Dominica invests millions from Citizenship by Investment Program in education

The Commonwealth of Dominica has spent $26 million to sponsor its youth studying abroad; placed 169 extracurricular tutors for students that need them; and rehabilitated 15 schools damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017. This has been happening over the past few years, with funding sourced entirely from the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Program. According to Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, Dominica’s strategy on CBI funds expenditure is to focus on investing in the public sector, including education, youth prospects and skill sets.

The Caribbean island launched the Education Mentorship Program under the long-standing National Employment Programme, sponsored by CBI. This has led to 169 young people being placed in schools across the country to support students that require additional tutoring. With support from the CBI Program, Dominican youth benefit from the opportunity to get higher education abroad, in countries like Canada, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom. A year ago, PM Skerrit estimated the total expenditure from CBI funds on education abroad at $26 million.

“We have decided to use the CBI funds in a sustainable way,” PM Skerrit told Khaleej Times in a webinar on May 27^th. “We use it mainly for public sector investment programs, the building of schools, […] hospitals, health centres, roads, bridges, the education of our human resources, our children, our youth,” the Prime Minister explained.

Although small and scarcely populated, Dominica’s 72,000 nation benefit from high-quality education, modern healthcare, and visa-free and visa-on-arrival access to 140 countries and territories. Last month, the government announced that construction of 14 new polyclinics and a state-of-the-art hospital were going ahead as planned. This is part of a wider Housing Revolution program, funded entirely by foreign investors’ contributions who were successful in obtaining second citizenship from Dominica.

The country is well known for making heavy and visible investments using funds from the CBI Program. This is one of the reasons why the CBI Index by FT’s PWM magazine classes Dominica as the best country for citizenship by investment. Applicants can either make a one-off contribution to the Economic Diversification Fund or invest in pre-approved luxury and sustainable hotels and resorts. All must first pass Dominica’s thorough due diligence checks. Citizenship can then be retained for life and passed on to future generations.

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