The Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit, has announced that the Caribbean country's Citizenship by Investment Programme has generated more than 1.2 billion dollars in revenue since 2017. According to the PM, the Programme has witnessed an 8% increase in revenue from the fiscal year of 2017-18 to 2018-19 and a 13.4% increase in 2019-20.
The pandemic has brought with it the opportunity to work remotely and the desire to reside somewhere pandemic-free. And with tourism-dependent countries desperate to replace lost dollars, a flood of digital nomad visa programmes has hit the market in recent months, extending the portfolio of opportunities offered by the global citizenship and residency by investment industry.
Ranked as the fourth happiest country in the world, remote South Pacific island Vanuatu combines high levels of wellbeing with a low carbon footprint and a culture of inclusion, and it’s one of the last places on Earth with no confirmed Covid cases. And for just US$130,000, foreigners can become citizens in just 45 days. So why wouldn't you?
In July 2020, the tourism-reliant Caribbean island of Barbados unveiled a 12-month visa to attract remote workers, and then in September, announced its intention to become a republic next year. With the pandemic having hit its tourism sector hard, could Barbados be revisit its plan from 2016 to launch a citizenship by investment programme?
The government of Dominica has expanded its citizenship by investment opportunities, which includes its successful CBI programme, with the launch of a brand-new initiative. The Entrepreneur Visa Program lets foreigners acquire a residency permit to Dominica, from which they can then obtain citizenship, in exchange for investment in the country.
As Dominica continues to build its luxury hotel eco-tourism sector and prioritises the building of its international airport, much of this funded by its successful Citizenship by Investment Programme, Caribbean Airlines begins regular flights for the first time between Barbados and Dominica, with four flights per week to run by mid-October.
Increased demand for economic citizenship of Vanuatu has given the cyclone-battered south pacific island a massive financial boost, achieving a record US$33.3 million surplus in the first half of 2020 and marking a 32% year-on-year increase in citizenship-related revenues, exceeding, by August, its annual projection.
If well executed, a Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP) can, and does, bring countries much-needed investment to help boost economic growth, create jobs and fund development. And with the negative effects of the pandemic taking hold, such programmes could become even more of an economic lifeline.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit, announced that his government was placing the construction of the Caribbean island's new and much-anticipated international airport as its number one priority, with the aim of putting Dominica firmly on the global map.
According to the Vanuatu National Citizenship Commission (VNCC), nearly US$53 million in revenue was made in 2020, thanks to the pacific island’s highly successful Citizenship by Investment programme.