Fubarrio Expat Trader

Dominica Economic Citizenship Program

In an effort to prop up flagging domestic industries, beginning in 1991, the Commonwealth of Dominica began offering what was referred to as ‘economic citizenship’ to interested foreigners who invested in one of Dominica’s domestic industries, such as tourism.  Dominica’s economic citizenship program gave those of financial means a way to buy a second passport, quickly and relatively easily.

Dominica’s ‘instant passport’ program is one of only two known legitimate programs which have been codified into the nation’s laws. In fact, Dominica’s passport program is authorized by the island nation’s constitution. Many of the other advertised “instant” passport programs are indeed scams, or bribes or other illegal “backdoor” programs which will likely put you or your funds at risk of theft, further bribes, or outright extortion.

The only other legitimate ‘instant passport’ program is that of St. Kitts and Nevis and is the one that Neil Strauss famously took advantage of his his book “Emergency”. Interestingly, Mr. Strauss’ passport took more than a year as documented in his book.

To join the more than 1,000 people who have taken advantage of the Dominica program, one must invest, typically between 50,000 usd and 100,000 usd.

Robert Bauman, a lawyer who writes for the sovereign society, has written a book called “The Complete Guide to Offshore Residency, Dual Citizenship and Second Passports” which details some aspects of the Dominica economic citizenship program.

Some of the chief benefits include:

• The rights to live and work on the island at any time.
• Full access to rights as a member of the commonwealth of the United Kingdom.

This includes visa free travel to more than 90 countries, including:

• United Kingdom
• Canada
• Switzerland
• Sweden
• Hong Kong

While the benefits are great, this program is not for everybody.

The minimum investment you can expect to make as a single person is 75,000USD.  If you want to ensure that your family is afforded a passport as well, you can expect to pay about 100,000, plus another 50-70k in associated fees, duties, stamps, and other necessities to ensure that your spouse and your children qualify under the plan.

The investment has in recent years shifted from generic investments into ‘tourism’ to be either direct investments in the government, through bond offerings, or direct investments in government backed programs.  These will tend to be programs that are under the direction of the government that have received favor due to being perceived as for the public good, or those with exceptionally strong political backing.

The passport that you and your family will receive is good for ten years, and renewable.

A word of warning, or perhaps welcome relief for some of you.  Mr Bauman points out that there is no U.S embassy on Dominica.  For those needing the services of the US embassy they will be required to travel to the nearby island of Barbados.