Dominica – One of the Best Choices for Economic Citizenship
Economic citizenship program of the Commonwealth 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. The area of about 300 square miles (750 sq km) is a home to approximately 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 gained its independence in 1978, speaks English as the 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. The Commonwealth of Dominica (not to confuse with the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic) is a politically and economically stable democratic state.
Following current policy guidelines, the economic contribution takes the form of a direct non-refundable payment made to the Government. In exchange, investors 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 about 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
You keep your citizen’s status even if the economic citizenship program is stopped. 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 relatively small fees at the immigration and passport office in Dominica or at any Dominica consulate.
Dominica’s Passport Allows Free International Travel
Dominica has a good international image 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 upon arrival. The list includes the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, South Korea, China, Singapore and most British Commonwealth countries. For countries where a visa is still required before travel, you can normally obtain it with minimum formalities within a couple of days on the common basis.
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.
As a Commonwealth citizen, you can count on certain privileges in the United Kingdom.
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 to make a donation to the Government of Dominica and visit Dominica at least once for a personal interview. It is also possible to arrange an interview in your country of residence for an extra fee. 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 citizenship of Dominica. 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.
The funds are being placed into an escrow account before the Government is to consider the application.
Besides the donation amounts, the effective total cost will include more expenses related to the procedural requirements.
All applications are to be proved by a licensed local promoting agency. Professional and legal fees associated with the promoter’s assistance range between US$ 15,000 for a single applicant and US$ 25,000 for a family. These fees are inclusive of all governmental application, registration, stamp fees and most ongoing disbursements such as courier delivery of documents.
Dominica does not accept applications from investors with criminal records. 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 agency charges a separate fee of normally US$ 3,000-10,000 depending on the case.
If you succeeded to pass a preliminary check by your promoter and due diligence vetting procedure by a detective agency, which are undertaken in the first turn, we do not expect you to be turned down by the Government. As soon as the detective agency reports positively, your application is submitted to the Government and you are invited for a personal interview. After the interview you’ll have to wait for up to 30 days for the paperwork to be finalized and you are issued your certification of naturalization and passport.
The whole process up to the final resolution normally takes as much as 3 to 5 months depending on the case. Most time is necessary for the due diligence procedures, so it mostly depends on your particular circumstances.
Upon expiration of your Dominican passport you can renew it with professional assistance of the same promoting agency that recommended you to the Government. No need to travel to Dominica or even its consulates in other countries.
Since you are not required to make a property investment like in St. Kitts & Nevis or Austria, the above listed procedure specifies your expenses for acquisition of the citizenship of Dominica quite explicitly. No more hidden costs. As of today, it appears to be the most affordable option comparing to other official economic citizenship programs.
Having started its economic citizenship program in 1993, Dominica has a very significant experience in this field. The procedures are clear and well established. Many people already obtained their passports under this program and the latter proved to be one of the world’s most successful second 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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