Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit Monday said he remains “hopeful” that an agreement could be reached with the United Kingdom government reversing its decision to impose visa restrictions on Dominicans entering the country.
On July 19, last year, London said the decision to impose the visa requirements with immediate effect in Dominica and four other countries had been “taken solely for migration and border security reasons” and was not a sign of poor relations with these countries.
The United Kingdom also said nationals of these countries will also be required to obtain a Direct Airside Transit Visa if they intend to transit via the UK.
The British government said that “careful consideration of Dominica’s …operation of a citizenship by investment scheme has shown clear and evident abuse of the scheme, including the granting of citizenship to individuals known to pose a risk to the UK.”
Dominica is among a handful of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries with a Citizenship by Investment Programme (CBI) through which foreign investors are granted citizenship of the island in return for making substantial investment in the socio-economic development of the country.
Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Skerrit said that his administration is continuing to work with the British government and that Roseau had received a letter from James Cleverly, the former home secretary on the situation.
“It was a very positive letter. There is one outstanding ongoing matter that we have to bring to conclusion and we are working on that,” Skerrit said, adding “there has been some push back from a legal standpoint, but I believe we will be pushing hard on it.
“I will be writing to the new minister to update her on what we have done and what we are doing and to respond to the letter of her predecessor.
“I believe that all things considered and the tone of the engagement with the UK government over the last several months, I am satisfied at some point we will see a visa free travel to the United Kingdom and of course some of the additional actions, which are actions they did not ask for…”
But he said he believes also that it is important for the sustainability and improvement and transparency of the programme that Dominica continues with its ongoing actions to improve upon the CBI.
“We believe that those actions will place us in a stronger position to make a case for the re-introduction of visa free regime between Dominica and the United Kingdom.
“So, we remain hopeful and we continue to engage the (UK) government in a respectful, transparent manner,” Skerrit told reporters.
Among the actions taken recently by Dominica regarding the CBI programme, is the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with other countries within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), namely St Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, and St Kitts and Nevis that have a similar CBI programme.
The MoU outlines crucial agreements among the participating CBI countries, including the exchange of best practices and due diligence processes, establishment of a minimum threshold of US$200,000, reflecting actual funds received, information sharing on applicants.
It also allows for enhanced transparency measures, including financial disclosures.
Independent financial and operational audits, the creation of a regional authority to establish standards as well as the adoption of common communication and promotion standards, the regulation of agents and the implementation of joint training programmes for CBI administrations.
