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Roseau, Dominica: The Commonwealth of Dominica has been ranked as the #2 best citizenship by investment programme in the CBI Index 2023.
The Index was featured in the Financial Times on September 14, 2023, Thursday. It is to be noted that after securing the first position for six consecutive years, it is the first time in history that Dominica has slipped down to rank #2. The Caribbean nation has gained this position after scoring ten out of ten in three and nine out of ten in two pillars of excellence, respectively. In other pillars as well, the country has shined all bright.
The citizenship by investment index ranks the nations offering CBI Programmes across the world on the basis of their rankings in the nine pillars, which are:
1. Standard of Living
2. Freedom of Movement
3. Minimum Investment Outlay
4. Mandatory Travel or Residence
5. Citizenship Timeline
6. Ease of Processing
7. Due Diligence
8. Family
9. Certainty of Product
In regard to the Commonwealth of Dominica, a perfect score of 10/10 was achieved in Minimum Investment Outlay, Mandatory Travel or Residence and Ease of Processing.
As per the CBI Index 2023, the nation has achieved this outstanding score in the ‘Minimum Investment Outlay’ pillar because it has maintained the industry’s lowest threshold of US$100,000. The nation shared this position with four other nations which are Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Lucia and Vanuatu.
However, the second position was shared by three nations – St Kitts and Nevis, Cambodia and Egypt.
Furthermore, the Index highlighted that Dominica has achieved the maximum score in the ‘Mandatory Travel or Resident’ pillar as it has no travel or minimum residency requirements. Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia as well as Jordan have also got ten out of ten in this respective pillar of excellence.
Emphasising the ‘Ease of Processing’ pillar, the Citizenship by Investment Index mentioned, “The Caribbean jurisdiction of Dominica grabbed the top rank for the Ease of Processing Pillar. This reflects the programmes’ ability to balance the administrative demands of the application process with quick and efficient processing.”
The Commonwealth of Dominica shared this position with another Caribbean jurisdiction, St Kitts and Nevis and Malta, with a score of 10/10. With a score of eight points, Antigua and Barbuda, Egypt, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Türkiye, and Vanuatu all share the second position.
Following this, Dominica achieved a score of nine out of ten (9/10) in two pillars, which are Citizenship Timeline and Due Diligence.
Despite having nine out of ten in the ‘Citizenship Timeline’ pillar, a diverse range of countries rank in first position, including Dominica, Jordan, Saint Lucia, and Vanuatu, all of which have programme applications that can be completed in less than four months, the CBI Index 2023 noted.
Cambodia, Egypt, St Kitts and Nevis, and Türkiye followed the above-mentioned nations after scoring eight out of ten in the Index.
Moreover, by offering strict and robust due diligence procedures and background checks, the Commonwealth of Dominica scored nine points and second position. Dominica shared the position with Grenada; both nations followed St Kitts and Nevis, which bagged the first position with a perfect score of ten.
Henceforth, Dominica scored eight out of ten (8/10) in the ‘Family’ pillar. With eight points, Dominica dropped two positions due to its tightening of requirements for evidencing the degree of dependency of children 18 or over, as per the CBI Index 2023.
Under the ‘Freedom of Movement’ pillar, while their visa-free status has been under the spotlight recently due to pressure from US, EU and UK authorities, the five Caribbean nations of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia still afford powerful travel freedom and maintain a score of seven (7).
Along with this, Dominica scored seven out of ten in the ‘Certainty of Product’ pillar. Occupying joint second position with seven points are Dominica, Grenada and Türkiye. With Grenada’s CBI Programme now active for over a decade, the country increased its score by one point through a stronger performance in ‘Longevity’ and ‘Popularity and Renown.’ The first position was secured by St Kitts and Nevis with ten out of ten points.
The Commonwealth of Dominica received six out of ten points in the remaining one pillar, i.e. ‘Standard of Living’. Under this, the third position was occupied by Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia, with a score of six. Saint Lucia (15.4 percent) and St Kitts and Nevis (9.1 percent) outperformed in the GDP Growth measure, while Dominica achieved a higher score than its regional partners for Human Security, the Index outlined.
Citizenship by Investment Programme of the Commonwealth of Dominica:
Launched in 1993, the Dominica Citizenship by Investment Programme includes diverse investment options and strict regulation processes. It’s highly regarded for being one of the most efficient and transparent options for economic citizenship and contributes significantly to supporting social and environmental projects – particularly sustainable development – in Dominica.
Dominica’s CBI Programme offers two investment options:
1) Economic Diversification Funds
2) Real Estate
The CBI Unit is the government authority tasked with managing and processing applications for economic citizenship. To qualify for Dominica’s CBI Programme, applicants must have a clear criminal record and prove they are of good character through a series of extensive due diligence checks. The application process in Dominica is straightforward, with no travel or residence requirements, either before or after the citizenship process.
Applicants are not required to learn English nor demonstrate a minimum level of education or business experience. However, applicants aged 16 years or over are required to attend an interview as part of the due diligence process. Dominica’s CBI Programme has one of the fastest processing times in the CBI industry. An applicant will be notified by the CBIU within 90 days of acknowledgment of submission of their application whether it is approved in principle, denied, or delayed for cause.
