Dominica

Dominica is called the "Nature Island of the Caribbean": almost the whole island is covered with mountain rainforest, and there are many rare plants, birds and animals. Volcanic life has not ceased: the Boiling Lake in Morne Trois Pitons National Park is the second largest hot lake in the world, and the park itself is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The island is the youngest of the Lesser Antilles and is still being shaped by geothermal activity. The native Kalinago people called the island Waitukubuli, "tall is her body"; the Waitukubuli walking trail, about 185 km long, the longest in the Caribbean, runs across the island. The capital, Roseau, is the main trading port; in the north-west stands Portsmouth with its natural harbour and Fort Shirley in Cabrits Park.

What to see and how far it is from our places

• Morne Trois Pitons National Park (UNESCO). A national park in the centre of the island, created in 1975 as Dominica's first national park. Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1997. Area about 7,000 ha: volcanic cones, boiling mud pools, hot springs and rainforest. Trafalgar: 4 km, Roseau: 8 km, Portsmouth: 31 km.
• Portsmouth. The second largest town in Dominica, about 3,600 inhabitants. It lies on the shore of the natural harbour of Prince Rupert Bay. The streets are laid out in a grid around a central square marked out in 1765. Portsmouth: within the town, Trafalgar: 30 km, Roseau: 31 km.
• Roseau. The capital and largest town of Dominica, the oldest and most important town on the island, built on the site of the Carib village of Sairi. The country's main port for foreign trade; in 2011 it had 14,725 inhabitants. Roseau: within the town, Trafalgar: 4 km, Portsmouth: 31 km.
• Trafalgar. A village in the interior of the island by Morne Trois Pitons, known for Trafalgar Falls and a hydroelectric power station nearby. The waterfall is becoming a popular ecotourism spot. Trafalgar: within the village, Roseau: 4 km, Portsmouth: 30 km.
• Indian River. The widest river in Dominica. It flows into the Caribbean Sea between Portsmouth and the village of Glanvillia. Boat trips on the river are one of the island's main tourist attractions. Portsmouth: 1 km, Trafalgar: 30 km, Roseau: 31 km.
• Roseau Cathedral. A Roman Catholic cathedral in Dominica's capital, Roseau, and the centre of the Diocese of Roseau. Consecrated in its present form in 1916; the building is in the Gothic Romanesque revival style. Roseau: 1 km, Trafalgar: 4 km, Portsmouth: 31 km.
• Cabrits National Park. A national park on the peninsula north of Portsmouth. Fort Shirley, a garrison the British began building in 1765, had more than 50 buildings. The park protects rainforest, coral reefs and swamps; 162 species of birds have been recorded. Portsmouth: 2 km, Trafalgar: 32 km, Roseau: 33 km.
• Boiling Lake. A flooded fumarole inside Morne Trois Pitons National Park: a grey-blue lake 60-75 m across, constantly boiling and wrapped in steam. The second largest hot lake in the world after Frying Pan Lake in New Zealand; first described in 1870. Trafalgar: 6 km, Roseau: 10 km, Portsmouth: 33 km.
• Layou. A small village on Dominica's west coast, at the mouth of the Layou River, from which it takes its name. The main livelihood here is fishing; there are also a few working farms. Roseau: 10 km, Trafalgar: 12 km, Portsmouth: 21 km.
• Morne Diablotins. The highest mountain in Dominica, 1,447 m above sea level, and the island's largest volcano. The climb to the summit takes about three hours. The second highest mountain of the Lesser Antilles. Portsmouth: 10 km, Trafalgar: 21 km, Roseau: 22 km.

• Homes and land in your own name. A foreigner can buy property in their own name; the alien land holding licence is issued by the state. For up to 1 acre for a home the licence is not needed, but the 10% fee is paid.
• National park. Buying land in it is restricted. The minister publishes in the government gazette the zones where purchase without a licence is not allowed.
• Renovation. Work only inside the building that does not change its outward appearance needs no permission; external changes need a development permit (under the planning law, as retold by a secondary source).
• Differences between places. One rule for the whole country. There are no separate conditions for Roseau, Portsmouth and Trafalgar in the records.

Buying (per the Invest Dominica page, paid by the buyer; valuation and plot survey not included):

Example: at a notional price of $100,000 the items give 6,875, and the 10% fee, if calculated on the whole price, is 10,000, so 16,875 in all (16.875%). The fee is calculated on the value of the land, so for a house with a large share of building the base may be smaller.

The records differ. A summary record puts the buyer's costs at about 11% plus 10% for foreigners; the sum of the items on the official page is 6.875%. Third-party guides give stamp duty as 4% and 6.5%, which may be an earlier scheme. We do not choose between 11% and 6.875%; we will provide an exact calculation on request.

New build: the sale of a home together with the land is exempt from VAT (2006 rules; we have not checked amendments since), so for a home from a developer it is 0%.

Holding:

• In Roseau there is a city rate of 1.25% of the assessed value of the house and plot (city council decision of 24 January 2024, adopted twice a year). We will confirm the 2026 rate and rates in other places on request.

Selling:

• There is no capital gains tax (Invest Dominica).
• The seller pays stamp duty of 2.5% of the higher of price and market value. The agent's commission is not named in the sources, so 2.5% is a lower bound.
• Transfer of profit, dividends and capital is free, with no taxes on currency operations.

• Long-term and short-term rental: we will provide the rules and yields on separate request.
• Withholding at source. If rent is paid to a non-resident, the payer withholds 15% of the actual (gross) amount and passes it to the tax authority within 15 days after the end of the month.
• Tax on a scale. Personal income tax is calculated on net income: expenses incurred specifically to earn that income are deducted. The scale by annual income in local dollars:

The tax authority's page does not say whether this scale replaces the 15% withholding for a non-resident; we will confirm the final procedure for them on request.

This is tax in Dominica. Tax in the country where the investor lives is calculated separately.

• Citizenship by investment. A unit in an approved project costing from USD 200,000. The properties are resort and hotel projects from the official list (among them Anichi, Jungle Bay, Timbo's Downtown, Ocean Edge, Cabrits, Sanctuary Rainforest, Residences at Secret Bay, Tranquility Beach). Holding period: three years from the date citizenship is obtained; if resold to another applicant of the programme, five years. State approval of a project does not guarantee income or a rise in price.
• Residence permit is separate from citizenship: we will provide the conditions on request.
• Conditions for applicants with different first passports are not yet worked through in our records.

Who it is open to (by the applicant's first citizenship). What the programme itself says about applicants with different passports; "not named" does not mean "open".

• Citizenship by investment (citizenship; accepts applications): Russia, Belarus: not accepted; Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan: not on the published list of excluded countries.

Under the law of their own country, the first citizenship is lost in this case: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan.

There is no national housing price index in our base: the Bank for International Settlements does not publish one for Dominica, or it has not yet been loaded. There will be no four-line table.

What is known about the currency: the local dollar has been pegged to the US dollar at 2.70 since July 1976, and there are no currency restrictions. For a buyer with dollars this means that dollars and local currency move together: in such a country two lines are enough, not four.

The directory has 15 districts: Roseau 12, Portsmouth 3, Trafalgar 0. All are from the pages of agencies and directories.

Prices read from pages are available to us only in the form of one resort plan:

What can be seen:

• Most of the districts are in the capital, Roseau; we have not yet read property prices for them.
• The resort at Cabrits, next to the national park, is linked to the citizenship programme; we have not checked its status since 2014.

What a foreigner can buy. Commercial land can be bought in your own name. Less than three acres for commercial use needs no licence, but the 10% fee on the value of the land is paid. In the national park purchase is restricted. The law is the Aliens Land Holding Regulation Act of 1995; this comes from a state agency page, and we have not opened the text of the law.

How it differs from housing.

• Costs on purchase are the same as for housing: stamp duty 2%, court fee 1%, guarantee fund 1%, lawyer 2.5% plus 15% VAT, foreigner's fee 10%. There are no separate duties for commercial properties. We will provide the VAT on the purchase of a commercial property itself on request.
• Commercial rent is subject to 15% VAT (residential rent is exempt). It is paid by the registered landlord; the registration threshold of EC$250,000 (about $93k US) is taken from the tax authority's 2018 guide and has not been rechecked this time.
• Withholding on rent to a non-resident is 15% of the gross amount, as for housing. The draft 2026/27 budget proposes a 10% tax and deductions for commercial rental buildings; this is so far a draft.
• For residence and citizenship ordinary commercial property does not count: a unit in an approved project is needed.

Which properties a private person buys. A unit in a hotel or resort project from USD 200,000. We have not found prices for ordinary shops and offices on open pages.

Where it is concentrated. Old Market in Roseau, the town's shopping centre; central Roseau, offices and shops; Cabrits, a hotel project. We will provide rental rates, yields and vacant space by segment on request; we have no agency figures.

A summary from the developers' own websites. This is a sample, not a census of the market: it includes companies that have a working website; prices are the published "from" prices, stages are in the wording of the pages.

• Developers in the base: 4, of which with project pages on their own site, 3.
• Projects: 3; completed 1, under construction 1, in pre-sale 0; for 1 the stage is not named on the page.
• Prices developers do not publish on their sites.
• Foreign buyers are addressed directly by 2 of 4; on 2 sites nothing is said about it. Site languages: English, 4.

What developers' sites do not show: sales pace, share sold and delivery delays. Promises of rental income and buy-back are the seller's statements and have not been verified.

Developer in the directory: Secret Bay (The Residences at Secret Bay). Listings: Nature Isle Realty.