Benefits of a Dominica passport

A Dominica passport gives cosmopolitans the freedom to travel abroad. They may visit some countries visa-free, including all the states within the Schengen Area. Aside from that, they can apply for a US visitor visa valid for ten years.

Travel without a visa. Citizens of Dominica can visit 144 countries without additional documents. A Dominica passport helps to extend your stay without a visa in some countries, such as Hong Kong.

Visa requirements for Dominica passport holders differ from state to state. In some countries, you’ll need to get a visa on arrival, and to travel to some other ones, for example, to Sri Lanka, obtaining an electronic travel authorisation (eTA) is needed.

The terms of visiting other countries with a Dominica passport change sometimes; they depend on international relations and geopolitical situations in the world. Please check the particular requirements before your trip.

Visa-free countries with a Dominica passport: the complete list

Europe

Asia

Americas

Africa

Caribbean

Middle East

Oceania

Long‑term visa to the USA. Citizens of Dominica are eligible for a B‑1/B‑2 visa to the United States. They get it for a maximum of ten years.

With a visitor visa, you can not work in the USA. But you can travel, take short-term courses, get treatment at local hospitals and attend business meetings and conferences.

The B‑1/B‑2 visa allows you to spend up to 6 months in the US annually.

Tax optimisation. One of the advantages of Dominica citizenship is the tax system of the country. Inheritance and capital gains are not taxed.

Taxes for individuals and companies in Dominica

Сitizens who have not obtained tax residency in Dominica do not need to pay taxes on any income earned abroad, including dividends, interest and royalties.

Business development abroad. Citizenship of Dominica allows you to register international companies in this country. At the same time, the data of the founder is not entered in the commercial register, and their name cannot be found upon request. This helps to protect the company, its assets and the owner themselves.

Registering a company in Dominica helps to avoid other problems, e.g. foreign exchange control when dealing with foreign partners.

Staying in Dominica at any time. Dominica is an island country with beautiful pristine nature and a warm climate. People who obtained citizenship of the country by investment can reside there whenever they wish.

The benefits of living in Dominica include enjoying its beaches and the water of the Caribbean Sea and visiting waterfalls, lakes and bays. Also, the cost of living there is relatively low compared to other countries — especially in the USA or EU states.

All about Dominica: an investor’s guide to the country

“Safe haven”. In case of emergencies that force the investor and their family to leave their country of residence urgently, the Dominica passport will allow them to open accounts in European banks and quickly leave for the Schengen area.

Cosmopolitans can travel to Dominica and live there with no time limit. When investing in real estate, they get the right to live for 1—2 weeks free of charge in the hotel where they bought a share. They can take this time to settle and find permanent accommodation in Dominica.

Study and treatment abroad. The ability to visit the Schengen states without visas helps ensure a prosperous future for children. Cosmopolitans and their children can personally inspect schools and universities. The visa-free regime will allow parents to visit their children during their studies.

For treatment abroad, usually, a medical visa is required. The paperwork takes from 2 days to several weeks, which might be too long in case of an emergency. The Dominica passport will help out and let you travel for treatment to Europe and immediately.

Examples of properties in Dominica

Dominica, Roseau

$220,000+

Share in a resort on the coast of Dominica managed by Hilton

1—3

Dominica, Portsmouth

$220,000 — $320,000

Share in a five-star resort managed by Autograph Collections (premium branded by Marriott)

1—2

Dominica, Portsmouth

$270,000+

Share in a five-star hotel managed by Intercontinental

The Dominica Citizenship by investment program has several benefits that attract investors. They complement the opportunities that a passport gives.

Relatively low investment threshold. To become citizens of Dominica, applicants make a contribution to the Economic Diversification Fund or invest in real estate. The minimum donation to the fund is $100,000, which is less than in some other Caribbean countries.

Possibility to return the money. Under the option with the purchase of the real estate, you need to invest at least $200,000 in objects approved by the government of the country. The money can be returned after three to five years by selling your share.

Buying property in Dominica is more popular than a contribution to the state fund. From July 1st, 2019, to May 31st, 2020, the real estate option was chosen by two times more applicants.

Short terms. Investors receive a Dominica passport in an average of 4‑6 months. It is faster and easier than other paths to citizenship in this country. For example, obtaining citizenship by naturalisation takes years because it requires long-term residence in the chosen country.

Dual citizenship is allowed. Dominica allows its citizens to hold passports of other countries. Investors don’t have to give up their first citizenship after obtaining a Dominica passport.

No requirement to reside in Dominica. While investors can visit Dominica anytime, they are not obliged to stay in the country. Moreover, they don’t even need to visit it at any step of the citizenship acquisition process.

Family members can be added to the program. Investors can include their family members in the application. This applies to:

• their spouse;

• children under 18 years old;

• children from 18 to 30 if they are financially dependent on the investor;

• parents who are over 65 years old and are significantly dependent on the investor.

Noble goals. The Dominica government spends investors’ money on social projects. The country is building hospitals and hurricane-resistant houses, allocating grants for education, fighting poverty and hunger, and developing alternative energy. And by 2030, the government of Dominica plans to achieve all 17 sustainable development goals proposed by the UN.

Immigrant Invest helps cosmopolitans obtain Dominica citizenship by investment. If you have questions about the program or want to choose a status for specific tasks, we invite you for an individual consultation with our lawyer.

There are some drawbacks to the Dominica citizenship-by-investment program, too. However, they are not as significant as the benefits.

A remote country. Dominica is one of the Caribbean countries, so it’s pretty remote for investors from Europe and Asia. Above that, the international airport of the country is still under construction — there are no direct flights to Dominica from distant destinations.

Taking into account that investors are not obliged to visit the country, for many of them, this disadvantage won’t be significant at all. Those who do want to travel to the country and enjoy its wonders can take connecting flights or wait a couple of years until the airport is ready for international flights.

No visa-free regime with the USA. A Dominica passport allows its holder to travel to 144 countries visa‑free. However, the USA is not included in the list. On the bright side, citizens of Dominica can apply for a 10‑year visitor visa to the country.

A B‑1/B‑2 visa allows its holder to travel within the country, attend business meetings, study at short courses and take treatment at local clinics and hospitals.

Besides, a Dominica passport allows travelling visa-free to some of the most popular destinations for tourism and business worldwide, including the Schengen states.

Global income tax for residents. Investors who obtain tax residency in Dominica must pay a tax on global income. This might lead to double taxation.

However, to become a Dominica tax resident, one must live there for most of the year. So, the investors who don’t relocate to the country are not obliged to pay taxes on their income earned in other states.