Dominica switches to Biometric e-Passports

The Government of Commonwealth of Dominica has launched new biometric e-passports on July 19, 2021 to its citizens, thus upgrading the passport system by spending $13 million for improving national security across borders.

The New passport booklet has 50 pages and is printed with modern and aesthetic design that reflects the nature of Dominica and displays the country’s landmarks, flora and fauna and are more water resistant.

Over a billion people use e-passports for their travels. More than 100 countries currently issuing ePassports, and over 490 million ePassports in circulation. ePassports add a layer of security to traditional non‑electronic passports by embedding an electronic chip in the passport booklet that stores the biographical information visible on page 2 of the passport, as well as a digital security feature.

In the Caribbean several OECS countries such as St Kitts, Grenada, Antigua already use ePassports.

By authenticating the chip of an ePassport, border control authorities can confirm that:

the ePassport held by the traveller was issued by a bonafide authority;
the biographical and biometric information endorsed in the document at issuance has not subsequently been altered; and
if active authentication and/or chip authentication is supported by the ePassport chip, the electronic information on the chip is not a copy (i.e. a clone).

Dominican nationals including CBI citizens are required to switch to biometric passports from machine readable ones until 31Aug 2022. Those who applied for passports CBI passports must contact nearest consulate for further instructions. The original end of the transition period which would have been 30^th of July 2023, has been changed to 31^st. of August 2022.

Citizens of Dominica enjoy visa free travel rights to visit over 150 countries including Russia, United Kingdom, Schengen states and territories for tourism, business and visiting family and friends.

The Commonwealth of Dominica Citizenship Investment program remains a popular choice for investors and their families seeking secondary citizenships in the Caribbean.

Passport Application Fees