Join us as the Prime Minister of Dominica, Dr Roosevelt Skerrit, discusses the importance of family life in this Caribbean island nation and how this is reflected in its Citizenship by Investment programme. In this webinar you can also learn more about the new 2020 regulations that help families reunite by expanding the scope of eligible dependants from the Head of the Citizenship by Investment Unit, Ambassador Emmanuel Nanthan.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Well good afternoon everyone and thank you very much for logging on and joining us via
00:10being a part of another Gulf News webinar. It's going to be an interesting one today
00:15because recently we've been focusing on education. We've been looking at schools and we've been
00:19looking at universities with this academic year returning this week. But a bit of a change
00:25today and today we're going to be focusing on Second Citizenship and Dominica's Citizenship
00:30by Investment program and in particular just how family friendly it is. So today what we're
00:36looking to do is how to bring your family together with Citizenship of Dominica. I'm
00:42your moderator of the webinar this afternoon. My name is Lachlan Kitchen but please call
00:46me Kitch as everyone does. I'm an Australian media presenter. I've been in the media for
00:51just under 20 years and I am exceptionally interested in today's topic because I've always
00:57like many of you had a fascination for the beautiful islands of the Caribbean. When you
01:02think about it you think of the stunning beaches, the crystal clear water, the perfect weather
01:07that you have all year round. Who hasn't dreamed of spending a long vacation in the beautiful
01:13part of the world. Now if you aren't aware Dominica is in the southern part of the Caribbean.
01:18It's down near Granada and today we are specifically going to be discussing the Citizenship by
01:24Investment program. The reason is this presents a tremendous opportunity for you and for your
01:31family due to the importance of family life in Dominica. And one of the things I think
01:37that 2020 has certainly taught us with so many places going into lockdown is the importance
01:42of family and it's taught us it's not about the material things. Family is what's been
01:47important in all of our lives for this year. So joining us today to discuss how you can bring
01:52your family together we do have very two very special guests. Firstly and it's with great honour
01:58we'll be speaking to the Prime Minister of Dominica Dr the Honourable Roosevelt Skerritt
02:03and then we'll speak to the Head of the Citizenship Investment Unit His Excellency Emmanuel Nanthan.
02:09Prime Minister I know it's early in the morning so thank you very much for making time for us this afternoon.
02:17Good afternoon to all of you and it's my pleasure to be part of this event. I believe it's a very
02:25timely topic and discussion and I look forward to engaging yourself on the questions and the
02:33points which you may pose to me today. So I'm very happy to be here and thanks for inviting me.
02:38Thank you very much. Now I know our ambassador is in so we're looking forward to speaking to
02:44His Excellency Emmanuel Nanthan who is the Head of the Citizenship Investment Unit. But to you
02:49the Prime Minister the question the Commonwealth of Dominica is known as a country that values
02:55family and with many domestic units composed in Dominica of extended households with several
03:01generations. How is this reflected in Dominica's citizenship by investment program? Well first
03:09of all the family is at the center of the Dominican society. We have been known for a very
03:18long time up to this point of having a very high presence of extended family arrangements. So you
03:26have sometimes great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren
03:35all living in the same household and we also have the nuclear family. You have communities
03:43where everybody is related you know. So the issue of family is very important to us
03:51and it is for this reason that we have also brought this on board in our CBI program.
03:59Recognizing that in many parts of the world especially in the Middle East and in some
04:04parts of Asia you have the same family structures. People look out for each other,
04:10people take care of the family, the parents and grandparents in a very admirable manner.
04:16And so having consulted with a number of stakeholders in the marketplace including
04:22prospective applicants and also people who have become citizens we have our marketing
04:28agency as global, we have developers and promoters engaging in discussions as to how can we
04:35enhance the CBI program, how can we make it more attractive to our prospective applicants,
04:44but also how do we reach out to these families to ensure that we can keep families together
04:51and not let people believe being part of a family is a bad thing.
04:55You know and so there's certain benefits which come and there's certain benefits which don't come.
05:00And so in our CBI program recently we made some changes to it and I just want to draw
05:07to your attention some of the changes which we made to the CBI program for the families concerned
05:12if you allow me. For example one any dependent can be related to either the main applicant
05:18or the main applicant's spouse. Two, we impose no age limitations on parents and grandparents.
05:28Three, for all adult dependents other than a spouse they need only be a showing of substantial
05:34support on the part of the main applicant or the spouse of the main applicant where previously we
05:40required full support. So previously required full support now we just need to show substantial
05:47support. Four, we allow siblings up to the age of 25 but we are also cautious that for any sibling
05:56who is a minor that is under the age of 18 consent must be granted by the parents. And then we
06:04we are only we only contrarily that allows the spouses of qualifying parents and grandparents
06:10to also be included in a CBI application. So long as there is a showing that they are
06:16substantially supported by the main applicant or the main applicant's spouse. So this is a very
06:22this is we could say a groundbreaking policy that the government has Dominican program has
06:30introduced because we understand the importance of family, we understand the importance of
06:37keeping families together, we understand the need for family members to continue looking out
06:43for each other. Yeah it does seem you are being quite a trailblazer in that with some of those
06:48changes. They're very interesting and I think they will be interesting to many of our readers here at
06:52Golf News because here in the UAE and in other areas of the Middle East people do tend to have
06:58those large families where you've got multiple generations living in the one house. So would
07:04you therefore recommend Dominica as a nation for which relocation would be desirable for large
07:10families? Oh yes, oh yes. No large families for single people, for a husband and wife or a husband
07:18and wife and one child or a husband and parent. You know we welcome everyone in Dominica and I
07:26believe that Dominica is well suited to receiving our friends and families for a number of reasons.
07:34You know we look at life and we need three things essentially from a country government.
07:42One, security and a safe place for ourselves and our families and for us to conduct business.
07:49Two, a good education system and three, a good health system. In respect to security and safety
07:57we have minimal crime in Dominica. You as a visitor to Dominica you can walk the streets
08:04you know and ask questions for directions. If you are seen walking you very well
08:10have somebody stop and ask you where you're going to and they will certainly provide you a lift
08:15to take you to your destination. You can go to our beaches and to our waterfalls with no fear
08:21of your safety. So we are a safe place for you to raise your families and Dominica no doubt is a
08:28very safe place. Two, in education we have a very robust education system. An education system that
08:37responds to the current needs of the society, current needs of the world and when our children
08:46get educated in Dominica they can compete and succeed in any education system across the world.
08:52We have students in China, we have students in Russia, we have students in United States of America,
08:56we have students in Canada, we've had students in Australia, in Serbia, you know so you name
09:02the countries we have had more students going to those countries, into universities, performing well
09:09and certainly even surpassing the level of success that many of the students
09:14from these own countries have and so our literacy rate is about 98 percent.
09:22We have free education up to age 16 and we also provide substantial support to our students
09:30to attain higher education both nationally and externally. In regards to our healthcare system
09:36we are investing heavily on improving the infrastructure. So as we speak we have our new
09:44national hospital under construction which will be completed next year, God willing. We're also building
09:50a new hospital in the north closer to the airport to provide for any emergencies in
09:57the event of any eventualities at the airport and in that health district. We're also modernizing
10:05our primary healthcare system. We have been noted for having a very good and
10:13excellent primary healthcare system so we're building a number of new health centers but that
10:19is on the infrastructure side. We also are introducing new services to our citizens and
10:26visitors alike and also critically training people at all levels. Whether you are an
10:33orderly, whether you're a nurse or pharmacist, a physician, a surgeon, we are providing you with
10:41the training and access to training and new methods of treating patients so that
10:51we are in a position where anything which will happen to any of our citizens or visitors
10:56we're in a position to support. But just to show you, just to draw to your attention
11:02a point, I mean we're in the middle of this pandemic, this global pandemic with COVID-19.
11:09We are a small country but we have not had one death as a result of COVID-19.
11:17Every one of our citizens who contracted this virus recovered successfully and you know
11:27there are patients with underlying health issues and they are high risk and many of them in many
11:34countries have unfortunately passed on. We had a case, two cases but I'll reference one, an 85-year-old
11:43man who contracted the virus. He's suffering from diabetes, hypotension, he's asthmatic
11:53and he's 85 years old. So that person would be in the high risk category and likely
12:00succumb to COVID-19. In the Commonwealth of Dominica, that gentleman was treated and he
12:07successfully recovered and his home, his family and his community. So it speaks to
12:15the seriousness that we place and the attention which we place on health care.
12:21Health care for all because we also provide free health care to everyone who is 18 years and
12:27younger and everyone who is 60 years and older. So in the next couple days we shall have universal access
12:34to free secondary and tertiary health care in our country. Primary health care is free
12:40but secondary and tertiary in the next couple years we shall have universal access.
12:45Well I think that comes as probably a lot of comfort to people who are thinking of
12:49of their grandparents and their elderly relatives that would be fascinated to hear you speak about
12:54that Prime Minister. But for those who would like to visit Dominica without necessarily establishing
13:00a permanent home there, Dominica has created an ever more refined tourism brand. So what would you
13:08say would be some of the key features of Dominica that attract people from all over the world that
13:14want to come to your island? Well first of all you know we pride ourselves on nature.
13:22You know it's a place where you can certainly rejuvenate yourself, find yourself again
13:29because sometimes we are so busy with work that we forget that there's another part of
13:35life which is to enjoy life. And I think Dominica provides that opportunity. I mean
13:40we are known for waterfalls, for rivers, for lakes, for hot springs. You know we are one, we
13:48have a national trail what we call the Waijuku National Trail which traverses from the south of the
13:54country all the way to the north of Dominica in a natural setting, unspoiled, untouched.
14:02And we also are very much concerned about the environment. This is why we promote more
14:08ecotourism, building the tourism brand around the environment, seeking to preserve and
14:16conserve the environment for future generations to enjoy. Especially in the time when we speak
14:22about climate change and the need for us to reduce some carbon emissions in the atmosphere.
14:26Dominica has prided itself as being a major protector and at the vanguard of protecting
14:34the environment for many generations prior and many generations to come. We also
14:41have a number of luxury properties that we have been able to develop. We have one of the
14:48oldest European brands, Kempinski in Dominica, a five-star hotel that provides a wide range of
14:56amenities and certainly tailors the services to their varying guests. And of course we
15:05have the Secret Bay. The Secret Bay has received a number of accolades internationally for the
15:11quality of their service, the high rankings they receive for their property. There's another area,
15:17Jungle Bay, also which is financed by the Signals by Investment program, provides an ecotourism
15:24friendly environment. And so the number of things that people can enjoy in Dominica even if
15:32you don't want to relocate permanently. So let us not waste our monies and go to places like Paris
15:38and Denmark. We've been to places that are similar to where we live in these
15:45metropolitan countries. And so if you really want to have a renewed life, then Dominica is the
15:52place to be. And you can access the hot springs at 2 a.m. in the morning or 5 a.m. in the
15:58morning or 11 p.m. and not be fearful about your safety. So book your flights and
16:06if you're talking about in a time when COVID-19 is so rampant in so many parts of the world where
16:11lockdowns are always on the horizon, you're fearful for your children to go out to play or go to
16:17school, come to Dominica. We in fact are reopening schools this September. Every one of
16:25our children will be returning to school in September because we believe that it is safe
16:31for them to do so and there are no major risks of their contracting COVID-19 while in the classroom.
16:38And we are one of the few countries that have contemplated this and in fact going to implement it.
16:43Well that's something very impressive that you're at that situation where all students are
16:47returning to schools. I know many parents here in the UAE have got children going back to school
16:51tomorrow and they're doing the juggling of working from home and the kids working and
16:55I think that they'd be very envious of being in a situation where you've been
16:59able to keep COVID-19 under control. But you just mentioned before the Kempinski hotel chain.
17:04That's very well known here in the UAE from having some of the best hotels and many of those
17:09resorts and the development projects that you mentioned that are part of the reason that
17:14people like to travel to Dominica on the back of the ecotourism and the nature and the hot
17:18springs that you have. But in those hotels you mentioned, many of them have been sponsored
17:24at least in part by Dominica's CBI program. So to what degree is your government committed to
17:31this program? We're very committed to it and this is why I avail myself to
17:38such events to be able to be quizzed by you on our program and to educate the public about
17:45our program. So from the highest level of the government of the country we take this very
17:51seriously. Our citizens appreciate the importance of the CBI. The CBI has been a lifeblood of source
18:00of non-tax revenue for various developmental projects, investments in education, in health,
18:05in agriculture, small business development, tourism. You name it, the CBI certainly plays
18:12a very important role. It plays a role in the payments of our external debt and containing
18:18our external debt or national debt. In respect to these hotels, we've been very careful my friend
18:26about the number of projects and the type of projects which we give consideration to.
18:30Had we given consideration to all projects that would have been submitted to us, we would have
18:35about a hundred of them. Also we've been very careful, one, to protect the investor and to
18:42ensure that the investor's investments are protected and you don't have somebody running
18:47away with somebody's money. But also we wanted to ensure that the projects fall within our whole
18:58ecotourism friendly approach. And so we have, as I said, the Kempinski that was successfully
19:07completed. We have the Anarchy by the Marriott that is under construction and construction will
19:13come to an end in 2021. We have Hilton by Curio which is also a major development, a five-star
19:23development. All of its superstructures are completed. They've been doing fit-outs on this
19:30property. We have Jungle Bay that was completed and Jungle Bay used the COVID-19
19:38period to complete construction. So they now have in excess of 80 villas, 80 rooms available
19:46to the public and they'll be reopening in October of this year to the guests. We have
19:51Secret Bay which is, as indicated, a renowned property that has received a number of international
19:59accolades. We are doing about 40 villas with them. They have started construction.
20:07They will have a number of villas completed by December of 2020 and extend these properties
20:14to guests. So all of our properties so far have been successful, thank God, because we have
20:22carefully selected them and given careful consideration to these projects. And I can give
20:29the existing investors and prospective investors the confidence that we take these projects very,
20:36very seriously. And in respect to our CBI as well, you know, you are a citizen of Dominica,
20:44you are a citizen of Dominica. There's no real differentiation. We value the citizenship.
20:51Yes, the investment is important but we also want to ensure that we do not play games with
20:57prospective applicants or prospective investors. We value them and we protect them. So our
21:03constitution and, you know, we're part of the common law system. So people are protected,
21:09people's properties are protected by law. The government cannot nationalize or expropriate
21:15your properties. You have ownership to these properties and if government were to acquire,
21:22it must compete with market value prices. So the number of benefits to investing in Dominica
21:30and in respect to your question, we value very much the CBI. But just to make a point, my friend,
21:38very importantly, at the center of our CBI program is a robust due diligence process.
21:48We value this because if we do not maintain the security of the CBI program, then it will come to
21:56naught. And this is why we always call on our stakeholders, the developers, the agents,
22:03the promoters, to always promote our program in keeping and in respect of the laws of Dominica
22:11and the law governing the CBI program. And so we do not compromise at all on the CBI program.
22:18In our case, we would prefer to have a program come to an end instead of engaging ourselves
22:25in any nefarious activities that could bring the whole industry into disrepute. And so we value
22:32very much the due diligence process. And in some cases, we go above and beyond to do checks on our
22:43applicants to ensure that those who are applying for Dominican citizenship are bona fide individuals
22:49and can stand the test of scrutiny by any international agency or country.
22:56Well, I think a lot of investors and also people that are looking for citizenship
22:59would welcome that you've got that right balance between the construction and also maintaining
23:06the natural beauty from ecotourism. I think a lot of people would be very relieved to hear that you
23:11certainly still have that vision to strike the right balance, which is always so important.
23:15If I can ask you, Prime Minister, based here in the UAE, how would you describe your country's
23:21relationship with the UAE? And what would be your ambitions in the future for that relationship?
23:28I think if I were to use one word to describe it, I would say excellent. We have great
23:33relations with the UAE. It's a country we value very much, the friendship that we have engendered
23:39between ourselves. The UAE has been a very strong partner to Dominica in a number of areas,
23:47especially renewable energy. They are assisting with a major battery storage for solar energy.
23:58They've also helped us in healthcare. They provided us technical assistance in a number
24:02of other areas. And this is one of the reasons why we have decided to establish an embassy
24:11in Abu Dhabi for a number of reasons. One, to say to our friends in the UAE and to demonstrate to
24:19them how serious we are with regards to the relationship that we have developed over the
24:24last several years. And also to promote trade and economic opportunities between the UAE and
24:31Dominica and to provide services to our citizens who are residents in the UAE.
24:39There are a number of things that we can learn from the UAE in terms of their experiences,
24:43in terms of their policies, and we are looking at those. They have shared some with us.
24:48And so the relationship is excellent. I believe in the years to come it will certainly be deepened
24:54and strengthened. And no doubt I can say that we have very, very, very good relations with the UAE
25:02and we appreciate the leadership of the UAE. And this is why we always say to our citizens
25:09that we have to respect the constitution and the laws of the UAE. They have been good to all of us
25:15who are resident there. They have created opportunities for many of us who are resident
25:19in the UAE. And the least we can do is to show appreciation and respect for the leadership and
25:26for the good people of the United Arab Emirates. And so our relationship, no doubt, will strengthen
25:33and deepen in the years to come. Well, we look forward to welcoming you for your next visit,
25:38Prime Minister. I think that'd be great to continually focus on that relationship that
25:42you do describe as excellent. But focusing on Dominica again, I understand now for three
25:48consecutive years, Dominica has secured number one, not even number two, but number one for best
25:55CBI program in the Financial Times CBI Index. This is an amazing feat. How have you and how
26:03has Dominica managed to consistently be in this number one position? Well, you know, we are
26:09flattered by this and we are grateful that there are independent arbiters who could examine our
26:17program and have declared Dominica's program to be number one. But with that accolade, we don't
26:25sit on our laurels. We don't get complacent. We don't dilute our high standards. Whenever
26:33we are criticized, whenever we are promoted as being number one in this case, we seek to even
26:40do our own introspection as to what else can we do to enhance the program. What else can we do
26:46to minimize the risk associated with this program? How else can we make it more attractive? How can
26:52we make it more respected in international community? What can we do to increase our
26:59cooperation and collaboration with our various international agencies and countries which
27:03who from time to time may have concerns about our programs or the industry as a whole?
27:08So we do not become complacent. We appreciate this accolade because
27:13it reinforces the points that we have made about our due diligence because when you look
27:20at this report, it references very highly the due diligence processes that we take.
27:27We are very efficient but we do not compromise on the due diligence processes. Very soon we shall
27:34introduce this year actually the biometric passports. We have issued a contract to
27:41a Canadian firm to supply us with these passports. We will also be improving the
27:46security of our CONs or Certificate of Naturalization to protect people's personal
27:54data but also to protect the security of our country and the security of our friends in
27:59international and regional communities. So we're very grateful by this commendation
28:05and no doubt it reinforces in our mind how important the program is but how important
28:15it is for us to maintain the high standards and the high integrity that we have maintained.
28:20So it's not only we who are saying that we have a robust program, a program that values due
28:26diligence but international independent arbiters are saying that. And this is important especially
28:32when you have so many negative propaganda about various programs
28:40bandied on social media and in various news outlets. I think these are good publications
28:47to have that people could read and people can recognize that the CBI industry is really an
28:53important industry and countries like Dominica are making a very important contribution to
29:00international peace and international prosperity. You know when you have so many families,
29:05so many families, so many individuals who are born stateless, I mean why should anybody in
29:11this world be born stateless? You know we should all belong to a country, we should all belong
29:16to a state, we should all belong to a region and there are people who had to leave their countries
29:22not because of their own undoing but because of circumstance. We all want to find peace for
29:28our families and ourselves and to ensure that our children can grow up in a safe environment,
29:34you know, and then when the Lord calls us we can know that we have left our children
29:39in a very comfortable environment, a safe environment. And so the contribution that
29:44countries like Dominica is making and St. Kate's and Grenada and Antigua and Barbuda and St. Lucia,
29:51you know, I believe truth be told we should really be given some kind of commendation by the United
29:58Nations for example, you know, and the UNHCR, you know, for what we're doing for humanity.
30:06Yes, there is an economic benefit to it but one must not underestimate our contribution to
30:11humanity and to global peace and global prosperity. So we welcome the rating the third
30:18day in a row, you know, but this is not going to cause us to become complacent at all. We have to
30:24press on, we have to seek the advice and the guidance on how we can make our program
30:31as watertight as possible to ensure that there are no negatives associated with our program.
30:37Well you make some great points Prime Minister and it's no surprise that you're number one
30:41after three years when you still have that, you know, that gratitude and you're not resting
30:46on your laurels. There's constant growth for both the people, for the economy of Dominica.
30:53So it really does put you in an enviable position and a position that, as you said,
30:57should really be recognized because that is a tremendous achievement to receive that number
31:02one position for three years in a row. At this stage I will thank you very much for your time.
31:08You've made some excellent points where you talk about, you know, the security that you have for
31:12the citizens, when you talk about, you know, how good the education is for students and for
31:18families, but also the health care system, including your tremendous results in the fight
31:23against COVID-19. So I thank you to you, Dr. The Honorable Roosevelt Skerek, the Prime Minister
31:29of the Commonwealth of Dominica. Thank you very much for your time.
31:32Thank you very much for inviting me and whenever you wish to invite me again, let me know. I'll
31:39be obliged. I want to thank you and of course I want to wish all of the guests a wonderful evening
31:46and may God bless the United Arab Emirates. May God bless the world and the Commonwealth of
31:51Dominica and I pray to God that we shall overcome this pandemic sooner rather than later.
32:00Wise words, Prime Minister. Thank you very much, especially early in the morning in Dominica. So I
32:05thank you. As we move on to His Excellency Emmanuel Nathan, who is the head of the Dominican
32:11Citizen Investment Unit. I'm glad we've got you on, His Excellency, because we were looking at
32:18your profile picture for a long time and I thought, you know, we were just going to look at your good
32:22looking picture, but you're just as good looking in person. Well, you've mastered it. Good to have
32:27you on this afternoon. Thank you very much. Good evening, listeners. Good morning, Prime Minister.
32:33I thought you were excellent as usual. Thank you very much, Prime Minister. Thank you.
32:37Look, you know, we really are in an amazing time, certainly for Dominica and this CBI program.
32:45That's the Citizenship by Investment program we're discussing today for anyone who was just joining
32:50our webinar. Now, it was only last month in July 2020, this was an exciting time for the Dominica
32:57CBI program as you had some brand new regulations that workers entered. Now, His Excellency,
33:03could you tell us some more about how these new regulations impact the way an applicant can
33:08include family members in their application? Well, Keith, as the Prime Minister referenced
33:13earlier on, in Dominica for us, the family is the key to who we are as a society, as a people.
33:19Therefore, when we were faced with challenges of COVID, we took some time off, we reflected,
33:25and we thought what could be our contribution to humanity, what could be our contribution
33:30to the world, to the CBI program globally, to the migration program globally, and we thought
33:35what we could do was to allow families to feel more secure, to feel closer to each other.
33:41As a result, we made some changes to amend the regulations to ensure that more members of the
33:47family can be kept together by the CBI program. So, one thing which we did really was to ensure,
33:54first and foremost, that you could add your siblings to your application. So, you could,
34:00very often in families, you have a family main applicant, but there's always a brother or a
34:06sister who is older, who has been more successful, and who takes care of the rest of the family.
34:11So, once you have siblings under 25, then you could add those. So, right now, you could add
34:17your children once they are under 30. We have removed the qualification that they must be
34:24at the university. We have allowed that also your parents could be added, irrespective of their age.
34:32Your grandparents will also be added, both grandparents of the spouse and of the main
34:37applicant. We felt that as a unit, it is better facing tough times, challenging times, when we
34:44stick together, and our contribution to the world was to ensure that we do the best that we can
34:49to allow people to stay together. So, you could add your children once they're under 30.
34:54You could add your parents, your grandparents. You could add the parents and grandparents of
34:59the spouse of the main applicant. And we just ensure that, no, they have to be dependent or
35:07substantially dependent on the main applicant. So, it is a little bit easier for the main applicant
35:12to apply for all of these people. We believe that it is important that children and siblings
35:18can be biological, as well as they could be adopted. So, if you have an adopted child,
35:23then you could add that child as well. If it's your biological child, of course, it goes without
35:27saying. And in Dominica, you know, citizenship is hereditary. So, it means, therefore, that you
35:33could pass on your citizenship to any child you have after you have become, once you're a citizen
35:37of Dominica. Any child you have thereafter qualifies to be a citizen as well. I mentioned
35:43that we moved the age requirements for parents and grandparents because we believe keeping the
35:48family together, as I would reiterate, the importance of family and the importance that
35:53families stay together as a people. So, really and truly, our amendments to the regulations in July
36:00was our contribution to humanity. It was our contribution to ensuring that we stay safe,
36:08that we feel comfortable when we're going through challenging and difficult times.
36:12Obviously, the challenges that we face now as a people, globally, with the COVID situation,
36:17is a very tough and very rough one. And we felt the more comfortable we can let our families feel,
36:22the closer we can keep our families together, then the better we would be as a people. So,
36:27this has been our contribution, as we reflect. Because very often, people look at programs
36:34and look at things that they could do to maybe make more money, to attract more people.
36:38We believe that this program, as the Prime Minister mentioned, is not just a program that
36:44brings in money. It's a program where we make our contribution to humanity. And in doing so,
36:49we find ways and means of improving all the time. So, you mentioned our success from the Financial
36:55Times being number one. I believe it is those soft touches that really put us ahead of the game.
37:02Because we listen to our citizens, we listen to our investors, our stakeholders,
37:07and we make the changes that affect the people. Our program reaches out to the heart and soul of
37:12the people who invest in our program. We embrace all our citizens, as the Prime Minister mentioned.
37:17Whether you're a born citizen or you're a citizen to the program, there's no differentiation in our
37:21contribution to a citizen of Dominica. A citizen is a citizen is a citizen.
37:27And as the Prime Minister spoke about, the importance of family is so strong,
37:30which you've mentioned there. And for anyone who's here in the UAE, that's comfort listening
37:37to because here we have the same position with so many generations living under the one roof.
37:42So, His Excellency, I'll just follow up that with just one more point. Under these new regulations,
37:48what would happen, say, if I moved to Dominica and I became a citizen, but then I had a child
37:55or I married, what would the situation there? Would they still be included?
38:01Under our program, whether you're the main applicant or you're a dependent,
38:05once you're a Dominican, when you have a child, after you're a Dominican citizen,
38:09that child qualifies to be a citizen of Dominica. And for that, we do not charge.
38:13There's a processing fee of $500, and that's all that would be paid to get the necessary papers.
38:19It's a processing fee of $500. There's no charge to become a citizen.
38:23So, once you are already a citizen, any child you have thereafter would qualify to be a citizen
38:28as well. If you get married after you're a citizen, then we would do due diligence on your
38:34spouse, of course, but you would have to pay the fees of $75,000 for your spouse. If you were
38:40married before and you already married and you did not put your spouse in the application,
38:46then, of course, you could add that person, but we could discuss that a bit later.
38:51Now, I've got one situation which I wanted to raise with you. What would happen if, say,
38:57I had a family member who could have qualified under the program, but I didn't add them to my
39:03application when I was first applying? What is the situation? Can I then add them at a later date?
39:11And the answer to that, in short, is yes. We would allow you to add your family members.
39:16If sometimes people would hold back on other members, it could be because of the availability
39:21of cash at the time, or it could be because they wanted to see how well these things work.
39:26And what we would do, we would allow you to add your qualified dependents at the time of application
39:31at a later date. If you do so within a year of you applying and getting citizenship,
39:36then the cost for adding them would be the same as if you had added them in the original application.
39:43In other words, if you are married, and you applied for yourself, and you want to add your
39:48wife after, if you do so within one year, you would pay $50,000, which would be the amount that
39:56you would pay for your spouse, for your child fee, $25,000, et cetera. If you wait more than a year
40:03after you have become a citizen, then you would pay an additional $25,000 extra per dependent.
40:10So there's an incentive for adding your dependents in the application or within a year of the
40:15application. Of course, if you wait more than a year, and we have to go back, we may have to go
40:20back to due diligence, and therefore there may be additional costs for due diligence fees as well.
40:24But the important thing is that as an applicant, you could add your family, your dependents,
40:30meaning your children, once they're under 30, your parents, your grandparents, your brothers
40:36and sisters, once they are under 25 and unmarried without children. If you add a child, your brother
40:42or your sister, your sibling who are under 18, it is $25,000. If you add a sibling who is over 18,
40:49under 25, it will be $50,000. Of course, if you're going to add a sibling who is under 18,
40:55then you would need the consent of the parents or those who are legally responsible for your brother
41:01or sister. So it is important to note those things. But importantly, you could add them,
41:06and we give you up to a year to be able to add all the members, all your dependents who would
41:10have qualified as dependents at the time that you were a citizen or you became a citizen of Dominica.
41:16That's some very good advice, His Excellency, because I know if I was to move to Dominica,
41:20my sister wouldn't want to initially go, but then she would see the photos of how good life is.
41:24She would then want to be added to the application later on. So I think a few families
41:29may be in that same position. Thank you to everyone who is currently watching our latest
41:34Golf News webinar. We are discussing the Citizenship by Investment program with
41:38Dominica, and it's an amazing program. It has been number one ranked by the Financial Times
41:44for the past three consecutive years, and there were some changes that were gazetted in July 2020,
41:51which we want to discuss with you further. Are there any other changes that were made
41:56that are family-friendly in nature? Yes, when we looked at the fees that we charged for dependents,
42:02we felt there seemed to have been an anomaly with the cost of adding your spouse.
42:07So before, if you're a citizen, you want to add your child, it's $25,000. Now you could add
42:14your sibling, your parents, grandparents, it's $25,000, but we were charging $75,000 for adding
42:21your spouse. So we felt that that was a little unjust, so we have reduced the cost of adding
42:27your spouse by $25,000. So it means therefore that now you could add your spouse for $50,000
42:33instead of $75,000. As a result, a family of up to four would have been
42:39before $200,000. At present, it would be now $175,000. So we have ensured that we did that
42:46again to keep the family together, and we felt that there was some kind of injustice in
42:51terms of the cost of adding a spouse, so we have reduced that. So that has been very important for us.
42:57It's more affordable for your family. It's more affordable, more encouraging to keep the family
43:03unit together, and that for us, of course, is important. So you could add your child, you could
43:07add your parents, grandparents, irrespective of age. You could add your children up to 30
43:13even though they're at university or not, and then if you, of course, there's one other
43:19person. If you look at any dependent, you could have someone who is mentally or physically
43:25retarded or unable, where there's no age limit for that person. So if you have a sick brother or
43:31sister or a sick child, it doesn't matter whether he's five or whether he's 45, you would be able
43:37to add them as dependents as well. Again, giving credence to the importance we place on the family.
43:45We have to take care of those who are less fortunate among us and those who are more vulnerable
43:50among us, and as a country, as a people, we sincerely believe in that. The Prime Minister
43:56has articulated that on many, many occasions. The Prime Minister has put in a number of programs
44:00in Dominica to take care of those who are less fortunate people, like our Yes We Care program.
44:05We take care of the people who are elderly, who are left alone, whose children went away.
44:10We send people to take care of them at the homes, or NEP program, or National Employment Program,
44:14providing job experience for young people. There are a number of things that we do, and basically it
44:20speaks to who we are as a country, it speaks to who we are as a people, and that for us is very important.
44:28Well, you've spoken just then, and also the Prime Minister, in regards to just how strong family
44:34focus is and how family-friendly the program is, so it's no surprise that your CBI program has
44:40been ranked number one for so many years. But going further into it, His Excellency, in addition
44:45to family-friendliness, what are some of the other key features that set the Dominican CBI program
44:53apart from other similar programs that are available? I think the joy and the beauty of our program
45:00is in the simplicity of our program. An applicant is given a choice to choose from two investments,
45:07one a direct government contribution, or to an investment in a pre-approved government real
45:11estate. However, unless he or she receives an approval in principle, providing the applicant
45:15with a high degree of certainty, then we do not ask you to make any payments up front.
45:20Additionally, the applicant need not preoccupy himself with time consuming traveling, or whether
45:27you have to go to interviews, or whether there's a language test, etc. We try to make our program as
45:33simple as possible, so that our applicants can apply, be simple, and move forward. Our agents
45:40are given the opportunity to apply online, electronically on our portal, so in time like
45:46now when we have the COVID situation, when our country was locked down, as we were for a while
45:51after a few months ago, we could do our work from our home. When we had a hurricane a few years ago,
45:57we could do our work from anywhere in the world, because it is simple, it is efficient,
46:02and we do not consume too much time in going through your application. So efficiency is
46:08our key word again, simplicity. Efficiency is important for us, so we approve our
46:15applicants within three months, generally within three months. So our investors, who we consider as VIP,
46:23do not have to wait too long. VIP clients are used to being treated in a certain way,
46:27and we have acknowledged that, we recognize that, and we assign a member of staff to every applicant
46:32on application, so that person continues to get a VIP treatment, as he or she would have done
46:38operating from his own company, or from his own home, or from his own home, wherever he or she resides.
46:43Importance of VIP is paramount to us, and of course the applicant, when he applies to
46:49Dominica, he's aware that this program has been around from 1993. Longevity of our program
46:56demonstrates clearly that we are a program that's successful, we know what we're doing, you could
47:01invest, we have seen people becoming citizens, their children become citizens, their
47:05grandchildren, their children, children, children, and it goes on and on and on. So in other words,
47:11longevity, we have proven and stood the test of time, our investors know that, our agents know that,
47:17and that I believe is paramount to the success of our program as well.
47:21Yeah, His Excellency, that's a tremendous point, you know, there's a reason a lot of
47:27businesses can be in business for so long, and that's because they're successful, and when you
47:30point out that you've been around since 1993, it's no surprise that when you have those key pillars of
47:37simplicity, that you've only got the three-month waiting period, which can, you know, mean so much
47:42to so many people when they are applying for programs like this, it really is no surprise
47:46that you rank number one for so many years, and the Dominican CBI program, because of it, is always
47:52associated with such a high level of due diligence. So would you be able to just tell us a little bit
47:58more about how this due diligence process that is applied to each application that comes in?
48:07Of course, I believe that the heart and soul of our program is really our commitment to due
48:15diligence. You could have a program to be successful, to be around for a long while,
48:21the global community has to ensure that there's solid due diligence, and because of that, we are
48:27able to expand the number of visa-free access globally. So three, four years ago, we had access
48:32to 120 countries. Today, we are up to 140 countries, and we're counting. We have added places like Russia,
48:39we have signed with China, we added Brazil, working on a number of countries in Africa,
48:45in Europe, etc. And that's because our applicants and our process ensures that due
48:52diligence is important. Normally, 40 years of due diligence for our program. First and foremost,
48:59we do not accept applications directly from an agent, from an investor. It must go through an
49:04agent, and that agent must fill out a Know Your Client form, and must submit with the application
49:12a world check from one of the recognized global checks, and there are many of them around,
49:17Thomson Reuters, etc. The list goes on. They must know the client, fill out that form,
49:21they must submit to us a world check from one of the recognized world check programs.
49:27When that comes in, the first thing we do, we would send out information from the application
49:33to our regional security, our joint regional security system, for ensuring that they check
49:38all the names, all the applicants, both main applicants and dependents, through global security
49:45checks with international partners. That is important for us. That goes out on day one.
49:52Then our staff would go through the application, and our staff have been trained in anti-money
49:56laundering and many other programs to ensure that the people who are applying are, in fact,
50:03people who we would welcome as citizens of Dominica. We send out the application then to one
50:10of four due diligence firms, and we have contracted the best due diligence firms in the world who do
50:15due diligence for the largest financial agencies. We choose firms from the UK and from the US
50:23mainly, and they must do for us an enhanced due diligence. They must do a boots-on-the-ground
50:29due diligence. They interface with people in the community where the applicant grew up,
50:35where the applicant lives, where he or she operates, interview people in the field in
50:40which the applicant operates. So if you're into banking, they will get people from the banking
50:44sector who know you and who would reference you. If you're into oil and gas, they would look at
50:47people in the area, into agriculture, whatever. They would get information from your specific
50:52field. They would check the schools that you went to, check people, interview people who went to
50:57school with you, because for us, due diligence is exceptionally important. It is after we have
51:02gone through those phases, those four phases of due diligence, then we'll give you an application
51:08and a prevalent principle to become a citizen of Dominica. Knowing how challenging it is in
51:14certain countries to conduct due diligence, we do not believe that we could take the chance
51:18to conduct due diligence on certain countries, and therefore, we have a limit
51:22of people in certain countries. For example, in Iran, in North Korea, and in Sudan, we'll not
51:28accept applicants from those countries if you live and work in those areas, because it is very
51:34difficult getting the information, the thorough, in-depth information that we need and we require
51:39to guarantee that you are someone who we want to accept in Dominica and given a Dominican
51:46passport to travel the world. So if you live and reside in those countries, we won't accept you.
51:52If you are from one of those countries, but you live outside of the country for more than 10 years
51:57and you have no substantial assets in those countries or income coming from those countries,
52:01then we'll consider your application. When we do so, however, we would have to pay an extra
52:07amount for even further, deeper due diligence, because our commitment to the global society
52:13is important to our program. We don't want to have someone into our program with a Dominican
52:17passport and then he or she is found wanting by anyone. So we take excessive care to ensure
52:24that the people who are allowed to be citizens of Dominica, to travel the world, the globe,
52:29without the Dominican passport, are people who are fit and proper to do so. So that, for us,
52:36is always important. And again, due diligence, I would say, would be. If efficiency, if experience,
52:44if longevity is the heart and soul, is the lifeblood, the main aspect of our program is
52:54actually the due diligence. That is the heart, the heartbeat of our program. It lies with our due
53:00diligence process. Well, he made the point earlier on, His Excellency, that if you're not any good
53:05in business, you won't last very long. And your program has been going since 1993. And I think that
53:10what you explain there through your due diligence, you know, when you work that with both the
53:15simplicity of it and the understanding of the concerns of people and their family, it's no
53:20surprise that Dominica's CBI program is consistently number one. His Excellency, thank you very
53:26much for your time. I know it's early in the morning in Dominica, so I'll let you get on with
53:30your day, another day in paradise, which I'm sure you're having. And thank you very much for your
53:35time on the Golf News webinar this afternoon. Thank you very much for having us. Thank you very
53:39much for discussing, Dominica. We welcome all to visit our website, Let's Interact as Interface.
53:46And again, we know we're going through the COVID situation, so we wish all the best. Stay safe,
53:52stay inside. Thank you very much. Thank you. That was His Excellency, Emmanuel Nathan, who is the
53:57head of Dominica's Citizenship by Investment Unit. And you heard from both His Excellency
54:02and also the Prime Minister about just how exceptional this program is. When you look at
54:06those pillars of security, of health, of education, when you see that this program has been around and
54:13is ranked number one for the last three consecutive years, it really does provide you and your family
54:19with a tremendous opportunity as a part of Dominica's CBI program. So it has been a wonderful
54:25afternoon. Thank you to everyone who has joined, who has logged in, who has watched. It's been,
54:30well, a very informative session. Thank you to everyone who has joined. Also,
54:34thank you to the team here at Golf News. It's always great working with you.
54:37My name is Lachlan Kitchen. Thank you very much for joining us.
54:40And we look forward to your company at our next Golf News webinar. Thank you.