Dominica: The global pandemic has brought unprecedented times for the economies and businesses all across the world. The COVID-19 outbreak severely impacted most of the countries and a travel ban is another point of concern for high net worth individuals.
Surprisingly, a small island nation in the Caribbean offers a safe, secure and flourishing lifestyle while allowing one an opportunity to travel across the globe without obtaining a prior visa.
The Commonwealth of Dominica is among the countries which have successfully managed to curb the virus spread and has witnessed no community spread since the COVID-19 originated.
The Citizenship by Investment Programme of the Commonwealth of Dominica allows individuals to invest in dynamic citizenship by investment programme, representing a historical transformation of several sectors, such as agriculture, healthcare, economy and climate-resilient housing.
The positive feat of the citizenship investment programme of Dominica upsurged as it has been ranked the worlds number one CBIP for the past four consecutive years. The CBI index of PWM magazine published by Financial Times states that after evaluation under nine pillars, Freedom of Movement – Standard of Living – Minimum Investment Outlay – Mandatory Travel or Residence – Citizenship Timeline – Ease of Processing – Due Diligence – Family – Certainty of Product.
Dominica’s citizenship by investment programme tops the five out of nine pillars of the CBI Index. Countries offering citizenship by investment program embrace Dominica for its path of enhancing the world relationships and experiences while boosting the value of citizenship and gaining an advantage in the sector.
In 2015 and 2017 the natural calamities such as tropical storm Erika and Hurricane Maria devastated the country, destroying over 90% of the infrastructure and 224% of total GDP loss. And like all other countries, COVID-19 restrictions also significantly impacted the economy as tourism was completely shut and people were house strapped for months.
Nevertheless, the citizenship by investment programme of Dominica rescued the country from all the calamities, including natural and a health crisis. The country is building over 5000 climate-resilient homes for the people who suffered during the landfall of Hurricane Maria, which is entirely funded by citizenship by investment program. Moreover, the Government also introduced a stimulus package to provide assistance to the country’s people during the COVID-19 lockdown period.
The Programme has the most robust due diligence process for security matters; it verifies applicants identity through a third party vetting process, which would thoroughly vet each applicant under an application. Thorough due diligence helped Dominica to retain on top of the charts. Dominica’s economy is one of the fastest-growing economies in the whole region, which is all credited to the well-vetted investors and their contributions.
Visa-Free Access
All citizens of Dominica can travel to up to 140 countries around the world without obtaining a prior visa. This gives the ability to people to feel free from reaching out to the world community more quickly and hassle-free. The country also recognises dual citizenship, and it would not be mandatory for the applicant to surrender their current citizenship unless their home country’s law does not allow them.
Dominica currently has two options for investors to contribute to citizenship by investment programme: Economic Diversification Fund (EDF) and the Real Estate option.
Economic Diversification Fund (EDF) is also known as the fund option, and it supports the major public and private projects in Dominica. The EDF covers sectors including education, tourism, healthcare, sports and others. The aspirants of second citizenship can contribute the US $100,00 to the EDF to obtain their second citizenship; any additional fees may apply in case there are other dependents of the family under one application.
Real Estate is the option for the people interested in investing in a property pre-approved by the Government within the country. The buyers will have to hold possession of the particular property for at least three years, and the minimum value of the property must be the US $200,000.
5 Steps for second citizenship:
Step 1- Choose an authorised agent: the first step involves choosing an authorised agent approved by the Government who is officially licensed by citizenship by the investment unit to process your application. You can also see the list of Government approved agents at https://cbiu.gov.dm/dominica-citizenship/authorised-agents/
Step 2- Contact your authorised agent: After choosing your agent, you will have to contact the agent who will probably provide the best way to prepare your application for processing and submit those papers to the unit.
Step 3- Background checks: As part of due diligence, background checks will be conducted by an external vetting process. These are conducted to verify the information which an applicant has submitted.
Step 4-Discussion with CBIU: After completing all formalities and submission of the documents, the authorised agent will apply to the CBI unit. Dominica does not require an applicant’s presence in-country or interview; the authorised agent will reply to all the queries of the CBI unit on your behalf.
Step 5-Payment and certification: After obtaining approval from the CBI unit, the investor will be asked to contribute a payment either in EDF or Real Estate option. Soon after receiving the confirmation of the payment, the citizenship by investment unit of Dominica will issue the certificate of registration which stands as evidence of citizenship and will be used to apply for a Dominican passport.
