Citizenship by Investment — Approved Real Estate
Citizenship in Dominica
- Eligibility
- A non-national may acquire citizenship by purchasing at least US$200,000 of CBIU-approved real estate, held for a minimum of 3 years (or 5 years if the onward buyer is also a CBI applicant), plus a Government fee of US$75,000 (single) / US$100,000 (main applicant plus up to three dependants), with tiered add-ons per additional dependant (SRO 8/2024 Schedule 1 para 2). No residency, presence or language requirement.
- Timeline
- medium
- Renunciation
- Not required
Overview
The Approved Real Estate option lets a non-national acquire Dominican citizenship by purchasing at least US$200,000 of Government-approved real estate, rather than donating to the Economic Diversification Fund. It suits investors who prefer to hold a recoverable asset - a parcel of land with a building, a fractional ownership, or shares in a land development (reg 2 'real estate') - in an approved tourism or development project, and who accept a holding period in exchange. The qualifying purchase (US$200,000) is paid to the developer, and a separate Government fee (from US$75,000) is paid to the State. As with the EDF route there is no residency requirement, no physical-presence requirement and no language test; citizenship is granted by naturalisation under section 8 of the Citizenship Act through the SRO 8/2024 regulations, administered by the CBIU, with a mandatory interview for all applicants aged 16 or over and a statutory three-month notification. The real-estate minimum of US$200,000 also meets the OECS price floor. All figures are as of 2024-06-28 and unchanged by SRO 46/2025.
Who qualifies
Eligibility on the real-estate route is identical to the EDF route in personal terms: a main applicant at least 18 years of age, of good character, who makes the qualifying investment, certifies the five-year name-change undertaking, and meets the other requirements (reg 4(1)), applying through an Authorised Agent under section 8 of the Act. The same denial grounds apply (reg 6(1)(a)-(h)): non-minor criminal record, undisclosed criminal investigation, prior citizenship or visa denial by another country, security risk, materially false information, or disrepute-causing activity. The investment-specific eligibility gate is that the property must be in a Cabinet-approved project and the purchase value must meet the US$200,000 threshold (reg 7(2)); a purchase outside an approved project, or below the minimum, does not qualify regardless of the applicant's personal profile. Lawful source of funds is tested by the FIU and approved due-diligence agencies. No residency, presence, or language condition gates eligibility; a Gazette-specified nationality triggers enhanced due diligence rather than an outright bar (reg 11).
Legal basis
The real-estate route shares the EDF route's constitutional and statutory foundation - Constitution s.101 (Parliament's power to provide for acquisition by persons not otherwise eligible) and Citizenship Act Chap 1:10 s.8 (naturalisation) and s.20 (regulation-making) - and is operationalised by the same principal instrument, the Citizenship by Investment Regulations 2024 (S.R.O. No. 8 of 2024, gazetted 28 June 2024). The route-specific provisions are Schedule 1 paragraph 2 (the US$200,000 minimum purchase and the Government fee tiers), regulation 7 (specific requirements for approved investments, including the minimum-threshold gate in reg 7(2) and the holding-period rules in reg 7(3)/(4)), and regulation 8(2)(a) (title transfer within thirty days of approval in principle). An 'Approved Project' is a real estate or development project approved by Cabinet (reg 2). SRO No. 46 of 2025 did not amend any real-estate provision, so paragraph 2 and regulation 7 are current as of 2026-06-14.
Example scenarios
Eligible. US$200,000 purchase in an approved project plus a US$100,000 Government fee (main applicant plus up to three dependants), with a three-year holding period.
Real estate of at least US$200,000 in a Cabinet-approved project qualifies (SRO 8/2024 Sch.1 para 2(1)/(2), reg 7(2)); the Government fee for the main applicant plus up to three dependants is US$100,000 (para 2(3)(b)). The spouse and the 12-year-old are dependants under reg 2(a)/(b). The property may not be resold until at least three years from grant (reg 7(3)), which the investor accepts in exchange for a recoverable asset. No residency or presence requirement applies.
Resale is barred and triggers revocation: the property cannot be resold until three years from grant, and breach voids the sale and revokes citizenship.
Real estate that qualified an applicant for citizenship shall not be resold until at least three years have elapsed from grant (reg 7(3)). Selling at eighteen months breaches reg 7(3); under reg 7(6) the consequences are revocation of citizenship, possible disqualification from the programme, and nullity of the transaction (or damages payable to the Government). No fees or investment are refunded (reg 6(2)). The investor must wait out the full three-year hold before any compliant resale.
Permitted, but each main applicant must individually contribute the full US$200,000 minimum - the threshold cannot be split.
Reg Sch.1 para 2(2) allows two or more applicants to apply together by investing in an Approved Project, provided that EACH main applicant contributes the minimum investment of US$200,000. Fractional ownership and shares in a land development are permitted forms of real estate (reg 2), so co-investment in one project is fine, but the US$200,000 floor is per main applicant and cannot be aggregated downward. Each pays his own Government and integrity fees.
Permitted only through a qualifying Dominica-incorporated company that has issued all its shares to the main applicant and is not an offshore entity.
Reg 8(3) allows beneficial ownership of the relevant property through a company only where the company has issued all of its authorised shares to the main applicant, is established and maintained under the laws of Dominica, is not an exempt or offshore entity, and submits Registrar-certified beneficial-ownership evidence. Within thirty days of approval in principle the applicant must show full and unencumbered title transferred directly or through such a company (reg 8(2)(a)). An offshore or partly-owned vehicle would not satisfy reg 8(3).
Informational summary compiled from primary legal sources — not legal advice. Citizenship law changes; verify with the competent authority before acting. Last verified 2026-06-17.
Track changes to this route
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