Purchase of Property in Dominica, An option to acquire Dominican Citizenship by Investment (CBI)

September 19, 2019

Dominica is shining like a stunning emerald in the center of the Caribbean islands.

If you are in love with this endless beauty and would like to invest somewhere near America, you can count on the efficiency of Dominican Citizen by Investment Program.

It is one of the longest-running citizenship by investment (CBI) programs in the world. Established in 1993, it is also one of the fastest and most affordable available in the Caribbean.

One of the investment options to acquire Dominican citizenship is to invest a minimum of $200,000 in property and hold the estate for at least four years and pay the processing fees as well.

According to statistics, Dominica received about 2,000 applications in 2017 under this program while Dominica’s Prime Minister declared that about 51% of government revenue will be achieved through CBI in 2019. These figures show the interest of foreign investors in this small Caribbean country.

If you are interested in buying property in this island, you can get useful information below.

Procedures for Purchasing Property in Dominica

In order to keep your money safe against the many potential drawback, we advise the buyers to take on the services of reputable Real Estate Companies even when planning to purchase directly from a private owner.

The following simple steps will guide you:

First, the buyer must provide the agent with a written offer for the property.
The offer is given to the Seller/Owner.
As soon as the owner accepts, the agent will present you with a ‘letter of acceptance’ and a ‘Statement of transaction’ – to include purchase price, transfer, legal & survey/valuation fees.
If you agree with this ‘Statement of transaction’, then hire a Lawyer to write up an equivalent Purchase & Sale Agreement.
Then a license Surveyor must make a Valuation on the property. Transfer & Legal fees will be calculated either on this Valuation price or on the property’s Purchase price whichever is higher.
When you plan to apply for the changeover of Title, you need to have a Surveyor (usually same) prepare new Survey Plans.
In many cases, you will be asked to pay a 10% deposit on the purchase price in order to secure the property. This amount could be required upon signing the Purchase & Sale Agreement in which the date of the balance payment will be required.
You can make out this 10% deposit to the owner where there is no hindrance against the title, or to the agent or the Lawyer who would hold such deposit in escrow. With this, a refund could be made to you if the owner is not able to provide good title.
You must pay the balance of the purchase price in order to complete the sale; Moreover, you should pay all fees to the Lawyer as per the Purchase & Sale Agreement.
Finally, the Lawyer prepares a Memorandum of Transfer (MOT) which is executed by the owner and after payment of the obligatory transfer fees at the Treasury, presents the MOT along with other requested documents (title forms, survey plans, valuation and the original duplicate title obtained from the owner) to the Land Registry for the processing of a title in your name as the new owner.

It is noteworthy that applicants for Dominica’s passport must purchase approved projects by Dominica government.

If you wish to acquire citizenship by investment in Dominica through real estate acquisition, we would respectfully suggest you to contact one of our advisors in UAE, Denmark or Canada, and we will do our outmost to guide you through your Investment and Dominica Citizenship by Investment process.