Dominican nationality law is regulated by the 1978 Constitution of the Commonwealth of Dominica, as amended; the Citizenship Act, and its revisions; and various British Nationality laws. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Dominica. Dominican nationality is typically obtained either on the principle of jus soli, i.e. by birth in Dominica; or under the rules of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth abroad to parents with Dominican nationality. It can also be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalisation. There is also, currently a program in Dominica for acquiring nationality by investment. Nationality establishes one's international identity as a member of a sovereign nation. Though it is not synonymous with citizenship, for rights granted under domestic law for domestic purposes, the United Kingdom, and thus the Commonwealth, have traditionally used the words interchangeably.
Acquiring Dominican nationality
Dominican nationality is acquired through birth, registration, or naturalisation.
By birth
Birthright nationality applies to:
Persons who are born within the territory, except if the parent has diplomatic immunity or is a national of a country at war with Dominica; Persons who are born abroad to at least one parent who was born Dominica; or Persons born upon aircraft or ships registered in Dominica or unregistered aircraft or ships belonging to the government.
By registration
Nationality by registration includes those who have familial or historic relationship affiliations with Dominica. It also includes a scheme to acquire nationality through investment. Persons who acquire nationality by registration include:
By affiliation
Persons who were the spouse or widow/er of a national who acquired nationality at the time of independence, or would have acquired nationality except for the death of the spouse; Minor persons who were born to a Dominican father, or a father who would have acquired such nationality had he not died prior to independence, upon three years residency and taking an Oath of Allegiance; Post-independence, the spouse of a national who has been married and living with a national of the territory for a minimum of three years, who can speak English and takes an Oath of Allegiance; Persons who are nationals of a Commonwealth nation, who have become residents of Dominica and resided in the territory or worked for the government for at least five years; Persons who would have become a national at independence but were ineligible solely for having had to renounce British citizenship to acquire another nationality; Minors under age eighteen who are legally adopted by a national or would have been eligible to be registered as an adoptee, while a minor, of a national had the parent not died; or Minor children born after acquisition of nationality to those parents who acquired nationality by investment.
By investment
Requirements for acquiring nationality by investment in Dominica include payment of fees, which in 2020 were US$25,000 for the main applicant, US$35,000 for an applicant with three dependents, US$50,000 for an applicant with five dependents, and US$70,000 for an applicant with more than six dependents. Separate fees are charged for siblings of the main applicant. The primary applicant must be 18 years of age or older and must make a minimum investment, which in 2020 was US$200,000 in an approved project. Agents of the Citizenship by Investment Unit are responsible for processing applications. Applicants must pay non-refundable due diligence fees for background checks and provide other documentation, such as medical reports, identity documents, and a police report, as required.
By naturalisation
Ordinary naturalisation in Dominica can be obtained by adult persons of legal capacity, who in the 12 months prior to submitting an application resided in the territory, are of good character, and intend to be a resident of Dominica. Applicants petition the Minister responsible for immigration, who considers whether the applicant has adequate knowledge of the English language and Dominican civics; and has resided within the territory, worked for the government, or has combined residency and government service for seven years. Upon approval applicants must take an Oath of Allegiance.
Loss of nationality
Nationals may voluntarily renounce their affiliation with Dominica, if the declarant is a legal adult and is able to acquire other nationality, eliminating the prospect of statelessness within twelve months. Renunciation may not be accepted if Dominica is in a war with the proposed new source of nationality. Denaturalisation may occur if a person obtained nationality through fraud, false representation, or concealment; if they have committed acts of treason; if they have committed acts of disloyalty or service to a foreign government; if they are found guilty of certain criminal offences; if their spouse or parent loses their nationality; and in the case of nationality by investment for failure to meet requirements of the program.
Dual nationality
Dual nationality has been acceptable since independence by virtue of the Dominica Modification of Enactments Order 1978.
Commonwealth citizenship
Dominican citizens are also Commonwealth citizens by default as well.
History
Colonial Spain and France (1493–1653)
In the autumn of 1493, Spaniards landed on Dominica. Despite attempts to enslave the Kalinago, or Carib, people they encountered there, the native inhabitants' resistance resulted in little attempt by Spain to establish settlements on the island. From the time Europeans encountered the island it was primarily used by them as a waystation for collecting supplies, like lumber and water. As Spanish influence waned in the mid-sixteenth century, Dutch, English and French traders began interacting with the indigenous population. In 1626, the Compagnie de Saint-Christophe was chartered by Louis XIII's chief minister, Cardinal Richelieu to colonise the Lesser Antilles. In 1627 a royal patent was issued by Charles I of England to James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle granting rights over Dominica and other islands situated between 10° and 20° north latitude, creating a competing claim. From the 1690s, French settlements were created in Dominica to harvest lumber. Slavery in the French colonies was regulated by the Code Noir. In 1742 the Governor of Martinique sent a commander to Dominica to establish a formal system of government. A prison was built, a militia was organized, and a civil infrastructure which included a judge and a notary, as well as officials, was established. The rival claims were finally settled between 1759 and 1761 in a series of conflicts, when Britain acquired the island from France during the Seven Years' War. British sovereignty was established with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763.
British colony (1653–1978)
In Britain, allegiance, in which subjects pledged to support a monarch, was the precursor to the modern concept of nationality. The crown recognised from 1350 that all persons born within the territories of the British Empire were subjects. Those born outside the realm — except children of those serving in an official post abroad, children of the monarch, and children born on a British sailing vessel — were considered by common law to be foreigners. Marriage did not affect the status of a subject of the realm. In the first decade that the colony was under British rule, it was converted from small farms cultivating coffee, cocoa, and spices to a sugar economy, based on the plantation model. Unlike other colonial powers with slave societies in the Caribbean, the British did not have a single overarching slave code: each British colony was allowed to establish its own rules about the slave trade, and a new code was established for Dominica in 1768. Because of the small, minority white population, Britain made attempts to attract white settlers and their wives, building schools and churches, hoping to stave off the absenteeism which plagued earlier established colonies. The social hierarchy was rigid. For example, all of the members of the Colonial Council for the Southern Caribbee Islands, established in 1764, were the most prominent British subjects of the colonies of Dominica, Grenada, St. Vincent, and Tobago. Francophone Catholic men who took an Oath of Allegiance and Supremacy were allowed to participate in elections, but could not stand for office. Free men of colour were barred from certain land purchases and were not allowed to vote. Married women were subjugated to the authority of their husbands under coverture, and the law was structured to maintain social hierarchies by regulating familial matters like who could marry, legitimacy, and inheritance. Children in slave societies followed the status of the mother, thus if she was free her children would be free or if she was in bondage, her children would also be bound.
Other than common law, there was no standard statutory law which applied for subjects throughout the realm, meaning different jurisdictions created their own legislation for local conditions, which often conflicted with the laws in other jurisdictions in the empire. Nationality laws passed by the British Parliament were extended only to the Kingdom of Great Britain, and later the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1807, the British Parliament passed the Slave Trade Act, barring the Atlantic slave trade in the empire. The Act did not abolish slavery, which did not end until the 1833 Emancipation Act went into effect in 1834. Under its terms, slaves were converted into apprentices and remained bound to their former owners for four years if they had worked in the home and for six years if they had been field labourers. Because of administrative problems and a lack of evidence that the apprentice program was preparing former slaves for freedom, Britain ended all apprenticeships effective on 1 August 1838. Though free, there was never a British plan to give former slaves a voice in Parliament, leaving them as British subjects in a highly stratified system of rights. Denied political and economic rights, former slaves were not entitled to formal recognition as nationals by other nations.