Dominica - One of the Best Choices for Economic Citizenship

May 21, 2008 - Second Citizenship - Permalink

Economic citizenship program of Dominica established in 1991 is based on the Constitution, Section 101 and Citizenship Act, Sections 8 and 20(1), which provide for the government to operate a program granting citizenship to persons qualifying under criteria set by the government.

Dominica, “the Nature Island”, is one of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean. It lies between the French overseas territories of Guadeloupe and Martinique and is famous for its practically untouched nature – green mountains, countless rivers and waterfalls. It has an area of about 300 square miles (750 sq km) with population of about 70,000 people mainly of African descent, few Carib populace, last in the Caribbean, and recently increasing white and Chinese population. Former British dependent territory, it received independence in 1978, speaks English as official language, as well as a local dialect Creole, and has its law system based on the common law. The currency is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar (XCD or EC$), which is very stable and has an exchange rate of about EC$2.70 for US$1.00. Commonwealth of Dominica (not to confuse with Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic) is a politically and economically stable democratic state.

Following its current policy guidelines the economic contribution takes the form of a direct non-refundable payment made to the government. In exchange, applicants and their families are granted full citizenship.

Dominica Recognizes Dual Citizenship

Dominica does not require you to renounce your current citizenship. Besides that Dominica does not notify authorities of your current country of residence or citizenship on the fact of your new citizenship. You in your turn have the right to renounce Dominica citizenship any time if your circumstances require.

You are Granted Citizenship for Life and It’s Not Revocable

Issued passports are valid for 10 years. Passports for children under 16 years old are being issued for 5 years. Expired passports or those with no free visa pages left can be easily renewed for a small fee at the immigration and passport office in Dominica or at any Dominica consulate. You keep your citizen’s status even if the economic citizenship program is stopped.

Dominica’s Passport Allows Free International Travel

Dominica has a good image internationally and being a Dominican is excluding a number of possible travel problems by definition. Its passport allows you free international travel to more than 100 countries where no entry visa is required at all or you easily get it on arrival. The list includes United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Liechtenstein, Singapore and Switzerland. And for those countries where a visa is still required in advance you normally can obtain it with minimum formalities within a couple of days.

You can also extend your visa-free access by obtaining a residence permit in an appropriate country, for example if you obtain a residence permit in Canada you will be able to travel to the United States, same as a residence permit of one of the Schengen states gives you a visa-free access to any European country.

Being a Commonwealth citizen you can also count on certain privileges in the United Kingdom to study and work after graduation.

Residence in Dominica is Not Required

You get virtually the same rights as if you were born in Dominica, i.e. you can vote, purchase property, come, live and work in Dominica if you wish. But you are not required to reside in Dominica to keep your citizen’s status.

You Can Legally Change Your Name

As Dominica is a common law jurisdiction you can legally change your surname there through the Deed Poll procedure after at least one year of being its citizen.

Tax-Free Status

You enjoy a tax-free status on foreign income, capital gains, gift, wealth and inheritance tax. Your worldwide income is liable to taxation in Dominica only if you reside in there.

Requirements, Procedures and Fees for Obtaining Citizenship in Dominica

You are required to make a donation to the Government of Dominica, visit Dominica at least once for a personal interview with the Prime-Minister and be able to speak English. Of course you should be ready for appropriate due diligence procedures and a comprehensive criminal background check.

There are two options for obtaining citizenship: a Family Option and a Single Option.
Under the family option the applying investor is to make a donation to the Government of Dominica of US$100,000, which qualifies the applicant, his/her spouse and two children under 18 years for Dominica’s citizenship. There’s an extra fee of US$15,000 for each additional child under the age of 18 years and US$25,000 for every other child between 18 and 21 years.
A single applicant is to pay US$75,000.

Those funds are being placed into an escrow account before the Government is to consider the application.

In addition to the above there exist the following fees per application:

  • Application fee — US$200
  • Agent fee — US$1,000
  • Registration fee — US$1,000
  • Stamp fee — US$50

Besides those the effective total cost will include more expenses related to the Program’s procedural requirements.

All applications are to be proved by a licensed local promoter or agent. Professional and legal fees associated with the promoter’s assistance range between US$15,000 – 25,000 depending on the case and the promoter (that are non-refundable or partially refundable in case of a negative response).

Dominica does not accept applications from criminal elements. A thorough background checks on the applicants over the age of eighteen years are undertaken by international private investigative agencies on behalf of the Government. Due diligence fees of normally between US$3,000 to US$10,000 apply (non-refundable).

As it is mentioned above to qualify for citizenship the applicant or head of the household must be able to speak English and pass an interview in Dominica, which cannot be waived. However it is possible to arrange an interview outside of Dominica for an extra fee.

Since you are not required to make a property investment like in St. Kitts & Nevis or Austria the above listed constitutes all of your expenses for acquisition of the citizenship of Dominica. As of today it appears to be the cheapest option comparing to other economic citizenship programs.

If you succeeded to pass due diligence, which is undertaken in the first turn, and preliminary check of your promoter you are not expected to be turned down by the Government. The whole process up to the final resolution may take as much as 3 to 10 months depending on the case. Most time is necessary for the due diligence procedures.

Having started in 1991 Dominica has a very significant experience in handling an economic citizenship program. The procedures are clear and well established. More than 600 people already obtained their passports under this program and the latter proved to be one of the world’s most successful citizenship programs.

Dominica is an excellent choice for second citizenship. And it is one of the very few legitimate options of this kind at the present moment. Should you opt for a second citizenship, it is strongly recommended to consider Dominica first. You can obtain the citizenship of Dominica with assistance of Offshore Advisor.

Also read our article on Google Knol: Economic Citizenship Programs.

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