Government considering amendments to its CBI regulation to improve international competitiveness

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has announced that the government of Dominica is considering making some amendments to its Citizenship by Investment (CBI) regulation, with a view to enhancing and increasing its ability to compete internationally,
 
The Citizenship by Investment Programme, introduced in 2015, allows foreign investors to obtain full legal citizenship and passports for an investor and their family where that investor has made a significant investment in Dominica which qualifies under the Citizenship by Investment Regulations.
 
Presently the qualifying investments are a contribution to the Government Fund of a minimum amount of one hundred thousand US dollars or the purchase of a property to the value of two hundred thousand US dollars.
 
Mr Skerrit said during a press conference on 18th November 2016, “This is an evolving product and program, and the competition globally is increasing. He said five years ago there were only two Caribbean countries with CBI programs; St. Kitts & Dominica, but now there are five.
 
The Prime Minister added, “Clearly you realize more people are coming into the market place, and while we will not be making any changes to directly compete with any of our countries in the region, based on advice from the experts, based on the intelligence that we received, based on our interaction with the market place, we believe that there may be some very simple changes to the regulation that would enhance our program”.
 
While Mr Skerrit did not disclose what those simple changes will be, he informed that these would significantly “enhance our program and make it more attractive for discerning investors”.