Adding Family After Dominica Citizenship: Rules and Fees

Start with citizenship, not approval in principle

This guide covers additions after citizenship, not changes while the original application is still being processed, and not citizenship by descent. The family guide (opens in a new tab) of Dominica’s Citizenship by Investment Unit says such applications are subject to the regulations in force when they are made.

Approval in principle is a stage of the application, not the grant of citizenship. For a family addition, keep two dates at hand: the date you submitted the original application and the date citizenship was granted. They trigger different charges.

Planning still starts person by person: our guide to a Plan B for your family checks the eligibility and timing of each family member separately.

A minor child: the five-year limit is gone

Under paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 1 to the 2024 regulations (opens in a new tab), a main applicant who obtained citizenship through the programme may apply to register a child under 18 born to or adopted by them.

The paragraph first covered only a child born or adopted not more than five years after the main applicant obtained citizenship. The 2025 amendment (opens in a new tab), gazetted on 27 November 2025, deleted those words, and the Unit’s FAQ (opens in a new tab) now says there is no time restriction tied to when the main applicant obtained citizenship.

The age limit stays, and the paragraph permits an application, not a grant. It names the main applicant, not a person naturalised as a dependant. Paragraph 3(2) lists the government charges:

• USD 2,000 for processing
• USD 4,000 for due diligence on each dependant aged 16 or older
• USD 500 for each certificate of naturalisation

The Unit’s FAQ adds a mandatory interview at USD 1,000 for every applicant aged 16 or over. These figures are the standard schedule. The FAQ also lists nationalities whose applications face explicit bans, limitations or enhanced due diligence, and regulation 11 sets separate enhanced due diligence fees where an applicant is a citizen of a country or region the Minister has specified by notice.

A spouse you married after the original application

Paragraph 3(3) lets a person who obtained citizenship through the programme apply for a spouse they were not married to when the original application was made. The test is the date of the original application, not of the grant.

The regulations define a spouse as “the partner of the opposite sex by marriage in accordance with the Marriage Act, and the Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Act”. The definition does not mention civil partnerships or unmarried partners.

Paragraph 3(4) lists USD 75,000 for the spouse, USD 1,000 for processing, USD 4,000 for due diligence on the spouse and USD 1,000 for the mandatory interview, and paragraph 3(8) adds USD 500 for the certificate of naturalisation: USD 81,500 in government charges.

Due diligence on the original applicant adds USD 7,500 when the new application is submitted more than one year after the original one, bringing the total to USD 89,000. Neither total is an investment, and neither includes professional fees.

A dependant left out of the original application

Paragraph 3(5) covers someone who was already a dependant when the original application was made but was left out of it; a main applicant who obtained citizenship through the programme may apply for them. The regulations define a dependant as the main applicant’s spouse, children within age and support conditions, and parents or grandparents of the main applicant or the spouse who are above the age of 65 and substantially supported by the main applicant or the spouse.

These are category amounts only. Each application also carries USD 1,000 for processing, USD 4,000 for due diligence on each dependant (within one year of the grant, only on each one aged 16 or over), USD 1,000 for the interview, USD 500 per certificate and, more than one year after the original submission, USD 7,500 on the original main applicant. The lower spouse amount is for this category only.

A minor child left out of the original application can seem to fit both this paragraph and the child paragraph, and neither the regulations nor the Unit’s FAQ says which applies. Confirm the category through an Authorised Agent before relying on the child route’s lower charges.

Two one-year clocks can run at once

For an omitted dependant, the lower category amount counts from the grant of citizenship. The due diligence charge on the original applicant counts from the submission of the original application.

Build the application around the relationship and the dates

Every application goes to the Unit through an Authorised Agent. Prepare the original application and naturalisation dates, the new applicant’s age, the date of the marriage, birth or adoption, and evidence of the relationship.

For a child under 18, both parents sign the form’s certificate of truth, or the parent with sole custody or the legal guardian signs and provides the court’s or other authority’s documentation. Forms are completed in English, and a document in another language needs an authenticated translation. The translation of a birth, marriage or police certificate must also be certified by the government authority, embassy or consulate of the country where the document was issued.

Then separate government charges from professional fees, translations and certification: our investment migration quotation checklist sets that out. Your certificate of naturalisation opens a possible route for a family member; it does not settle that person’s eligibility.