Comparison of Grenada & Dominica passports

Investors choose a citizenship program depending on the tasks they want to solve: to cut tax payments, travel visa-free, relocate, or get a backup plan.

At first, investors mostly look at how many visa-free countries the citizenship gives. Next, they study the rights and obligations that national legislation entails.

If an investor plans to relocate to the Caribbean, they will choose a country with a higher standard of living. The Grenada life level is higher than Dominica’s.

Grenada is famous for its universities. The country has two major universities: the University of the West Indies and the St George’s University. Their diplomas are recognised in the US and UK. So investors whose children want to get an international diploma and work in the US and UK choose the Grenada program.

Grenada passport holders can visit 146 countries visa-free, while Dominica’s — 144. The main destinations are the same.

The Schengen Area, the UK and China are visa-free for Grenada and Dominica citizens. They may remain:

• 90 days within 180 days in the Schengen;

• under 180 days per year in the UK;

• under 30 days per year in China.

To travel in the US, Grenada or Dominica passport holders obtain a visa. They apply to the nearest US consulate and get approvals in two weeks.

Grenada and Dominica citizens obtain B‑1/B‑2 visitor visas for 10 years, allowing them to spend under 180 days a year in the US.

For your convenience, in the table below, we marked with an (х) countries where entry conditions are different: Grenada citizens need a visa, and Dominica citizens don’t, or the other way round. We marked with an (!) countries where entry conditions differ slightly. For example, Grenada citizens have visa-free entry, while Dominica citizens get visas on arrival.

Passport renewal. Investors and their family members with citizenship of Grenada or Dominica renew the documents every 5 or 10 years.

The validity period of a Dominica passport is 10 years, but a child under 16 years of age renews one after 5 years. Grenada’s passport is renewed every 5 years for all ages, so a Dominica passport is more convenient.

Immigrant Invest lawyers warn investors 2—3 months before the documents expire and help to renew them.

A tax ID. If the investor relocates to a Caribbean country and lives there at least 183 days per year, they will become a tax resident of the state. Tax residents need to get a tax ID and pay taxes.

Taxes in the country. If the investor buys real estate or a car or wants to register a yacht, they will pay a property tax or fee. However, the investor won’t pay the property tax if the property purchase is for participation in the citizenship program.

In the table below, we outline the taxes and fees for the investors who have obtained citizenship and become tax residents in Dominica or Grenada.

Need to meet the terms of the programme. All the citizens obey the country’s legislation. The investor will lose the second passport if they violate the terms of the programme. If the investor provides false information about themselves, they will also lose citizenship.

Rights of passport holders. Investors and their family members have the right to live, work, and study in second-citizenship countries. They can come to Grenada or Dominica at any time. For example, citizens could enter the country even during the pandemic, when the borders were closed.

However, Grenada has a stricter check, which takes up to 6 months, while Dominica offers to complete the application processing within 2+ months.

Investment options and fees. Both programs have two investment options: a non-refundable contribution to a state fund and refundable real estate buying.

There is a special state fee of $50,000 for the real estate purchase in Grenada and $25,000 to $50,000 in Dominica.

The property ownership period under the Dominica program is 3 years technically, but it is 5 years in reality. If the investor sells the object after 5 years, the next buyer will be able to get Dominica citizenship too. The demand for the five-year-old property is higher than for the three-year-old property.

The investor can sell the property after 5 years under the Grenada program.

Family members of the investor can participate in the program with them: spouses, children under 30 years and parents. Children over 18 and parents must be financially dependent on the investor or their spouse.

The Grenada program allows the participation of investors and their spouses’ siblings over 18. Siblings must be unmarried and financially dependent.

The Dominica citizenship program is faster and less expensive than Grenada’s. But the Grenada passport is better known in the business world, and the country’s citizenship provides more opportunities for a quality higher education.

We offer a checklist with important terms for investors and help you make a choice.

The investor can’t participate in a citizenship program by themselves, so they contact a licensed agent, Immigrant Invest.

An Anti Money Laundering Officer of the company performs the preliminary check of every applicant. After that, the investor chooses a citizenship program, signs a contract with the company, and the lawyers begin to prepare documents — this step lasts 2 to 4 weeks.

When the documents are ready, the agent applies to the CBI Unit. A few months later, the Unit approves the application, and the investor gets a second passport.