Since Dominica’s economic citizenship programme was modified in 1993, over 12,000 individuals have successfully applied for and obtained citizenship.
A further 2,000 is expected to be granted citizenship in the coming year, local attorney Stephen Isidore told europeanceo.com.
The website reported Isidore describing Dominica as ‘the isle of opportunity’ with many benefits to the citizenship programme, which include significantly lower tax rates, far greater asset protection, easier cross border travel, and free passageway to over 100 countries.
Isidore said citizenship laws prior to the programme were in need of attention since “the naturalisation and citizenship provisions of the laws of Dominica stipulated that only persons who have been resident in Dominica for five years or more could apply for naturalisation and would only be eligible for citizenship upon payment of the prescribed fees.”
However changes in 1993 made it possible for individuals from another country to receive Dominican citizenship with greater ease.
“In 1993, the Government of Dominica introduced the economic citizenship concept whereby the residency requirement was waived,” Isidore told europeanceo.com. “The amendment to the citizenship legislation stipulated that for a specified investment sum, persons could apply to become citizens of the Commonwealth of Dominica.”
Isidore said funds from the programme has been vital to the island’s economy, “with the application fees deposited into a consolidated fund and distributed equally between the private and public sectors.”
“Investments are paid directly to the government who will in turn attribute equal distribution to public spending and private sector financing in creating opportunities for local businesses – with an especial focus on small and medium-sized enterprises,” he said.
Based on statistics provided to europeanceo. com, for a family of up to four persons the required investment is $175,000 and an additional $25,000 for each child under 25 years old, whereas an individual applicant must make a contribution of at least $100,000. These figures do not include the necessary due diligence, registration and professional fees, which amount to approximately $25,000.
Europeanceo.com described Isidore’s law firm Isidore & Associates as the “most experienced of the island’s legal firms in supporting those undergoing the citizenship programme.”
“Having played a vital role in promoting the citizenship programme since 2005, Isidore & Associates has successfully secured citizenships for hundreds of clients and will continue to do so for as long as Dominica remains an attractive opportunity for business the world over,” the website said.
Dominica’s economic citizenship programme has been the subject of severe criticism, however the government has defended it on the grounds that it generates revenue for the state.
In August this year attorney general, Levi Peter, said the island is expected to earn in excess of $60-million from the programme for the 2013-2014 financial year.
All I got from this article is that we need an independent outside investing firm to follow the trail of the number of passports sold and where the monies went.
If Dominicans, irrespective of political affiliations cannot demand that of their government, then the shackles of slavery still on us we deserve what we get.
I dunno about other people, but I do cherish my Dominican passport…
My God! nou fini bat!!!!!
suppose all those people decide to come down here.
our land gone
our ethnicity gone
our history gone
our heritage gone
our peacefulness gone
our lifestyle gone
our inheritance gone
our Dominica gone
all because people refuse to see the light
all becasue people think of themselves instead of the future
A wise advice is to have more Dominican – children.
During a conversation, I asked a former manager how many children he and his wife have. He told me two. I said “Two? OK you Canadians do not have children or anymore. People from the third world will migrate to Canada to live and take it over.” He could not stop laughing. He was shocked that I made such a statement.
This has proven true today. They came by planeloads and other means, even by vessels. If he is still well and alive he may not forget what I stated.
The less children are born in a country, the population decreases as also the elders die. This has affected the entire world. Some people are having only one or two children. What a difference from bygone years.
over 20 yrs we generated over 1 billion dollars in passports.
Thats why i trust no politician, 1st we have to detewe miss charles, Roosie and Pierro then go Marigot pick up Eddo and pass and pick up Skerrit on our way down to Roseau.
Put them to sit on the Creole Festival stage in the center of the stadium and start to question them.
Freedom, UWP and Labour have there corruption but yet we as a people fighting for them.
Leave Skerro dia he will take put Lennox dia he will take and i will go on like that after we die.
When UWP was in power there was talk bout passport now Skerro come there is still talk bout passport, all of dem is d same and we no dat.
I cant believe this. You mean to tell me this government has been getting all this money throughout and our economy is not good. All the taxes and duties imposed on us and the government been receiving hundreds of millions of dollars throughout. That’s bad man,we been lied too and cheated.They obviously wanted to keep this secret cause we are not a,we can do the math. Where is the same money Mr.Prime Minister? You really need to show what was made and how it was spent. Things so expensive in Dominica,duties killing people,shipping high,duty on CIF at high percentages. Now I’m not a uwp man,so please don’t make this political.I think we deserve to know more about the monies earned and spent from this citizenship program. Dominicans,please don’t let them get away with this without showing us what they did with that money.
why is steven isidore a private lawyer reporting on matters under the office of the attorney general?..
Thats what happen, when people love their PM too much
Very interesting reading. A country depending on lifting itself, especially its citizens out of poverty and stagnation is not at the least on its way out. All that money coming in and poverty is still hampering development. Something is wrong here. We are not seeing new developments, and are these new citizens opening new businesses? l have a feeling that people are not hearing the truth and the opposition is not asking the right questions. People are asking, some big questions, are these so-called developers really interesting in developing Dominica? Is this type of attitude, money the price of economic development? Who controls this program? Is this the best way of developing the country? Something is wrong here. A country bringing in people with money and promises of economic development yet, unemployment ect, is a big economic problem. Most of these bloggers l am reading about are on target. They are right. Most are asking questions and nothing that make sense is forth-coming to them. I guess this is state secret that citizens must not know about, or is this government policy to get dollars which way ever. I guess such a plan can only happen in D/ca. After-all, the opposition seems to entertain it.
Since after Mr. Norris Prevost published his list of questions for the minister of Foreign Affairs, to provide answers to Dominicans re the sale of passports from 2000 to date, I realized a lot of DLP supporters are furious and want Mr. Prevost to start from 1995 when UWP was in power. Since no information has circulated by the government, and instead they drafted in Mr. Timothy who was the Minister of Finance in the UWP administration, we are left to speculate and analyze. So here is my personal, unbiased finding:
The UWP: Since 1195 to 2000 when they were in power and up to 2013, I take a good and in depth at Mr. Edison James as the then PM and 13 yrs later as former PM. When he got into power I knew him to be married with children, a decent house and car. During his reign nothing changed in terms of financial increase and now he has a 3 Door maybe 1992 Suzuki Jeep. His children or wife appear to be in same condition. His brothers- same condition. The same is true concerning his then advisors. Mr. Prevost was to me much better off before he got into politics than while he was in government up to this time. It looks like a financial mistake on his side. Ron Green, well even President Charles Savrin criticized his old pick up during the last election. Julius Timothy to me is just like prevost in terms of financial condition.
The DLP: Hon. Skerrit got into power without anything. Not even a car. 13 years later, he owns $4million house, and told the nation that he further used $400,000 to repair his mothers house. His brother had nothing and since then owns a very expensive house right next to the PM’s. Advisors: The one from Portsmouth is now a millionaire, the pastor north of Possie is now boasting of a $2 million house he owns, Hartley Allein is Bajan and we do not know his worth now. Ministers, Blackmoore, Austrie, Savarin, and others have all become very rich. His attorneys: All very rich. So I am just questioning and hope to get answers.
Papa bondieu help dominica please. Put a hand an stop them in their tracks amen.
And where are the 12,000 people? hmmmmmm. I smell something.
Where all that money gone?
Since Speaker ABN will not allow the cross man questions to go through Lang Mama will ask thee questions hoping that the questions are not Discarded by the discarder.
No fancy words
Whey dee passport money gone?
Whey dee St Joe money ah comefrom
where the LPO money ah come from
Ah wha make Goergetown land now suitable when dimple say it was not
Ah whey de rest of the garbage bin refund
who own the villas now dee bubble man staring to de-parlais
Is the crab man going to catch crab
to help pay Venezuela
How much coconuts make a Bolivar
How many limes make two Bolivar
How many diplomatic passportsto business man for one Moroccan hotel.
Boy, you see that! We have more freedom of speech outside the parliament than inside, DeDemocracy back to front.
I have posted two successive comments. None printed. Why not?
‘Economic Citizenship’. In a sense selling the country to aid the country. How is this money spent? Should the Government not keep the people informed?
Are checks carried out to find out if these buyers are not criminals?
I see it as a means of obtaining access to other islands and thereby America and Canada. Go figure
All countries have a program like this, even the US
‘Economic citizenship’. Are these sold to benefit the country, if so how are these monies used? Can every buyer be accountable for?
I see these purchases as an easy route to gain access to other islands and in turn America and Canada. Go figure
But why I never trusted Prevost? I really had good reasons.
Let’s do some maths. Pretty simple.
12k x 100k= $1,200,000,000
2k x 100k =$200,000,000
thats not included in the fees of 25k generated and other fees.
Everybody can see the numbers.
AG said a few months ago we should generate about $ 60, 000,000.
NOW all of you reading can see the numbers. Questions need to be answered.
And Zulyu, that is in U.S.$. you know, no mistake!!Malgraysa
Let’s do some basic math here:
12000 successful passports sold
Minimum payment is $100000USD
100000 x 12000 = 1,200,000,000
Over the course of 20 years, this program has generated $1.2 Billion USD minimum.
Not let’s say the companies that provide the services in order for people to obtain their citizenship, they get 30%.
1,200,000,000 X 0.3 = $360,000,000
So over the course of 20 years they got $360 Million USD
That leaves us with:
1,200,000,000 – 360,000,000 = 840,000,000
$840,000,000 USD or approx. $2.268 Billion EC
So where’s all that money gone? Treasury?
Very good observation I did the math myself. someone is voleuring our money!!! By now the national debt should be paid off!!!
And what are the people going to do about this?
People need to go to jail.
vAt the function Skerrit donated a $40,000 cheque to the St. Joseph village council for its Small Business Support Program.
He said previously the government had contributed $200,000 to the program but it was insufficient to those who applied for assistance.
On October 18, 2013, at 12:34 pm, DNO published an article under the heading, “PM Skerrit hints at 400 new jobs”, and I wish to extract some important quotes from the said article that left me wondering until this am. So here are some of the quotes because I will use them to ask some purtenent points later:
“At the function Skerrit donated a $40,000 cheque to the St. Joseph village council for its Small Business Support Program.” “The $200,000 we gave the first time was not sufficient to support all who had applied,” he stated. “And I felt that we need to support all who applied for the assistance and I was told you needed an extra $40,000 to complete that arrangement.”
According to the article it appears as if the $40,000 check Skerrit handed to the Council came from his own pocket, because it was ‘Skerrit’ that donated and definitely NOT the government. Interestingly, one needs to take a look at the pronouns used by the PM during that Santa Claus moment. After all, Mr. Skerrit was an English teacher and maybe holds a degree in English so he knows when and how to use pronouns.
Based on all the above, the questions to be asked here are: when, where, and how did the PM got $40,000 from? I mean it’s not from his personal salary since he does not make that much a month; it doesn’t appear it was from his savings account since he (and we the government this time) owed the council for some time now and maybe the I / we did not have that money until now. Now that his Attorney Stephen Isidore is tell us how much they made from sale of passports, not for their 13 years in power but two decades, I am now wondering if that $40K cheque Skerrit donated from his own pocket had anything to do with passport money? Again DNO, I am just asking because the information is smartly and deliberately confusing, and knowing other conflicting information already given by this same duo on land /possessions, I have to wonder. So please do not leave me in the “Awaiting Moderation room” that you have so often left me in.
Thank you SANTA CLAUS. We all would like some clarification into that “$40,000.00” skerritt gave, donated, lent, granted etc to St Joseph. Again, I read that he skerritt was an “English Teacher?” Poor our School Children. No wonder!!!
The Gov’t is a reflection of the people.It is clear that we in Dominica do not care about good governace.
Mr. Isidore, you are an attorney and you would not want anyone to just throw information to you without detail. Why then are you giving us about decades of information from 1993. We all know very well that You and YOUR DLP administration /company was not in power between 1993 to 2000. We don’t need to hear about that time period because since you were not in power to prove the documented truth to us, we cannot accept your figure because of politics. For example, during the reign of UWP they had a duty-free concession on pick-up trucks for agricultural purposes, which was highly criticized by the DLP. However, six months after UWP was removed, I took my eyes to witness the then Minister of Finance Mr. Ambrose George, granting and signing duty-free concession on both pick-ups and passenger cars with a note saying that such vehicles were already granted duty-free concession by the UWP which was out 6 months ago, but was delayed due to late arrival of boat because of storm. What a lie it was! So please sir, tell us about 2000-2013 and add the 2000 new applicants that are pending. In other words, tell us how many passports were sold, how many were regular passports and how many were diplomatic passports. Also, give us the cost of each category and let us do the maths to see if it adds up.
What is the commission to the respective firms handling the program?
I don’t know about any commission but the authorised agents’ charge a min. U.S.$.25,000 to each applicant direct for processing their application (that is on top of the Govt. fee).
The question: Why only 60Million is budgeted in the budget 2013-14 when we are expecting to sell 2000 passports in that year at $100K equaling 200Million dollars?
This worries me…..The GOVT should provide proper accountability for passport sales instead of a plan to misappropriate the funds.
All the money is needed for the public wallet to help address our development and poverty issues.
We need to stop the Bobol of public monies.
At the end of this month local attorney Duncan Stowe and the Dominican High Commissioner in London, Francine Baron are scheduled to address a conference in Londone to promote our second citizenship programme. I trust they will also have a representative from the Invest Dominica Authority on hand to alert any potential customers to the investment opportunity in Dominica and that we are not solely concentrating on selling passports, for the benefit of a few.
Why is the GOVT only budgeting for 60Million dollars in the 2013-2014 budget when it is expecting to sell 2000 passports at 100K which equals to 200Million dollars.
Something is clearly wrong with how they are planning to account for the passport money….RED FLAG!!!!!
We cannot continue to short change the public wallet, when the monies are needed to help develop our country and to address poverty.
All money needs to be accounted for…No Bobol with the state finances.
Listening, lets revisit your maths again, so 2000 x 100 =
first add the 2 zeros from the 100 to the 2,000 that is = 2,000+00 ok so we now have 5 zeros lets add them now….. 200,000 ooops, that looks like $200,000 so where did you get $200M?? therefore even $60M is ambitious, don’t you think???
Am happy i could have been of assistance to you!!!!
Happy I don’t have to depend on you for math lessons.
You can get a Dominican passport for 100 dollars?
Its $100,000 not $100 a passport so add three more zeros.
Joe, are you deliberately playing the fool? You know damned well it is 2000 x 100 thousand U.S. dollars = 200 million U.S.dollars. Don’t make yourself look a pedantic a.
for your information it said 2000 pending at $100,000 USD that works out to $200,000,000 or $200 million us dollars. that $533,000,000 ECD it for this reason as an educated person I know that Dominica can stop begging all these nations for their peanuts and crumbs to build an international airport and explore our full geothermal potential for export. As a labourite it time dimples answer us and let the population know that he has a plan to take us to the next level of abundance and prosperity and not the red clinic where we appear to beg for little favors
Joe my friend this is Mathematics 101….I hope you are not accountable for watching our finances because it will disappear under your nose.
1+1 =2; Hope you can start there.
When people spoke about thousands of Chinese who landed on Canada with Dominica Passports Laborats like Justice and Truth and Lizavier4jesus made all kind of silly excuses.
What percentage of the 12000 passport holders have actually invested in Dominica. What a frigging mess of corruption. since 1993 our collective budget amounts to less than $1.6 billion yet the passport business is more than $2 billion. Where thee money gone even when over the last 10 years the economy had been supported primarily on taxes.
Dominicans levais pa fen yo pwen Dominique hod nous.
The cabal have become millionaires while the people are sinking in poverty.
Interesting the island has not benefited from these monies…
Isn’t Dominica the Poorest in the Eastern Caribbean?
The issue is that the citizens of Dominica really Don’t care much about Governance of affairs on Island.
Again it’s the timid and lack lustre mindset of Dominicans.
Seems like a barrage of monies is and will be emerging prior to the election to pool wool over the citizens……
who will guard the guard Dominica.
Dominica do the maths $2.1 billion since 1993- zor oh la l’argent la allais.
Note that is just the regular passports what about the diplomatic passpports to include that of Francesco Corallo.
I would also like Isidore to tell us whether a passport ( Diplomatic) was sold to a French man named Rene and if so what happened to the money.
In the interest of cleaning up this passport issue then the government can simply put the documents out for an independent audit. Let us see whether it is ONLY 12000 passports that were sold. Credible sources show that it is more than 16000 passports huckstered and there is also evidence that under the Labor Party administration more than 15000 passports have been dispensed.
Can the Gov’t tell its people how much money all that adds up to? And we the people want to see the trails of these checks going to the Dominican Treasury.
Dominicans need to know the answer to these additional questions. This is why I have placed them before Parliament for Wed. 25th. It will be interesting to see what answers the Govt gives.
” To: The Honorable Minister for Foreign Affairs.
From: Honorable Norris Prevost, Member for the Roseau Central Constituency
Re Passports Issued from Feb. 2000-
For written reponse, for sitting of Parliament on…. October 2013
Will the Honorable Minister for Foreign Affairs provide this Honorable House with the following information regarding the issue of Dominican passports to non Dominicans:
(a) The Names and Nationalities of all non Dominican persons who have been issued with Dominican passports, since February 1st 2000.
(b) The dates on which the passports were issued
(c) The type of passport, whether regular, diplomatic
(d) Whether issued under Economic citizenship program or otherwise
(e) The amount of money paid by each passport recipient
(f) The total amount of money, collected by government each year from the issuing of passports .to non Dominican”.
Hon. Norris Prevost MP
Roseau Central
I do hope that you show up for those answers and that indeed, the proper procedure was followed for placing these questions forward.
they are import and we need answers – but please follow the correct guidelines that way whatever happens – you guys can prove you did it the right way.
No excuses – time for true actions
Mr. Prevost, why are you only requesting answers from the year 2000, why not from the inception i.e. 1993 (to iclude 1995-2000) when the UWP was in power. We want a complete report on the program, not just a partial one!!!!
Mr. Prevost 11,000 were sold during all you ‘Re-engineered’ program!!!!!!
I have a feeling that you are unlikely to get an accurate answer to any of these questions. You might get some lies! This is an important issue not only from a financial point of view but also as far the international standing of Dominica is concerned.
We should not rest until we get the answers and we are satisfied that the answers are true. If this is not the case the opposition should, in the first instance, force a vote of non-confidence in parliament.
mr. prevost why didn’t u include the years 1995 – 1999?
@ De Kyat, any honest government would have reported questionable behaviors from the party that they are now succeeding. Since the DLP did not do that, we are forced to conclude that they were satisfied that their was no corruption re the passports during 1995-2000. Furthermore, the fact that in the 2000 elections the DLP ran on corrupt, corrupt, corruption, and promised to jail those found guilty and instead they drafted in Mr. Julius Timothy, who was the Finance Minister of the UWP, it would take a damn blind fool to believe UWP was corrupt or only if they just wanted to tell the public that Timothy cound not do any dirty work under the eyes of the UWP and therefore the present DLP more looks like his real team. Did you get it?
@Anonymous, I wish you had given yourself we all could address you by. Anonymous is simply someone that wants to hit and run and cannot be followed on later subjects since so many cowards go by that name. However, do you really expect Mr. Prevost to ask Mr. Isidore to give answers from 93-2000, when DFP and then UWP served? What if Mr. Isidore just throws any figure at us? Furthermore, Ms. Charles was minister for finance from 1993 to 1995, and Ms. Charles is 6 ft. below and cannot answer questions or make corrections. UWP has been out since 2000. What would have made sense is if Mr. Julius Timothy who was the minister of Finance during the UWP reign and has since been drafted by Mr. Skerrit and the DLP to serve as Minister for health, were given a chance to answer those questions you are now requesting. But then again, on the basis that the then wanted Timothy is now part of the DLP crew, I have to conclude that 1.the DLP was, and is satisfied, that monies were either properly used as reported to by the UWP or 2. Mr. Timothy is better suited on this DLP crew since “Birds of a feather always flock together” and as a result, he serves their interest better.
So, where is the money from the sales of these passports?
the money is been used to feed the red clinic go figure
60 million? highly doubtful
Where is the money??
Is Mr. Isidore an employee of the government? Is that the number of passports sold by Isidore or by the Government?
hhhmmmmmm there’s a facebook page called Saving Dominica, that has been releasing vital information on Isidore and You Follow’s situation.
Vital hand written documents of kickbacks, who got what and from who. D.N.O you all have a facebook page, make use of it.
The Government need to let us know where are they channeling that money. Who is receiving or benefitting from the selling of our passport. I hope they are doing intensive background checks, and they not selling to international terrorist, or criminals around the world who will give us a bad name
ok great, if he has so much information why can’t the people of Dominica get a nice detailed audit of the numbers. not only to find out the amount of money which has been generated by the sales, but it should also give us a snap shot of the dynamics of those; where do our economic citizens coming from, the amount of them who are single users as opposed to families, the number of them who reside here, the number who have invested in any way of form in the island after the initial fees. this will go some way in assessing the real impact of the programme. i personally dont have an issue with the programme as a concept however i think its a travesty that we as a people know nothing really about how the programme is run. are there any public records of the numbers if not why isn’t that the case.
So how many of the 12000 resides in Dominica?…and how many of the up comming 2000 will reside in Dominica???…and what are their nationalities??…middle eastern??…Europeans??…Asians??
William Allen • 8 days ago
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Hello Sir,
I am a US citizen and married to a Dominican Citizen for well over 36 beautiful years. I have applied for citizenship twice once in 2002 and again in 2005 both with negative results. The first application was submitted and received by the Ministry of Legal affairs, Immigration and Labour. Apparently it became lost in mid-process. The second application was submitted in 2005. I received notification of receipt. I had an appointment with the Special Branch of the Dominica Police Service, which was successfully completed. I waited for a reply for further processing only to find out that my application was misplaced or lost again. No one could shed information on where it was. I desperately telephoned numerous officials up and down the chain of command and no one knew anything. I am submitting my third application as I write . I don’t understand why this situation has prevailed. All I want is to spend my golden years with my wife in her beautiful country which I too love very much. Would you care to
comment on my situation or direct me to someone who can . Signed: Patiently Waiting.
William, you just don’t have the money. If you had it you would be in D/ca by now. That is the best thing l can think come up with. l’ve heard similar complaints from four people. Something is wrong here William. We are trying to get to the bottom of it.
what I am concerned about is that the agents doing the interviews get kick backs from the clients samsung S4, Iphone , laptops, purses, tablets. This is wrong wrong wrong!!!