Dominica offers a second citizenship and lucrative business opportunities

• Firstly, an applicant can pay $100,000 to a government fund to gain citizenship. 

Dubai — Fancy a second citizenship or a passport to an exotic Caribbean country? The Commonwealth of Dominica is among several countries seeking to attract foreign investors through its Citizenship By Investment Unit, or CBIU.
Although the unit has been in existence since 1993, the government has now streamlined it to facilitate the application process for investors. The second oldest citizenship programme in the world, it offers a two-pronged strategy to earn a passport.
Firstly, an applicant can pay $100,000 to a government fund to gain citizenship. The amount depends on how many family members are included in the application. A husband and wife (or a main applicant and two dependants under 18) will pay $175,000; it is $200,00 for a family of four with two children below 18 years of age.
There is another investment option, where an applicant can allocate $200,000 in any government-approved project. In addition to this, there is a government fee of $50,000 for the main applicant. Any other member of the family will have to pay an additional $25,000 (spouse or children below 18 years of age).
Currently, there is only one project signed up for the CBIU programme — a Kempinski luxury hotel promoted by Dubai-based Range Development. Besides a share in the hotel, applicants, if they pass due diligence tests, are also entitled to citizenship in Dominica.
“The Kempinski is a global brand and the promoters have a proven track record. The promoters are also completing a Park Hyatt in St Kitts. These factors give investors an exciting opportunity. The project can also deliver jobs and generate economic activity in Dominica,” said Dr Vince Henderson, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Commonwealth of Dominica to the United Nations in New York.
“We estimate the CBIU to contribute $10 million to the Dominica economy this year. Over the past few years, we have been able to raise $5 million annually from the programme. For a small economy, this is a significant amount,” added Henderson.
Despite being around for 22 years, the citizenship programme was only recently streamlined. CS Global Partners, an international legal advisory group, came on board to market and promote the programme globally.  “We made changes in our legislation to facilitate applicants and to protect the interests of Dominica.
 The CBIU has been expanded with more staff and we appointed a new director who will lead the process. These changes will expand the programme to attract more investors to Dominica to help in our economic development agenda,” explained Henderson. According to Micha-Rose Emmett, group managing director, CS Global Partners: “The Dominica CBIU was formerly called the Economic Citizenship Programme. The government has made it more attractive by streamlining the process. The fact that they have identified the need to attract reputable investors to the country highlights their commitment to the programme. We look forward to working with them and let the rest of the world know about this paradise.”
In a bid to make the application process as seamless as possible, the Dominica government aim to deliver the citizenship certificate in 50 days. Besides real estate, the authorities are also seeking investment in industries like agriculture, manufacturing and water bottling.
“What we’d like to see more is those who have earned citizenship in Dominica to come back and make more investments outside of their citizenship programmes. One of the proposals is to create a forum for those who have received our citizenship and have the capacity to invest further,” suggested Henderson.
Meanwhile, Dominica has no capital gains, estate or death taxes, no restrictions on repatriation of funds and no income tax on citizens who are not residents in Dominica for more than six months a year or not earning their income from Dominica.

Describing the business-friendly nature of the economy, Henderson said: “The Dominica economy is stable, the rule of law is respected, we follow the British common law and provide a range of incentives to investors, such as tax holidays, etc. We have a special government department to support foreign investors. We have major investments in infrastructure in terms of roads, hospitals and schools. Because of where we are in the development process, it gives the investor the advantage of being the first mover.”  

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