Dominica passport: zero taxes and access to the Schengen Area and the UK
I love Turkey and have never thought about moving out. Here is my family, business, magnificent sea and nature. I studied in London and want my daughter to enter a British university. But there are fears that we will not be able to visit our child as often as we would like. To enter the UK, we also need to obtain permission.
Schedule a meeting at one of the offices or online. A lawyer will analyze the situation, calculate the cost and help you find a solution based on your goals.
Dominica passport: zero taxes and access to the Schengen Area and the UK
Deniz is a co-owner of a textile factory in Istanbul. After graduating from school in Turkey, he studied in the UK for five years. After that, he came back home, married, and continued his family work.
The factory’s products are in high demand abroad due to their attractive price and high quality. As a result, Deniz travels to Europe often to meet his colleagues and supervise production.
Deniz has a wife, Kayra, 34 years old. She is an English teacher and travels to London for an internship. Unfortunately, the visa validity period is not always enough to solve all work issues in the UK. The daughter of Deniz and Kayra Maria is ten years old. Parents think she will enter a British college.
Contacting Immigrant Invest
Freedom of movement in the UK and other European countries without restrictions proved essential for the company’s interests and the Deniz family. In addition, he realised that the fastest way to get a second passport is by investment.
Deniz contacted a licensed agent Immigrant Invest. The division of the company has its compliance department. So it was important for Deniz to understand his actual chances of obtaining citizenship. And what he needs to do to minimise the risk of refusal.
Before signing an agreement with a client and collecting documents for participation in the citizenship program, Immigrant Invest lawyers conduct a due diligence check.
Vladlena Baranova,
Head of Legal & AML Compliance Department, CAMS, IMCM
Anti Money Laundering Compliance Officer in Immigrant Invest is carrying out Due Diligence. He performs a preliminary examination to assess an investor’s chances of obtaining citizenship by investment. In addition, he considers the legality of sources of income and the biography of the investor and his family.
The preliminary check showed that Deniz and Kaira could participate in any citizenship program for investors. Renunciation of first Turkish citizenship is not required. They have no criminal record and have never been convicted in court. The Deniz factory has no tax debts. Textile products of his fabric have a lot of positive customer reviews both within Turkey and in Europe.
Choosing citizenship by investment program
Deniz planned to spend about $250,000 on citizenship by investments. So first, he studied the conditions of investor programs in European countries. Then, it seemed pretty natural for him to get a second passport in Europe because it would open the way to the UK for his family.
Residence in Spain or Portugal offered an opportunity to invest in real estate, access to the Schengen Area and a tax residence. However, travelling to the UK continued to be a problem. Besides, the tax system in these countries is not the most beneficial for businesses.
We analysed their situation, budget, objectives and requirements for Deniz and offered him Caribbean programs. At first, Deniz was sceptical about this option. But later, the conditions of participation in the program and the benefits of a passport surprised him.
Vladlena Baranova,
Head of Legal & AML Compliance Department, CAMS, IMCM
Caribbean citizenship solves several problems related to visa-free travel worldwide and tax optimization. Caribbean countries have maintained political and cultural ties with the UK. The citizens have the right to study at British universities on preferential terms.
Caribbean passports enable its holders to visit more than 140 countries visa-free, including the Schengen Area, the UK, Singapore and China. Moreover, the citizens have the right to get long-term tourist or business USA visas.
The application process does not need a direct presence in the Caribbean, and there is no residence requirement. Furthermore, all paperwork takes only 4—6 months, ideally suited for Deniz.
In the Caribbean, five countries offer a second passport by investment. The programs have similar conditions — fast application approval times, options for investing in government funds and real estate, and the size of the minimum contribution.
All Caribbean programs met Deniz’s budget and passport benefits. However, he wanted to return the investment — this option is possible when buying real estate.
It was important for the investor to understand whether there would be any difficulties with the object’s sale in the future.
Deniz didn’t want to go over the $250,000 budget, so he excluded Grenada and St Lucia right away. Instead, St Kitts and Nevis’s government attracted an investment of $175,000 in social housing purchases. But this is an innovation in the program, and nobody knows how the procedure works in practice.
It was important for Deniz to return the investment as soon as possible. The return period to St Kitts and Nevis is the longest in the Caribbean and continues for seven years. Therefore, the investor considered Dominica or Antigua and Barbuda.
Then he turned to a personal financial consultant who analysed the economic situation in the Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda real estate market. According to the conclusion, the territory of the entire Caribbean region is being built up very actively since the primary income comes from tourism activities. The expert advised to pay attention to Dominica — the country supports an environmentally friendly lifestyle of the population and strives for sustainable development.
Dominica is known as the «Nature Island of the Caribbean» for its wide variety of flora and fauna and extensive natural park system. Dominica is also home to the Caribbean’s highest peaks, namely Morne Diablotins, which stands at 1,447m high
Steps of Dominica citizenship program by investment
1. Preparing documents. Immigrant Invest helped collect a package of papers and letters of reference and fill out questionnaires.
Deniz collected the following documents:
passports of adult participants of the program;
birth certificates of all applicants;
marriage certificate;
questionnaires for all participants in the program;
documents confirming the investor’s income;
documents confirming there was no criminal record for adult participants;
higher education diplomas;
medical certificate.
Immigrant Invest experts submitted documents and helped to choose real estate remotely. Therefore, neither Deniz nor his wife had to interrupt their work activities. At this stage, the applicant pays Due Diligence fees.
2. Choosing a property. The minimal amount of real estate investment is $200,000, regardless of the number of family members. The investor chose shared ownership in the hotel. The cost of the share was $208,000.
All facilities to participate in the citizenship program must be approved by the Dominica Government. Deniz сoncluded a preliminary agreement and paid 10% of its cost to reserve an object.
Examples of properties in Dominica
Dominica, Roseau
$220,000+
Share in a resort on the coast of Dominica managed by Hilton
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Dominica, Portsmouth
$220,000+
Share in a five-star hotel managed by Intercontinental
Dominica, Roseau
$216,000 — $3,800,000
Share and villas in a six-star resort
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3. Sending documents. The Dominica Citizenship by Investment Unit (CBIU) has accepted the documents. They started Due Diligence checks, which took about two weeks. After that, they filed papers for final processing.
Vladlena Baranova,
Head of Legal & AML Compliance Department, CAMS, IMCM
Not only the principal applicant but all family members over 16 should pass Due Diligence.
4. Approving application. Three months later, Immigrant Invest received a positive response about the participation of the Deniz family in the investment citizenship program. Approval of the program is the basis for the transfer of investments.
5. Paying for the required investment. The investor signs the main sales contract at this stage and transfers the money to the developer. Within a few days, the bank registered a transaction, and the investor received a certificate of ownership.
Deniz expenses when choosing the option of buying a share in real estate included the cost of the object, Due Diligence check, the state and courier fees.
$248,650 — Deniz paid to participate in the program for the whole family
$200,000 — Cost of property
$35,000 — State fee
$11,500 — Due Diligence
$900 — Passport fee
$1,000 — Processing fee
$250 — Courier fee
6. Getting passports. When the bank confirmed the investment, the CBIU printed the passports and certificate of naturalisation. In February 2022, the Deniz family received documents at a convenient address.
The result of cooperation with Immigrant Invest
Four months after contacting Immigrant Invest, we notified Deniz and his family about obtaining Dominica citizenship. The courier delivered passports to Deniz’s convenient address.
Deniz's family received Dominica citizenship in 5 months
1
September 10th, 2021
Signing an agreement between Deniz and Immigrant Invest
2
+ 1 day
Preliminary Due Diligence check
3
+ 7 days
Choosing investment property
4
+ 3 weeks
Preparing and sending documents
5
+ 2 weeks
Due Diligence by Dominica CBIU
6
January 5th, 2022
Application approval
7
+ 1 week
Payment for investments and ownership registration
8
+ 4 weeks
Making passports and naturalisation certificate
9
February 15th, 2022
Getting passports by courier
1
September 10th, 2021
Signing an agreement between Deniz and Immigrant Invest
2
+ 1 day
Preliminary Due Diligence check
3
+ 7 days
Choosing investment property
4
+ 3 weeks
Preparing and sending documents
5
+ 2 weeks
Due Diligence by Dominica CBIU
6
January 5th, 2022
Application approval
7
+ 1 week
Payment for investments and ownership registration
8
+ 4 weeks
Making passports and naturalisation certificate
9
February 15th, 2022
Getting passports by courier
The family solved all of the challenges. Deniz can plan his trips to almost any country in Europe, including the UK. Caira can study in the UK for up to 6 months and starts looking for a college for Maria. The family has got a safe and comfortable second place of residence in the event of economic or political accidents.
Deniz,
A co-owner of a textile factory
I never thought that I could solve the issue of freedom of movement in Europe with a Caribbean passport! During the whole process, I never flew to Dominica. We even received our passports being at home in Turkey.
It was a pleasant surprise to find out about preferential taxation in Dominica. Tax residents do not pay tax on dividends, interest, and royalties, no taxes on salaries, capital gains and inheritance. Perhaps my next business project will be in Dominica.
Now Deniz is planning business trips to Europe. He wants to start from Amsterdam to discuss launching a new boutique with textile goods with partners. After that, he will visit Germany and France.
In Italy, there are textile factories of the most famous brands in the world — Cavalli, Ferragamo, Gucci and others. Deniz has been dreaming of visiting great brands' production and adopting fabric processing technologies. Now it seems to be happening.
Kayra can stay in the UK for up to 180 days. That’s enough time to solve business issues and find a college for her daughter. Maria travels to the UK with her mother and attends an English school.
In the winter months when Turkey is cold, the whole family goes to the Caribbean islands to spend some time by the sea.
Immigrant Invest is a licensed agent for government programs in the European Union and the Caribbean.
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