To combat climate change, Dominica is selling passports

Dominica, a small island in the eastern Caribbean, has welcomed thousands of new citizens in recent years who have no intention of living there. The country has sold citizenship to fund government programs, including efforts to rebuild the island after the devastating Hurricane Maria in 2017 and to make the island more resilient to climate change Washington Post Reports. Stronger and more frequent hurricanes pose a threat to all Caribbean countries, but Dominica is particularly vulnerable to landslides due to its rugged landscape post Notes. The former British colony, which has one of the world's largest “golden passport” programs, recently raised the minimum price of citizenship from $100,000 to $200,000.

Dominican passport holders enjoy visa-free access to many countries, including those in the European Union, making citizenship attractive to many, including business people from countries such as Pakistan who need to travel for work but are subject to strict visa requirements. Agents who help clients obtain Dominican passports have offices in Beijing, Berlin and Dubai. The program now accounts for the majority of state revenue in the country with a population of 71,000. Officials say it has helped the country invest in better infrastructure and new, more resilient homes without taking on unsustainable debt.

Irving McIntyre, Dominica's finance minister, says they realized they needed to “find a standalone form of financing” to deal with climate change in the wake of Hurricane Maria. But the project has its downsides. Last year, the Guardian reported that the thousands of people who had acquired Dominican citizenship since 2007 included at least one suspected war criminal and several people who had been placed on Interpol's wanted list after receiving citizenship. The UK abolished visa-free access for Dominican citizens last year, citing a “clear and blatant abuse” of the passport program. In response to U.S. pressure, Dominica and countries with similar programs have stopped accepting Russian citizens and pledged to stop accepting applications from people who have been rejected elsewhere post Reports. (More Dominica stories.)