Residences at Secret Bay — Cliffside Ti-Fey II, Dominica
A completed villa set into the cliffside at Tibay, near Portsmouth, inside a working all-villa resort rather than on a standalone lot. It suits a buyer who wants a finished, professionally run Caribbean asset in a quiet place and accepts sharing the calendar with a rental operation. If a passport is the main goal, you do not need to spend this much: Dominica's real-estate route to citizenship starts at US$200,000 in an approved project.
What you own, and what it costs to buy
Freehold, and construction is complete — you can walk it, sleep in it and read its real operating history before committing. Ti-Fèy is a villa category rather than a floorplan: the resort publishes it as 1.5 or 2.5 bedrooms and 1,686 to 2,799 square feet of total indoor/outdoor space, which is not interior floor area. I ask for a surveyor's figure separating conditioned interior from deck, and for the deed and register entry rather than a brochure.
Dominica's buy-side costs fall on the purchaser: 10% alien landholders fee, 2% stamp duty, 1% judicial fees, 1% assurance fund, and a 2.5% solicitor's fee plus 15% VAT — 16.5% before VAT, valuation and survey separate. A non-national may hold under an acre for residential use without a landholding licence, but the 10% fee is payable regardless.
Weeks, rental income, and holding cost
Whole ownership gives the owner 10 to 24 weeks a year; the rest of the calendar is resort inventory. The clause that fixes how many weeks, which weeks, and whether the operator can move you is worth more scrutiny than the price.
Rates start at US$987 a night for double occupancy, plus 20% net tax — 10% government tax and 10% gratuity. Out of that gross come the operator's share, distribution costs and the inclusions. Dominica then withholds 15% on rent paid to a non-resident owner. The resort itself states returns depend on market and villa performance and are not guaranteed, so underwrite this as an offset to carrying cost, not a yield. No service charge is published for whole-ownership villas; I want it, the insurance terms and two to three years of owner statements in writing.
This property qualifies for the Dominica Citizenship by Investment program.
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Interested in Residences at Secret Bay — Cliffside Ti-Fey II, Dominica?
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Frequently asked questions
Does buying here qualify me for Dominican citizenship?
Yes — The Residences at Secret Bay is one of nine projects the Dominica government has approved for its Citizenship by Investment Program. The real-estate route starts at a US$200,000 purchase, so at this price the citizenship is a by-product, not the reason to buy. Under the 2024 regulations the property must be held for three years from the grant of citizenship, or five if your buyer is also a citizenship applicant.
Can I rent it out myself?
No — letting runs through the resort's program, and your personal use is 10 to 24 weeks a year with the balance as resort inventory. Rent paid to a non-resident owner is subject to 15% Dominica withholding tax, deducted at source before you see it.
Is there a tax advantage?
Dominica levies no capital gains tax, and the Citizenship by Investment Unit states there is no wealth, gift, inheritance or foreign income tax. If you are a US citizen or green-card holder this changes nothing: the United States taxes its citizens on worldwide income regardless of any second passport. A second citizenship is a mobility instrument, not a US tax plan.
What is the catch?
Hurricane exposure and resale depth. Maria struck Dominica as a Category 5 in September 2017, so I ask what this villa survived, what was rebuilt and to what standard, and what the windstorm deductible is — that number, not the premium, decides whether a claim is worth making. On exit, ask how many whole-ownership villas here have actually resold, at what price, and how long they sat.