A comparative analysis of 6 ways to acquire second citizenship of Dominica

What is the least expensive method of acquiring second citizenship of Dominica? Do you necessarily have to invest a hundred thousand dollars to obtain a second passport? Let us consider all the routes that lead to acquiring second citizenship of Dominica and compare their costs, requirements, and timeframes. There are six such routes in total: the right of birth, ancestry, naturalization, marriage, entrepreneur’s visa, and citizenship by investment.  

The Caribbean island state officially called the Commonwealth of Dominica is well known to immigrant investors including the followers of InternationalWealth portal. Dominica is one of five Caribbean countries that offer citizenship-by-investment opportunities. The passport of Dominica is one of the least expensive passports to acquire.

The minimum required amount of investment is US$ 100,000 if you apply to the citizenship-by-investment program. However, there are alternatives to consider if you would like to obtain second citizenship of Dominica. They are less expensive opportunities to achieve this goal but each of them has its own unfavorable conditions. Let us consider these opportunities one by one.

1. Citizenship of Dominica by birth

Anyone born in the Commonwealth of Dominica automatically becomes a citizen of the country in accordance with the jus soli, or ‘the right of the soil’ applied there. The nationality of the newborn’s parents does not play any role. The rule is not applied to the children of diplomats born in Dominica while their parents hold office in the country.

2. Citizenship of Dominica by the ancestry

If one of the newborn’s parents is a citizen of Dominica, the child qualifies for citizenship of the country too. It does not matter if the parent is a native-born Dominican or he/ she has acquired citizenship of Dominica by investment. It does not matter either if the child is born on the territory of Dominica or outside. The central requirement is that at least one of the child’s parents shall be a citizen of Dominica.

3. Citizenship of Dominica by naturalization

This is the longest route to citizenship of Dominica but it may suit those who wish to relocate to the country for good. The candidate for citizenship by naturalization has to live in Dominica for at least seven years while spending the best part of the calendar year in the country. Moreover, the candidate shall reside in Dominica on legal grounds, that is, he or she must have a residence permit.

The candidate for citizenship of Dominica can obtain a temporary residence permit that he or she will have to renew every year for the first five years of living in the country. After that, the candidate will become eligible to apply for a permanent residence permit. And only after at least two more years can he or she apply for citizenship of Dominica by naturalization.

4. Citizenship of Dominica by marriage

If you marry a citizen of Dominica (and this has to be an official registered marriage), you can accelerate the process of acquiring citizenship of Dominica for yourself. You have to remain married for three years while living the best part of each year in Dominica in order to qualify for citizenship of the country.

In addition to that, the candidate for citizenship of Dominica by marriage has to be a law-abiding person and acquire a residence permit and a work permit from the local authorities.

Please bear in mind that same-sex marriages are prohibited by the Dominican legislation. Registering a marriage costs 185 dollars in Dominica.

5. Citizenship of Dominica with an entrepreneur’s visa

This is a new opportunity that became available only this autumn. In an attempt to attract more foreign investments to the country, the Dominican authorities provide an opportunity to invest US$ 50,000 in a business venture, wait for two years, and then apply for full citizenship of Dominica.

This program is similar to the European ‘golden visa’ programs but the required investment amount is much smaller. There is an important additional condition, however. Candidates for citizenship of Dominica who choose this route have to spend at least 90 days in the country per year. To be more precise, the entrepreneur’s visa option give three alternative investment opportunities:

• Invest minimum US$ 50,000 in an existing Government-approved business project via the Investment Find.  
• Invest minimum US$ 100,000 in a new startup. It has to be a company registered in the Commonwealth of Dominica and it has to create jobs for at least three people. 
• Invest into the capital stock of a state-owned or a private business venture.

The last option needs some clarification. According to the official information, the candidate for citizenship of Dominica following this path will have to invest into large infrastructure development projects that include water purification facility construction, marina construction, energy supply development, and so on. The amount of the required investment is not specified as these are serious investment projects that require a lot of money. The candidates for citizenship of Dominica will be made individual offers if they prefer to make use of this opportunity.

6. Citizenship of Dominica by investment

The most expensive route to citizenship of Dominica is simultaneously the fastest one. It takes only about three months to acquire citizenship of Dominica by investment. The candidate for citizenship does not even have to visit the country in order to obtain the passport. The financial requirements associated with this option are described in the tables below.

	Investments required for obtaining citizenship of Dominica
	Donation	Property purchase
Single applicant	US$ 100,000	US$ 200,000 – a 3-year investment into real property in Dominica  + US$ 25,000 as a state duty
Married couple	US$ 150,000	US$ 200,000 – a 3-year investment into real property in Dominica  + US$ 35,000 as a state duty
Family of four	US$ 175,000
Family of six	US$ 175,000 + US$ 25,000 for the fifth and sixth family members	US$ 200,000 – a 3-year investment into real property in Dominica  + US$ 50,000 as a state duty
Family of seven +	US$ 200,000  (US$ 200,000 – a 3-year investment into real property in Dominica  + US$ 70,000 as a state duty)
Additional administrative fees
Application processing fee	US$ 1,000  (fixed amount per application regardless of the number of applicants)
Due diligence fee	Main applicant — US$ 7,500 Spouse — US$ 4,000 Other applicants above 16 year of age — US$ 4,000 per person
Citizenship certificate fee	US$ 250 per person
Express passport issuance	US$ 1,200 per person

It is also possible to add the main applicant and his/ her spouse’s brothers and sisters to the application for citizenship of Dominica. The additional pay is US$ 50,000 per person.

If we add up the minimum required donation amount, the administrative fees and the cost of the licensed immigration agent services (applications can only be filed via such an agent), we will see that a single applicant will have to invest US$ 125,000 to obtain citizenship of Dominica. The cost will increase in case more than one person is applying for citizenship.

Please note that all less expensive routes to citizenship of Dominica (excluding by ancestry) require personal presence in the country for a certain period of time. The citizenship-by-investment option does not have this requirement.  

The administrative fees involved in acquiring citizenship of Dominica by following routes 1 to 5

When considering the less expensive options, you have to take into account the administrative costs associated with them:

• Application for naturalization processing fee – 250 East Caribbean Dollars (US$ 92).
• Issuance of naturalization certificate – 2,000 East Caribbean Dollars (US$ 740).
• Passport issuance fee – 150 East Caribbean Dollars for an adult and 75 dollars for a child.

Overall costs of acquiring citizenship of Dominica

If you were not born in Dominica and if neither of your parents is a Dominican, you have four options remaining. Three of them require living in the country for a more or less extended period. The average salary in Dominica is US$ 500. Let us assume that you will have to spend this amount of money as your monthly living expenditures. Now let us do some calculus (we will disregard the cost of getting to Dominica):

• Naturalization — US$ 42,000 (seven years in the country, US$ 500 per month).
• Marriage — US$ 8,000 (three years in the country, US$ 500 per month).
• Entrepreneur’s visa — US$ 53,000 (US$ 50,000 as the investment plus US$ 3,000 as monthly expenditures for six months).
• Citizenship of Dominica by investment – US$ 125,000.

As you can see, the least expensive way to obtain citizenship of Dominica is marrying a Dominican! Is it not a reason to take a romantic trip to the country?

Professional support to those seeking to acquire citizenship of Dominica

Speaking seriously, each route to citizenship of Dominica has its advantages and disadvantages. It is up to you to decide which path to take. A free professional consultation will make choosing the path easier. Please contact us by email, WhatsApp or the live chat and inquire about the process of obtaining citizenship of Dominica. We will describe all available options in detail and you will be able to assess oll the pros and cons that each of them has.