Dominica is introducing an in-person requirement for its Citizenship by Investment program, ending the program’s fully remote model. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit announced on 10 June 2026 that successful applicants must now travel to Dominica in person to collect and renew their passports.
What changed
Dominica’s Citizenship by Investment program has operated since 1993 and previously required no visit at any stage.
Applicants could complete the process through a licensed agent and a virtual interview without traveling to the island. That model is now ending.
Successful applicants will now be required to appear in person in Dominica for passport collection and renewal.
The full details are not yet confirmed. The exact timing rules, how the visit will attach to passport collection, and the implementing legislation are expected to be clarified with the upcoming national budget.
Why Dominica is changing the process
Skerrit described the change as “a regional reality and not a Dominica problem.”
The pressure comes mainly from the United States and the European Union.
In December 2025, the Trump administration placed partial travel restrictions on Dominican nationals, citing the lack of a residency requirement as part of the rationale. The United States later reduced visa validity for Dominicans from ten years to three months and included Dominica in a broader freeze on immigrant visa processing.
The European Commission also warned in December 2025 that operating a citizenship by investment program could itself become grounds for suspending visa-free Schengen access. It urged Caribbean governments to wind their programs down.
Dominica has framed the in-person requirement as a way to protect the program rather than abolish it. CBI revenue has funded housing, hospitals, schools, and climate-resilient infrastructure on the island.
Regional shift in Caribbean CBI programs
Dominica is part of a broader regional move toward physical presence and “genuine link” requirements.
In September 2025, all five Caribbean citizenship by investment countries signed an agreement committing to:
- A shared 30-day physical presence requirement within the first five years of citizenship
- A new regional regulatory authority
Implementation has been delayed to mid-2026 while legislative work is completed across the islands.
Other Caribbean programs are also changing:
- St. Kitts and Nevis announced it will phase out its donation-only route in favor of requirements based on physical presence and long-term civic engagement.
- Antigua and Barbuda already has a physical presence requirement and has signaled it may increase the obligation to 90 days.
The regional direction is toward deeper engagement between economic citizens and the countries issuing their passports.
What applicants should expect
The full rules for Dominica’s new in-person requirement remain unclear.
Licensed agents have indicated that applications filed before the end of June 2026 are expected to remain under the current rules, with no in-person requirement. However, no formal cutoff has been published by the government.
Applicants considering Dominica should treat timing as uncertain until the budget details and implementing legislation are released.
What is clear is that the fully remote route is closing. Once the new rules are in force, applicants should expect at least one trip to Dominica for passport collection, and possibly future in-person requirements for renewal.
The visit requirement is expected to be a single trip for passport collection rather than an extended stay, but this has not yet been formally confirmed.
Program fundamentals
The in-person requirement changes the process, but not the basic structure of Dominica’s Citizenship by Investment program.
The program is described as offering:
- Visa-free access to more than 140 countries
- Access including the Schengen Area and the United Kingdom
- Family inclusion
- A long-running CBI framework dating back to 1993
The main practical change is logistical. Applicants who previously valued Dominica because it could be completed fully remotely will need to account for travel, timing, and passport collection requirements. Applications already in progress or filed before the end of June 2026 may depend on whether the government applies the current rules or the new in-person requirement.
Source article: www.artoncapital.com
