Investing in shares in one of the oldest surviving estates in Dominica, now a 53-acre self-sufficient eco-friendly estate, will give you not just a return on investment, but also Dominican citizenship (second passport) and a safe secure and peaceful haven for yourself and your family should a second pandemic hit.
If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that we all need a Plan B: an insurance policy, an escape, a safe haven for ourselves, our families and our investments because who knows what the future holds.
It’s little surprise therefore that citizenship by investment has seen such growth in the last 10 months and why investing in citizenship has become less of a luxury and more of a must-have.
“Previously, a second passport, citizenship or residency were regarded by many as the ultimate luxury item,” states deVere Group founder Nigel Green, but due to the pandemic, it is now “increasingly becoming not just a ‘nice to have accessory’ but a ‘must have’.”
Applicants are increasingly looking for citizenship by investment opportunities that provide them not just with ROI, tax benefits and global mobility, but also as a way of securing their futures and possibly providing a safe escape should another pandemic or outbreak occur.
And that’s where our Investment of the Week, Bois Cotlette Estate, on the Caribbean island of Dominica, comes in.
Shares investment in this historic and self-sufficient Estate will provide investors with not just potentially good investment returns as a business, but also citizenship in Dominica (including Dominican passports) for investors and their families, and a safe, secure and self-sufficient haven (escape) for investors should a second pandemic, or other world crisis, hit.
As the Estate explains on its website: “Bois Cotlette has always been, and is today, fully self-sufficient in all three food, power, and water. If the outside world has a major disruption, whether it be political, economic, prolonged natural disaster, or for a variety of other reasons shuts down tomorrow, 150 savvy investors will always have a safe haven and the ability to live peacefully at Bois Cotlette.”
A minimum investment of US$200,000 (plus added government fees) in this investment, which you must hold for at least three years from the granting of citizenship, will provide you with all the benefits of Dominican citizenship, including a Dominican passport, giving you 140 countries worldwide.
Here’s all you need to know about investment at Bois Cotlette Estate.
Bois Cotlette Estate, Dominica
Location: Located on the outskirts of a small fishing village Soufriere, seven miles south of the capital Roseau, the Estate is nestled in a valley 1000 feet above sea level in the spectacular Morne Plat Pays volcanic complex. It benefits from the privacy, cool breezes and mosquito-free environment that the surrounding mountains have to offer while also having direct access to both the therapeutic sulphur pools and the gorgeous Soufriere-Scotts Head Marine Reserve. Furthermore, the site is above a protected marine reserve that offer some of the world’s best snorkelling and diving.
History: Dating from the early years of French settlement in the 1720s, it is one of the oldest surviving estates in Dominica, and the best-preserved example of plantation architecture on the island, with its French colonial Maison de Maitre and buildings for the processing of coffee, sugar, and cocoa. The estate has a 200+-year history in cocoa and coffee production.
What is it now: With a nod to its past (of chocolate and coffee fame) and an eye on the future, Bois Cotlette Estate has been brought back to life, and remarkably restored, into a visitor centre and accommodations specialising in heritage and chocolate tours (offering walking tours of its fields of sugar cane, cocoa and coffee trees) and serving and selling its premium Bois Cotlette Estate Coffee and Chocolates. It is a self-sustaining estate, delivering 53 acres of self-sufficiency, growing its own food, sourcing its own water and generating its own green energy. As well as cultivating coffee and chocolate, the estate rears free-range chickens, grows herbs and cultivates Dominica’s 10 varieties of bananas.
Investment opportunity: Bois Cotlette Estate offers preferred share investment options that are liquid and allow for an assured sale and exit strategy. Not only does an investment in this estate offer potentially good investment returns as a business, but it also offers a safe, secure and peaceful haven (escape) that is totally self-sufficient (food, power, water) for investors and their families should they need to reside there. From an investment point of view, it operates both as a tourist destination and a food business. It is a trophy property renowned throughout the world, offering tours of its estate, and has contracts in place with nine major cruise lines to provide tour services at the property. It is expected there will be high rental demand for its overnight accommodations once its villas and cottages are completed and made available for guests. It also cultivates and produces small batch, high-quality estate-grown coffee and chocolates.
Dominica Citizenship by Investment Programme
Introduced in 1993, Ranked the world’s best CBI Programme for the fourth consecutive year, according to the latest CBI Index 2020, Dominica’s longstanding Citizenship by Investment programme, at 27 years old, is widely considered to be one of the world’s most efficient and transparent CIPs, combining extensive due diligence with efficiency, speed, affordability and reliability.
Offering rapid relocation, with just 45-60 days application processing times, and the cheapest CBI cost at US$100,000 (along with Saint Lucia and Antigua & Barbuda), Dominica’s CBI programme is not just competitive, it’s winning.
Recently, Dominica extended its ‘dependent’ clause in its CBI Programme to include a wider range of family members, including grandparents and adopted siblings. Dominica furthermore reduced the qualifying fund contribution for a family of four from US$200,000 to US$175,000, comprising the main applicant, their spouse and two dependants other than a sibling.
Its investment in real estate option requires a minimum investment threshold of US$200,000 with plenty of government-approved real estate and business opportunities to invest in, including the most recent addition, Timbo’s Downtown, a boutique resort. https://cbiguide.com/dominica-eighth-property-citizenship-investment/
A Dominican passport gives citizens visa-free access to 141 countries, slightly less than other Caribbean countries, though Dominica has seen the greatest increase in visa-free offerings since 2019 compared to the other CBI countries, and is set to add China to its list. And, as per the just-released Henley & Partners Passport Index 2020 for Q4, Dominica has moved up two places in the passport power ranks from its position in Q1, to 33rd in the world.
Find out more about Dominica’s Citizenship by Investment Programme with our country profile by clicking here