Dominica has long enjoyed an established reputation as being one of the first jurisdictions to offer foreigners citizenship by investment in its country. Until recently, the only investment allowed was a straight contribution to the country. Now, however, Dominica is offering investors the opportunity for citizenship by purchasing approved real estate within the country. Better yet, the entry levels for a qualifying purchase are much lower than any other citizenship program in the Caribbean.
To qualify for the real estate investment option, the investment has to be into a project or property approved by the Government of Dominica, and has to have a value of at least $200,000. That’s all. For the price of a condo, you can obtain an investment that would then allow you to apply for Dominican citizenship. The purchase of qualifying property would allow you, as well as your spouse and qualifying dependents if you desired, to also apply for and obtain Dominican citizenship.
That said, the additional fees to be paid by the applicant for himself, for due diligence, and for the spouse and any dependents means that realistically the minimum investment for a couple would be approximately $300,000. However, unlike Dominica’s purely cash contribution program, a large part of this investment could be recaptured upon sale—perhaps with some profit, depending on the time that has passed and the nature of the real estate market. Further, the real estate barrier to entry is only half of that required in St. Kitts ($400,000). Qualified projects will include not only outright real estate but investment in real estate projects by holding an equity interest in a venture.
The Dominican passport has traditionally not provided its owner visa-free passport to as many countries as, say, a passport from St. Kitts. However, its use for visa-free travel is increasing, and the country has negotiated a deal with the Schengen Area states of Europe so that in early 2015, a Dominican citizen will be granted the right to travel throughout the Schengen states visa-free.
While I don’t want to downplay the beauty of Dominica, as well as the fun, utility and enjoyment that an investor could have by owning property or a real estate investment within Dominica, I want to focus this blog post primarily on Dominican citizenship’s utilitarian values. It is inexpensive enough that it can allow middle-class Americans to both diversify their investments abroad while at the same time obtaining the insurance which a second citizenship provides.