Indians can explore 75% of the world without visa with Dominica’s Citizenship by Investment Programme

Dominica: Commonwealth of Dominica and CS Global Partners conducted a webinar titled 'Planning your family’s future with Citizenship by Investment in Dominica' in an association with Economic Times on Citizenship by Investment Programme, especially for Indian investors.

During the conversation, Prime Minister of Dominica Dr Roosevelt Skerrit discussed the importance of CBI Programme, especially in India as Indians are very active participants on the global stage. “We are known as the Nature Island not only in the Caribbean but in the world because we build our tourism industry on the preservation and the protection of the environment. As a result of this, we (Dominica) has received a number of international accolades making Dominica the best destination in the world,” said PM Skerrit.

Safe country:

Making regards to its safety and security towards its citizens, Prime Minister told that as being the Prime Minister of the nation, he does not require the security guards while he travels within the country. “As Prime Minister, I can walk on the streets without having any security, I can drive on the streets with no security. Likewise, any citizen or visitor to our country.”

Discussing the rationale of Citizenship by Investment programme, PM Skerrit told that the programme was first initiated in 1993 to source in the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), expand then growing economy and also to meet the demands of the competitive world.

How Dominica is the best option for CBI

Taking the discussion further, Prime Minister described how Dominica is the best option for Citizenship by Investment applicants. PM said that any person or a family which obtains the Citizenship of Dominica enjoys equal rights as any other born citizen of the nation and economic Citizenship is protected by the constitution of the country. He added that education is free to all residents, and 100% of children have access to education, Dominica has a stable political system, a vanguard to the effects of climate change.

Dominica also offers global mobility: All the passport holders of Dominica can have the visa-free access to over 14o out of 192 countries around the world. “In few years, Dominica will have the visa-free access to over 162 countries in the world,” said PM Skerrit. Moreover, PM emphasised on that the countries which require a visa to travel usually do not decline the visa requests of Dominican residents.

Duty-free access to the European Union, UK and American Markets

Prime Minister divulging details about the concessions and duty-free trade rights told that Dominica has an economic partnership agreement (EPA) with European Union which give enormous concessions and duty-free export access to Europe.

“Dominica is also a part of the Caribbean Community which provides free movement of goods. Every item which is manufactured in Dominica has duty free access to the whole Caribbean as well.”

Besides this, Dominica also has a special trade agreement with the United States of America that allows for certain goods and services to have duty free access within the entire American market. “To avail the benefits, there are many opportunities in Dominica of manufacturing, agriculture, technology advancement and tourism.” PM Skerrit added.

It is noteworthy that Commonwealth of Dominica does not tax the global income of its citizen. It also does not have any wealth tax or heritage tax.

Investment Options under Citizenship by Investment Programme

CBI Unit head, Ambassador Emmanuel Nanthan described the whole process and options under the citizenship programme. According to Ambassador Nanthan, The Citizenship by Investment Programme of Dominica provides two options to acquire Citizenship.

First is the Economic Development Fund (EDF) where the applicant apply with a one-time payment of US$100,000 (which is used for the national development) and become citizen. The second option is pre-approved Real Estate, where an applicant can invest US$200,000 and become the citizen of Dominica as well.

Ambassador Nanthan further said that the CBI Programme of Dominica is ranked as the world’s number one citizenship programme from the past four consecutive years, which is only because of its straight forward and accessible nature.

Further, he stated that the CBI Programme is family-friendly, “An applicant can include his or her spouse, children, parents of main applicant and spouse as well and the applicants can also include the siblings under the age of 25.” The benefits of the programme can also be passed down to future generations.

Access over 75% of the world without visa with CBIP of Dominica

During the discussion, the CEO of CS Global Partners, Micha Emmett discussed the importance of becoming a global citizen. She cited a perfect example of an investor who suffers to do business globally due to his country’s relations with the global community.

“An upcoming young entrepreneur in the technology industry with businesses all around the world, maybe setting up companies in Europe and the UK and selling their technology in Singapore and Hongkong. But, they always get stuck with the laborious and expensive process of applying for a visa after visa. The real question here is what is the real opportunity cost of being denied a visa or being delayed in getting a visa and missing a critical deal.” she added.

Further, she added that Dominica plays a significant role in the advancement of international business opportunities, and it is life-transforming. “With visa-free access to over 75% of the world’s countries, Dominica opens the doors for businessmen and their families.”

Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card

The Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) is an immigration status permitting a foreign citizen of Indian origin to live and work in the Republic of India indefinitely. The OCI was introduced in response to demands for dual citizenship by the Indian diaspora, particularly in developed countries.