.

From 2022, the law came into force for companies registered in Dominica until 2018, in addition to the CBI project. Now, the sponsors receive all the privileges immediately after the donations. Actions are regulated by Chapter 7 of the Constitution, normative legal acts. The Citizenship Department (CBIU) is responsible for the investment program. It publishes information, approves official agents for work with foreigners, and verifies the trustworthiness of applicants. Dominica undertakes to compare the program every two years for compliance with international standards and make adjustments.

Citizenship by Birth

According to the law, children born on the territory immediately enter the legal field. The nationality of the parents does not matter. The basis for registration is an extract from the maternity hospital. When the mother is unknown, the baby receives status upon initiation by social services. If the father and mother are citizens of different states, jurisdictions with a strong passport have priority.

By origin

It is automatically assigned to newborns of parents with local passports born in any geographical point. The law applies to foreign children adopted by Dominicans.

By naturalization

The certificate and passport are issued after 7 years of stay in the island state. For residents from the Commonwealth of Nations, the waiting period is reduced to 5 years. One of the conditions is a visa-free stay on the territory for the last year.

By marriage

After registering a relationship with a citizen of a Caribbean country, the second spouse, subject to joint farming for 3 years, has the right to apply for status.

By subsidies

Citizenship is issued to wealthy foreigners with families, the closest financially insecure relatives. To do this, the applicant must invest in the social budget of Dominica capital or buy a hotel, apartment, premises for a store.

Digital citizenship

A year ago, the island's authorities announced a national cryptocurrency. After registration, the corresponding certificate is issued along with the DMC token. While Dominica Coin is used to pay for goods, it is possible to use the services of banks. Unlike the Republic of Türkiye or Vanuatu, the proceeds from the sale of crypto are not suitable for investment.

Transparency of transactions is important for the authorities. To do this, investors undergo a 4-step check on the trustworthiness, legality of sources of earnings.

Recent reforms of the citizenship program

In 2023, the government published an amended Commonwealth of Dominica Investment Status Regulation. 6 points have undergone changes.

1. The CBI rules tighten the selection of candidates. An immigration committee has been set up for this purpose. The committee conducts mandatory interviews with applicants at their expense ($1000).
2. Applicants undergo due diligence to preserve national security.
3. The Caribbean State is a party to the Collective Bargaining Agreement. If the applicant has not passed the verification in one jurisdiction, this serves as a basis for rejecting the petition in the Caribbean region.
4. The key point of the updated program is sanctions. For providing false information, withholding information, the file is not considered or the issued passport is canceled.
5. For attempts to resell real estate before the expiration of the established period, changes in personal data after marriage, the status is revoked or fines are applied.
6. The Dominica CBI made decisions to deny citizenship to the new applicant from Russia and Belarus.

Pros of Dominica citizenship

The country with parliamentary democracy is characterized by high living standards, low crime rate. It is the 5th year that it has ranked first in the CBI projects list among 14 countries. When choosing, we assessed the trustworthiness verification, the speed of consideration of the application, the timing, the inheritance of the status by descendants, and freedom of movement. Since the opening of the project, more than 35,000 applicants have issued a "golden" visa.

• Wealthy people receive statuses remotely without passing a language exam and refusing their first passport.
• Citizenship is conferred for life with the right of inheritance.
• They get the opportunity to cross borders to 140 countries, including Singapore, the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, to obtain visas to the USA for 10 years, Canada or Australia.
• The status exempts from the payment of duties on wealth, inheritance, and donation.
• To protect assets, investors can open companies without registering in the commercial register.
• Data on foreign sponsors are not published anywhere. The authorities allow to officially change surnames one year after the registration of the status.
• Children of sponsors receive a prestigious education at universities in England and apply for Commonwealth scholarships.

Dual Citizenship

Financially well-off people buy a "golden" passport in order to free themselves from the economic and political dependence of one country. It expands business opportunities, helps to diversify capital in case of an emergency. The program provides a rare opportunity to obtain a Dominican passport without visiting the country and extend the period remotely. Russians notify the Ministry of Internal Affairs of citizenship in person within 2 months from the date of registration through the State Services or the consulate.

Investment program

"Passport for Investment" is a financially accessible project in the Caribbean region. There are two ways for Commonwealth countries to acquire status.

Sponsorship

The need to deposit $100,000 per person in EDF. The amount increases in proportion to the number of dependents. Investments in the diversification fund are non-refundable. After receipt, the subsidies are distributed to social, municipal, and other needs of the population. CBI accounts for 55% of the country's revenues, and foreign investment keeps the economy afloat.

Purchase of real estate

An alternative condition for the project participants is the acquisition of houses, hotels, commercial premises ownership in the amount of $200,000 without the right to resell for 3 years. Foreigners choose objects only from the approved list. It includes facilities built using new construction technologies. They can withstand local hurricanes that demolish roofs.

The country has the shortest period of property ownership. After 36 months, the objects can be sold as unnecessary.

After 5 years of ownership and resale, the property becomes the property of a new participant in the investment program. Due to the possibility of receiving 5% of the rental income, foreigners choose this sponsorship option more often than direct investments. Citizenship can be purchased in any Caribbean country for certain amounts. Dominica has the lowest financial threshold.

Cost of programs

Expenses vary, depending on the number of family members and the conditions of the program:

• for spouses, the amount is $150,000;
• families with two children – $175,000;
• legal services – $1,000;
• the cost of the certificate of naturalization – $250;
• verification of the applicant's trustworthiness – $7,500;
• for the second adult and for each child plus $4,000.

Families of 4 + people pay for dependents in different ways: for minors — $25,000, for dependents of 18 +years — $50,000.Government fees are charged only to applicants applying for a real estate purchase status. Costs:

• investor – $25,000;
• spouse/applicant + 3 dependents – $35,000;
• $50,000 for a family of 5.

The budgets for certificates of nationality and due diligence are the same.

Taxes for citizens

Holders of the status pay interest on foreign income, non-residents only on profits in the country. Individuals are subject to duties according to the scale:

• 74,000 – 15%;
• 18,550 – 25%;
• from 17,990 – 35%.

Legal entities pay a quarter on profits, 7% on social expenses in one payment or in 3 stages. There is no duty on purchase and sale. The buyer pays 10.5% of the total amount to the insurance fund, the owner of the facility pays 2.5%. When leasing, 1% of the annual profit is calculated. Double tax treaties here are concluded only with the jurisdictions of the Caribbean Commonwealth. Citizens of other countries are subject to double duties. Corporate tax with foreign profits is 30%.

Collection of citizenship file

Applicants are required to translate into English, apply the apostille or officially certify before submitting the documents. Starter package:

• valid passports;
• CV and 8 photos;
• scans testify to the marriage and metrics;
• a document on the change of surname;
• dominican ID; 
• Due Diligence certificate;
• bank statement, certificate of movement of funds on the account;
• diploma or confirmation of a scientific degree;
• medical health certificate;
• confirmation of the introduction of subsidies;
• a certificate indicating addresses with a stay of more than 6 months.

Conditions for candidates

Spouses, heirs up to 30 years old, parents 65+ financially dependent on the applicant can take part in the program. Young people should not be married and have children. Juvenile dependents require parental consent. Conditions for applicants:

• compliance with the age limit + 18;
• reputation of a trustworthy citizen;
• impeccable social/ business reputation;
• absence of a criminal past and debts to the state.

To obtain a passport by naturalization, one needs to know the language and culture.

Step-by-step process

Citizenship is issued remotely and it takes 6 months. Legal affairs are handled by a licensed agent on the basis of a contract. It guarantees the confidentiality of the process, the client's personal information. Stages:

1. The compliance specialist checks the reputation, documents for compliance with the list, certifies copies, writes applications, and draws up an affidavit for submission to the migration service within 2 weeks.
2. Sends the package to the Citizenship Department in Antigua and Barbuda for verification based on the Declaration of Capital and Sources of Earnings. Family members aged 12+ are also checked for business and financial reputation according to international databases. The procedure takes up to 5 months.
3. A candidate with an impeccable biography fulfills the investment requirement: transfers funds or acquires real estate. A month later, in return, he/she receives a passport for a period of 10 years.

The procedure for obtaining lifelong citizenship takes 6 months after the application is submitted. Parents of minors are obliged to renew the document every 5 years. The application is submitted 60 days before the deadline to the immigration department or consulate in the country of residence.