Far-sighted people are looking at the number of conflicts in the present-day world (which is on the rise!) and are working hard to realize their Plan B if they have not made all the arrangements yet. A solid Plan B usually includes a business abroad, an offshore bank account, real estate in another country, and at least one more passport in your pocket. Dominica is a good option if you need to acquire citizenship quickly and without much hassle by investing a certain amount of money. In this post, we are going to look at the peculiarities of the citizenship-by-investment program it offers. If you want to know what other opportunities exist, you can visit a trusted portal called InternationalWealth where you will find a whole section devoted to citizenship-by-investment programs.
Dominican Citizenship: Main Advantages
Let’s take a look at the main benefits that the program offers:
- You will get a sufficiently strong passport that will give you an opportunity for visa-free (or visa-upon-arrival) travel to 139 countries, including the UK, the EU and the Schengen states, Singapore, Hong Kong, and South America.
- This is a hospitable and peaceful jurisdiction where you can relocate if you want to.
- Dominica is a party to numerous double taxation treaties, and it is a low-tax jurisdiction: you will not pay any foreign income, gift, capital gains, inheritance, or wealth taxes.
- You will be able to obtain the tax resident’s status if you have lived in your new homeland for more than half a year.
- You will be able to live anywhere you want as the status of the Dominican citizens does not tie you to one place: you can live in another country while retaining the passport.
- Investors will have access to a number of duty-free markets in the Caribbean.
- There are no limitations on capital import or profits repatriation.
- The local currency is pegged to the US dollar, which guarantees financial stability.
- There are a lot of incentives for businesses, including temporary or permanent tax exemptions.
How to Acquire Dominican Citizenship
The main applicant has to be at least 18 years of age, and he or she is allowed to include younger dependents in the application. There are two investment options:
- Investment in the approved real estate (at least 200,000 US dollars). This is a refundable amount as you will be able to resell the property in three years while retaining your passport.
- You can contribute 100,000 US dollars to the Economic Diversification Fund (this is the amount for the sole applicant, while you will have to pay more if you include dependents in the application). This investment is non-refundable.
Let’s take a closer look at both options.
Investment in Real Estate
Here are the government fees you will have to pay if you buy real estate:
- 25,000 US dollars for the principal applicant
- 35,000 US dollars for a couple or a three- to four-member family
- 50,000 US dollars in case of a five- to six-member family
- 70,000 US dollars if you have a larger family
The main applicant can include his or her siblings and their spouses in the application (if they are aged 18-25) for an additional fee of 50,000 US dollars per person.
Here are some standard additional fees that will apply:
- Processing fee: 1,000 US dollars per application
- Due diligence fee: 7,500 US dollars for the main applicant, 4,000 US dollars for the spouse or a dependent person aged 16 and more
- Naturalization Certificate comes at 250 US dollars per person.
- And if you want to use the accelerated procedure of second passport registration after you obtain Dominican citizenship, you will need to pay 1,200 US dollars per person.
Contribution to the Economic Diversification Fund
The EDF was established to raise funds for local economic development, and the money received is allocated to public and private sector projects.
Here are the examples of the public sector projects:
- Stadium construction
- Hospital reconstruction
- School building
- Offshore sector promotion and development
As for the private sector projects, these are mainly focused on agriculture, information technology, and tourism industry support.
If you want to choose this path and support the local economy, you will need to contribute the following amount depending on the number of dependents you include in the application:
- 100,000 US dollars per sole applicant
- 150,000 US dollars per couple
- 175,000 US dollars for the applicant with three dependents
- Any additional dependent (except for the siblings and/or their spouses aged 18-25) comes at 25,000 US dollars
The standard fees applicable to the real estate option will also apply here.
Process and Timelines
Let’s take a brief look at the steps taken to obtain a Dominican passport:
- The applicant’s information is checked by a company that has the official status of a licensed agent using international databases and customer surveys if the issue is critical. This stage takes 2-3 days.
- Then you need to prepare a complete package of documents and provide them to a dedicated governmental agency. You are required to duly complete the forms and have the accompanying documents translated and certified if necessary. This stage may take 4-5 weeks as it depends on the speed of collecting documents, especially on the term of non-conviction certificate issuance.
- You provide the package to the required institution, pay all state fees for application processing and checking the background of the applicant and dependents included in the application. This is the longest stage that usually takes from 3 to 5 months.
- If the decision is positive, you have to make the required investment (buy a property or transfer the contribution to the Economic Diversification Fund). Following that, the government will issue a Naturalization Certificate and the agent will obtain passports for all applicants. The duration of this stage depends on how quickly you will make the investment (especially in the case of real estate acquisition).
Keep in mind that the local governments of Caribbean countries that offer citizenship by investment do not work directly with individuals, and Dominica is no exception. It means that you will need a licensed immigration agent to handle your case. You can ask any questions about this aspect by following the above link and using the live chat during business hours. Do not hesitate to explore our portal for more opportunities by using the above link – and welcome to Dominica!
