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POLICY GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURAL STEPS
POLICY GUIDELINES
FOR APPLYING FOR |
DOMINICA’S CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT PROGRAMME
We at Caribbean Commercial & IP Law Practitioners LLP are licensed appointed agents for the promotion and marketing of Dominica’s Citizenship Programme.
The Commonwealth of Dominica also known as the Nature Island of the Caribbean because of its breathtaking natural beauty is an independent island State situated in the Eastern Caribbean, a former British colony. In 1993 the Government of Dominica introduced what was then called the Economic Citizenship Programme which gave investors seeking a second citizenship, the opportunity to become citizens of the commonwealth of Dominica, by making a cash investment in the country.
In January of 2014 the Government restyled its programme as the Citizenship by Investment Programme and introduced an added component to the investment package. Investors now have the opportunity to obtain citizenship of Dominica by investing in an approved project which provides them with the opportunity not only to obtain a second citizenship but also to invest in a business and obtain financial returns.
The Citizenship by Investment Programme forms an important part of the Government’s thrust to advance the socio-economic development of the island. Government views the citizenship by Investment programme as one component of its national capital mobilization portfolio towards its ultimate goal of national development and as such intends to channel capital from the programme towards public and private sector projects where a need is identified. Under the approved project option of the programme, Government’s emphasis is on the tourism, information technology, agricultural and manufacturing sectors and therefore private sector projects to be financed under the programme will fall within one of those of these sectors.
Requirements
The main applicant must be 18 years of age or over.
Applicants for Citizenship by Investment must be of outstanding character.
All applicants must complete the prescribed forms. The prescribed forms must be submitted together with all documents in support of the application. PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT ALL COPIES OF ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS MUST BE CERTIFIED AS A TRUE COPY BY A NOTARY PUBLIC. FAX COPIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. ALSO ALL DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED MUST BE IN ENGLISH. DOCUMENTS WHICH HAVE BEEN ISSUED IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN APPROPRIATE AUTHENTICATED TRANSLATION AND SHOULD NOT BE DONE BY THE INVESTOR.
WHERE A TRANSLATION OF A POLICE, BIRTH OR MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE OR PASSPORT BIO DATA PAGE IS NECESSARY, TRANSLATIONS MUST BE CERTIFIED BY THE RELEVANT GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY, EMBASSY OR CONSULATE FOR THE COUNTRY WHERE SUCH DOCUMENTS ORIGINATE.
Included in the documents to be submitted must be a letter of application for citizenship by investment addressed to the Minister responsible for Citizenship stating the reason(s) for applying for citizenship.
Application forms must be signed by applicant or by both parents and lawful guardian of children below eighteen (18) years old.
Each investor/applicant under the programme shall deposit into the appropriate government account at the designated bank in Dominica the amount of their investment. This amount will not be withdrawn from the account unless the application is withdrawn, rejected or approved. In either of the first two cases the applicant will be refunded.
If the application is refused, all sums (net of bank charges and exchange rate differential) paid into the designated account less processing fees shall be refunded to the applicant within ten days of the written notice of denial being given to the applicant. Any request for a refund shall be addressed to the Minister responsible for citizenship.
All applicants for Citizenship by Investment must apply to the Unit through a registered authorised agent like us.
Procedural Steps in applying for Citizenship by Investment of the Commonwealth of Dominica
Step One: Preparation of Applications
We are very familiar with the procedure and list of required documents. The documents for completion will be forwarded to you under separate cover. All the listed documents must be included in the application package in order for your citizenship application to be processed.
Application Form is Form 12 which must be completed in duplicate for all persons desirous of Dominican citizenship, children included. Both parents or legal guardian of applicants under eighteen (18) years of age must sign the Application Form 12 on behalf of the minor. All Forms 12s must be notarized to be complete. Reproductions of the Form 12 are accepted. The section of Form 12 labeled “REFERENCE” can be left undone.
Two (2) original personal references (Not Professional References) for the investor, spouse and any child over 18 years old. Testimonials should include a paragraph about the referee, who must be acquainted with the applicant for at least five (5) years. Identical testimonials will not be accepted. Also testimonials should not be from family members. For dependents of a main applicant between 18 and 25 in higher learning, they shall submit an official transcript or a duly notarised letter from a competent authority confirming the applicant’s existing enrollment at that institution of higher learning.
One (1) original Professional reference for the investor/applicant. References should be from a person who has been acquainted with the investor’s work for at least three (3) years.
One (1) original recommendation from the investor’s banker (Not a certificate of Deposit/Bank Statement). The investor must be a client of the bank for at least two (2) years. The recommendation should contain the contact information for the bank. Unsigned bank recommendation will not be accepted.
Original Letter of Employment for the investor. If self-employed the business trade license and most recent audited financial statements of the business must be submitted with the application.
Must submit a Bank Statement for the last 12 months immediately preceding submission of the application.
Marriage certificate where applicable. If an applicant is divorced and has remarried then a notarized copy of the Dissolution of the Marriage is required.
A letter of application addressed to the Honourable Minister responsible for Citizenship requesting citizenship is required of the investor or the head of the family applying for citizenship stating the reason(s) for applying for citizenship.
Original Police clearance certificate or a similar document provided by a law enforcement agency confirming the absence of a criminal record is required of all applicants sixteen (16) years and over. Police records are required from country of birth, citizenship and residence (where the applicant has lived six (6) months or more) if different. Police records are required from a County/State and at Federal Level, and must be certified by the ministry of foreign affairs or other relevant government department of the issuing country or accompanied by an apostille where applicable. All police records must be accompanied by a set of fingerprints. For children twelve to fifteen (12-15), there must be a sworn affidavit by the parent that child does not have criminal record.
Four certified passport size photos. On the reverse side of at least one photo a notary public should endorse the following statement:
“I certify that this is a true likeness of the applicant Mr./Miss/Mrs./Ms ______________”
Original birth certificate for all applicants
Notarized copies of University/College diplomas.
Completed medical for all applicants. Applicants between the ages of 0-5 years will not be required to take an HIV test.
A detailed resume/business background report is required of all applicants who are working adults. The occupation of all working adults must be clearly indicated.
Completed Disclosure Form for all applicants over 16 years old.
Any other document deemed necessary by the Minister.
DOCUMENTS SHOULD NOT PRE-DATE THE SUBMISSION OF THE APPLICATION TO THE CBIU BY MORE THAN THREE (3) MONTHS
We will submit the application to the Citizenship by Investment Unit on your behalf. Comfort Letters: After receipt by the Unit of the complete application and all appropriate processing fees, the Unit will issue a comfort letter to us acknowledging receipt of the application which we will forward to you.
The Next Step will be the Commissioning of Due Diligence Reports and Interview
After receipt of all required documents, fees and authorizations, the CBIU will commission a due diligence report on you if you are a single applicant and on all the other applicants applying for citizenship together with you. After review of the same we as your agent will be advised whether your application has been approved in principle, denied or delayed for cause and is still being processed.
If it is determined that an interview of the is necessary, you will be asked to attend an interview before a Government appointed committee. Interviews are to be conducted in Dominica. The interview will be conducted in English. If an applicant is unable to travel to Dominica and wishes to have his interview conducted overseas and the Government is unable to accommodate him, then the applicant would be required to pay fee of US$3,000 plus the full cost (hotel, airfare and Per Diem) for three members of the committee.
For interviews conducted in Dominica, the Government has an approved list of translators who are able to assist in the case where an applicant is not fluent in the English language. A fee of US$100 will be charged for the use of a translator. For interviews conducted outside of Dominica, if translator is required, it must be a certified translator, the cost of whom will be borne by you the applicant.
The interview will be geared mainly to clarify and supplement information provided and to address matters pertaining to the due diligence investigations and may include general questions about Dominica.
It is our responsibility to make the appropriate arrangements and appointments for the interview on your behalf. Within 15 days of the interview, the Unit shall notify us that the application has been approved in principle, denied or delayed for cause and is still being processed. We will readily communicate with you same.
If successful the Next Step will be the Making of the Investment Deposits, Taking of Oaths and Naturalization
Investment Deposits: Once we have been notified that your application has been approved in principle then the stipulated investment should be deposited into the Government Account without undue delay. The details are as follows:-
National Bank of Dominica
For credit to Government of Dominica Economic Development Fund Account No.
115003026
64 Hillsborough Street
Roseau
Commonwealth of Dominica
Swift code: NCDMDMD
Intermediary Bank: BANK OF AMERICA, NEW YORK
Swift Code: BOFAUS3N
Or
Royal Bank of Canada
For credit to the Ministry of Finance Citizenship By Investment Account No.
096551022227
Dame Mary Eugenia Charles Blvd.
Roseau
Commonwealth of Dominica
Swift code: ROYCDMDM
Intermediary Bank: J P MORGAN CHASE BANK
Swift Code : CHASUS33
Your name as the investor should be indicated clearly on the Wire Transfer/Deposit Slip.
Simultaneously, notification of the payment/deposit should be faxed and emailed to the Director of the Citizenship by Investment Unit. All investments should be net of bank and transfer charges.
INVESTMENTS WILL NOT BE TRANSFERRED FROM THIS ACCOUNT UNTIL NATURALIZATION CERTIFICATES HAVE BEEN ISSUED.
Taking of Oath & Naturalization
Upon final approval of the application by the Minister responsible for citizenship each applicant is required to sign an Oath of Allegiance before a Notary Public, Justice of Peace or Commissioner of Oaths. Parents or legally appointed guardians of minors, ages zero to sixteen (0-16) must sign the Oath of Allegiance on behalf of the minor. On receipt of the Oath, a Certificate of Naturalization is then prepared and forwarded to the agent/applicant.
Procurement of Passports
Passports can only be issued after the applicant has been granted citizenship of the Commonwealth of Dominica, that is, after he/she is issued a Certificate of Naturalization under the authority of the Minister responsible for citizenship. The applicant/agent/promoter is entirely responsible for the securing of passports. No government officer or department is responsible for applying for passports for an individual. Passports can be procured by submitting the following to the Immigration Office, Police Headquarters, Roseau, Commonwealth of Dominica:
Certificate Of Naturalization
Certified copy of birth certificate
(ii) Completed passport application forms Form “A” for adults or Form “B” for children (0-16) years) along with Government Treasury receipt. These forms must be submitted as issued by the Immigration Department. Reproduction or duplicates will not be accepted.
Two passport-size photographs – 2.5” x 2”
Again, as your agent we will make the submission on your behalf.