Dominica in May suspended citizenship by investment for the people of the Region on grounds that they have detected fake documents submitted in their applications seeking citizenship.
“The pause is on new applicants,” the head of Dominica Citizenship by Investment Unit Emmanuel Nanthan told Rudaw's Roj Eli Zalla on Tuesday, adding that those who have previously obtained the citizenship are free and welcomed citizens of Dominica.
Anyone wishing to obtain Dominican citizenship should donate up to $100,000 to the Dominican government or invest at least $200,000 in real estate in the little British Commonwealth Caribbean state.
The head of the program warned against dealing with unreliable agents, citing it as one of the reasons for pausing the program.
“As the program becomes more successful, you have a number of people mushrooming as agents, and there are now a number of people who are involved in promoting a number of citizenship investment programs, who themselves are not authorized agents,” he added noting that these so-called agents market the program in a way that does not match their ways of advertising.
Nanthan stated that the program has been “instrumental” in helping Dominica recover following the hurricane of 2017, as they have built numerous health centers, hotels, schools, roads, and bridges with the help of the unit.
The official denied the rumors that one of the reasoning for pausing the program was because of the buying and reselling of properties by the people of the Kurdistan Region and the overall misuse of the investments, stating the applicants can only apply through direct investments with the government, or buying shares in real estate.
Investors can resell their shares after three years while keeping their citizenship.
In recent years, there has been a growing demand from the people of the Kurdistan Region to obtain Dominican citizenship and passport since the country has an affordable and flexible citizenship program.
A Dominica passport allows visa-free travel to over 153 countries worldwide, making it desirable for Iraqis who often face significant barriers in obtaining foreign visas.
