When Will Dominica Visa-Free Access to the UK Return?

Share:

Last July, we told you about the new UK visa requirements for Dominica and Vanuatu. Following “migration and border security” concerns over “individuals known to pose a risk to the UK”, the British government stipulated that Dominica nationals had also to acquire a Direct Airside Transit Visa if they planned to transit via the UK. But is a return of Dominica visa-free access to the UK on the cards and, if so, when?

Dominica Visa-Free Countries

Dominica Citizenship by Investment qualifies you to apply for a Dominica passport. We rank this travel document 24th in our Passport Index. It allows you to travel to 90 countries without a visa, including Brazil, Germany, and Singapore.

In addition, the Dominica passport enables you to request a visa on arrival in 28 destinations, if travelling to the likes of Bangladesh, Egypt, and Türkiye, for example.

An eVisa is available to Dominica passport holders in 35 countries such as Australia, India, and South Korea. However, you will need to apply for a visa in advance of travelling to 45 further destinations with Canada, the UK, and the US among them.

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit Talks

Every month, Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit holds a press conference. This is streamed on YouTube. The latest conference, on Monday, June 15th, 2024, makes for interesting viewing from an investment migration perspective.

Inviting questions from the floor, Curtis Matthew of DBS Radio asks Skerrit: “Can you at least tell us now what the government is doing now in terms of visa-free access to the United Kingdom?”

The Prime Minister’s reply is full and frank: “On the issue of visa-free, we continue to work with the British government. We received a letter from the last Minister of Home Affairs, Mr Cleverly, and it was a very positive letter. There’s one outstanding, ongoing matter that we have to bring to some conclusion and we’re working on that.”

Since receiving that Clevely communication, a new UK government is now in place. Skerrit reveals that they’ll be writing to Yvette Cooper, the new Home Secretary. This letter will “update her on what we’ve done and what we’re doing, and respond to the letter of her predecessor on this matter.”

Dominica’s Prime Minister continues: “I believe that all things considered and going by the tone of the engagement with the UK government that we’ve had over the last several months I’m satisfied at some point we will be able to see visa-free travel to the United Kingdom.”

He concludes: “Some of the additional actions are not actions that they ask us for or anybody has asked us for. But we still believe they’re important for the sustainability and the improvement of the transparency of the programme.” 

“We believe that those actions will place us in an even stronger position to make a case for the reintroduction of a visa-free regime between Dominica and the United Kingdom.”

The RIF Trust View on Skerrit’s Optimism

Leila Bagheri is our Caribbean Citizenship by Investment specialist. She points to “Dominica being in a stronger position because of its signing of the MOA with its Eastern Caribbean neighbours that triggered a doubling of the minimum investment threshold to $200,000.”

“This is the first step in restoring Dominica visa-free access with the UK. Dominica has made its Citizenship by Investment Programme more exclusive. With enhanced due diligence, it will alleviate the security concerns of the UK government.”

Bagheri finishes with a flourish: “Yet Skerrit gives no time frame for the return of Dominica visa-free access. So, you can invest now and wait for the Dominica passport to strengthen if increased global mobility is not a pressing concern. If it is, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Lucia all enjoy visa-free access to the UK.”

How to Get Caribbean Citizenship by Investment in 2024

Visa-free access to the UK is not the only benefit of investing in Caribbean citizenship. To find out more about the advantages of these Citizenship by Investment programmes, you’re going to need to talk to an investment migration expert like RIF Trust. So, contact us now and we’ll show you how investment migration solutions can help.