Photo: Hans Hillewaert (CC BY-SA 3.0)Dominica Citizenship by Investment
One of the world's most affordable and reputable second passport programs. Obtain Dominican citizenship for yourself and your family through a government-approved donation — no residency required.
Dominica's Citizenship by Investment program grants a second passport through a government-approved donation or real estate investment. The minimum donation starts at USD $200,000, gives visa-free access to 140+ countries, and requires no residency, with processing typically in 3–4 months.
- Minimum Donation
- USD $200,000
- Visa-Free Access
- 140+ countries
- Processing Time
- 3–4 months
- Residency Required
- None
Compare Other Programs
Other routes in this category that may fit your situation
Investment Options
Economic Diversification Fund (EDF)
USD $200,000Non-refundable donation to the Economic Diversification Fund. Most straightforward and fastest processing route.
- Single applicant: $200,000
- Applicant + up to 3 dependants: $250,000
- No property purchase needed
- 3–4 month processing
Approved Real Estate
USD $200,000Purchase pre-approved resort units or villas from a government-approved developer. Property can be rented out.
- Minimum hold: 3 years
- Rental income permitted
- Resalable to future CBI investors
Who Is This For?
- Individuals aged 18+ with a clean criminal record
- Good health with no serious medical conditions
- Proven legitimate source of funds for the investment
- No travel restrictions or visa denials from Dominica's restricted list
- Can include spouse, dependent children (under 30), and parents/grandparents
- No language or education requirements
How It Works
- 1
Initial Consultation & Eligibility
ITC iLand assesses your profile, explains program options, and confirms eligibility before any commitment.
- 2
Application Preparation
Gather required documents: passport, police clearance, medical certificate, proof of funds, and personal statements.
- 3
Due Diligence & Submission
Authorized agent submits application to the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CBIU). Government conducts thorough background checks.
- 4
Approval in Principle
Government issues conditional approval. Investment (donation to Economic Diversification Fund) is made.
- 5
Certificate of Naturalization
Final approval issued. Dominican passport applied for and received within a few weeks.
Reviewed by Ramin Asadi · RCIC · CICC #R407111 Verify
Dominica immigration and citizenship law sits outside the RCIC licence, which covers Canadian immigration. This page is maintained by ITC iLand and checked against official Dominica sources; applications are filed through agents licensed by the programme's own Citizenship by Investment Unit, with whom ITC iLand works. Nothing on this page is Dominica legal advice.
Figures on this page were last verified against their official sources in August 2026.
What Dominican citizenship gives you
Citizenship for life, with no residence requirement, no language test and no obligation to visit. Dominica permits dual citizenship, and a spouse and qualifying dependants are included in one application.
Dominica has historically been the lowest-priced of the established Caribbean programmes and one of the faster ones. It is also the programme that has been through the most public scrutiny in recent years, and that history is directly relevant to what the passport is worth — it is covered honestly further down this page rather than left out.
The qualifying investment routes
Two routes qualify. The Economic Diversification Fund is a non-refundable contribution to the government. The approved real estate route buys into a government-approved development with a holding period attached.
| Route | Single applicant | Family of four | Hold period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Diversification Fund (EDF) | USD $200,000 | USD $250,000 | None |
| Approved Real Estate | USD $200,000 | — | 3 years |
How the family pricing works
The fund route is priced per household rather than per head. USD $200,000 covers a single applicant; USD $250,000 covers a main applicant and up to three dependants. Beyond that it is $25,000 for each additional dependant under 18 and $40,000 for each aged 18 or over.
The real estate route starts at USD $200,000 with a three-year holding period — shorter than most of the region — though the hold extends to five years where the eventual buyer is themselves a citizenship applicant. As with every approved-development route, resale is confined to a narrow market, so treat the asset as illiquid regardless of the stated minimum hold.
Why the headline figure is not the total
The contribution is the largest cost but not the only one. Quoted "prices" for Caribbean programmes vary wildly mostly because different sources bundle different fees into one number. Budget separately for:
- Government processing fees, per applicant.
- Due-diligence fees, per applicant and banded by age; each adult is screened independently.
- Authorised agent and professional fees — direct filing is not permitted.
- Passport and certificate issuance fees on approval.
- Document costs: police certificates from every country of residence, translations, notarisation, apostilles.
These are set by the programme and revised periodically, so this page does not quote them. Take the current amounts from the CBIU, and ask any agent quoting a single all-in price to break it down — the difference between "the contribution" and "what you will spend" is where most surprises live.
Who can apply — including Iranian nationals, conditionally
The general bar: 18 or over, clean criminal record, good health, and a fully documented lawful source of the invested funds.
Nationality is where the Caribbean programmes differ from one another most sharply, and where Dominica matters. Grenada and St Kitts and Nevis currently bar Iranian nationals outright. Dominica does not — but it admits them only on conditions, and those conditions are strict.
Iranian nationals are considered only where they have lived outside Iran for 10 or more years, hold no assets in Iran, and retain no Iranian business ties. All three conditions apply together, and they are assessed on evidence rather than assertion. If you do not meet all three, this programme is not open to you and no structuring changes that — a residency-by-investment route is the more realistic conversation.
Due diligence, and why applications fail
Every adult applicant is screened by an independent international firm engaged by the government, not by your agent. The check covers criminal history, sanctions and watchlists, litigation and insolvency, business and professional background, and the origin of the funds.
Dominica tightened this process materially following the international criticism described below, so anyone working from pre-2024 impressions of how light-touch the programme was should discard them. The screening is the programme's answer to that criticism, and it is applied.
Most refusals still come down to disclosure rather than substance: an undisclosed prior visa refusal, a former name, a gap in the address history, an unmentioned directorship. Refusal information is shared between Caribbean programmes, so a refusal here damages an application to a sibling programme afterwards.
Disclose everything, including matters you believe were dismissed, resolved or expunged. A disclosed problem is usually manageable. The same problem discovered by the screening firm after you omitted it usually is not.
The process, and how long it takes
Dominica's published processing time is 3–4 months, measured from a complete and correctly documented submission. Requests for further evidence restart it in practice.
The sequence: engage a licensed agent, assemble and verify the document set, file, pay processing and due-diligence fees, undergo screening, receive approval in principle, then make the qualifying investment, then receive the certificate of naturalisation and passport.
The money moves after approval in principle, not before.
Travel access — and the United Kingdom
A Dominican passport currently provides visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to roughly 140 countries and territories, including the Schengen Area.
The United Kingdom is not among them. On 19 July 2023 the UK imposed a visa requirement on all Dominican nationals, and the Home Office statement to Parliament gave the reason directly: abuse of Dominica's citizenship-by-investment scheme, including the granting of citizenship to individuals assessed as posing a risk to the UK. Vanuatu was sanctioned the same day for the same reason.
We state this plainly because a headline access count does not, and because for many clients the UK is one of the handful of destinations that actually motivated the purchase. If UK access is part of why you are considering a second passport, Dominica does not currently deliver it and you should look at a different programme.
This is also the clearest illustration of the structural risk in every citizenship-by-investment programme: visa-free access is granted bilaterally by each destination and can be withdrawn at short notice, for reasons entirely outside the applicant's control. Any access list is a snapshot of today, not a property of the passport.
Source: UK Home Office statement to Parliament, 19 July 2023
Tax, residence, and what citizenship does not change
Dominica does not tax the worldwide income of non-residents and imposes no residence requirement to hold the citizenship.
That is not a tax outcome in itself. Tax residence follows where you actually live, not the passport you hold — taking this citizenship while continuing to live in Canada or the UK leaves your position there unchanged. Some countries tax on citizenship rather than residence, and several impose an exit tax on ceasing residence.
If tax is part of your reasoning, model it with a cross-border tax specialist before applying. It is a different question, and a different profession, from immigration.
Who this suits — and who should look elsewhere
Dominica suits someone who wants a second citizenship at the lower end of the Caribbean price range, whose travel priorities do not centre on the United Kingdom, and who can document the source of funds cleanly. For Iranian nationals meeting all three residence-and-ties conditions, it is currently the main Caribbean option available at all.
It is the wrong route if
- UK access matters to you. It was withdrawn in 2023 and has not been restored.
- You are an Iranian national who does not meet all three conditions — 10+ years outside Iran, no Iranian assets, no Iranian business ties.
- You want to live somewhere. This is a passport, not a relocation plan; a residency programme is the honest answer.
- You want a European passport. No Caribbean programme leads to one.
- The capital is not genuinely spare — the contribution is non-refundable and the property route is illiquid.
Country Location
Why ITC iLand for This Program?
ITC iLand has guided over 100 families through global citizenship and residency by investment programs — from Caribbean second passports to European Golden Visas. We work with government-authorized agents in each jurisdiction and bring 25+ years of international immigration expertise to ensure your application is compliant, complete, and processed without delays.
Frequently Asked Questions
The EDF is the government fund where donations are directed. It supports Dominica's social and economic development. The minimum single-applicant donation is USD $200,000; for the main applicant plus up to three dependants it is USD $250,000.
Yes. Dominica allows inclusion of parents and grandparents of the main applicant or spouse, subject to additional fees.
Yes. Dominica permits dual citizenship, so you do not need to renounce your existing nationality.
Dominican passport holders have visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 140+ countries including the entire Schengen Area, UK, Singapore, and most Caribbean nations.
Dominican passports are issued for 10 years for adults and 5 years for children under 16.
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