Editor,
My New Year’s resolution for 2026 is to get a new passport—by new, I mean different. I was born in Dominica and, while I now live in Antigua and Barbuda, I am not an Antiguan citizen, at least not yet.
I grew up valuing my Dominican passport. While Dominica is not the biggest or most powerful country in the world, our passport held currency.
I recall visiting my uncles in London every year during Christmas and returning home two weeks later. My aunts in Canada were always happy to welcome us for special occasions, and weekend visits to Miami were among my most memorable experiences. Last year, I made it a point of duty to find the money and visit countries in Europe that I had always wanted to see, because the writing is on the wall—and it could not be clearer—for our visa-free entry into Europe.
Each time one of these countries imposed visa restrictions on us Dominicans, they flagged one issue: concerns over their national security owing to the management of Dominica’s citizenship by investment programme.
Over the last 25 years, Dominica’s CIP/CBI has been managed by the Dominica Labour Party, and for 23 of those years, the programme has been under the leadership of the longest-serving prime minister in the Caribbean, Roosevelt Skerrit (Dr. Dr.). Need I say more?
I need not say more, but I will. I have listened over the years—long before Canada became the first Western nation to impose visa restrictions on us—to concerns raised by patriotic Dominicans warning of the urgency for proper management and accountability of the programme.
Those patriotic Dominicans who warned that Dominica’s passports were in the hands of crooks and criminals were not thanked. In fact, Skerrit himself reversed the blame on them, alleging that these patriots were trying to destroy the programme. His supporters drank that like manicou soup, repeating it like our famed Jacco parrots.
While the warnings issued 5, 10, 15, and 20 years ago were being ignored, Dominica continued to rake in billions—yes, billions with a “B”—from the sale of Dominican passports. It is an open secret what happened to all that money, even as the opposition there petitions the courts for answers as to exactly where the money is.
The Roosevelt Skerrit administration will be looking to blame the opposition again when the EU, this year, imposes visas on us. Not even the hastily made changes to the CIP/CBI can save us now. Residency requirement or not, we are doomed.
Now, what visa-free access is left for Dominicans who have had historical ties with the U.K., U.S., and Canada? Well, it is not something Skerrit has to worry about. Is he still French? Does his wife have another passport? And his lovely kids—where were they born?
Where does the manager of Dominica’s CIP expect us to travel to outside the region? Do we go to Caracas? Shall we journey to Russia, or perhaps a vacation in China might be more affordable? Yes, while the Government of Dominica was present at every ALBA meeting singing the praises of Maduro—whom they very well know stole the elections—they sidelined our true friends.
I was surprised to learn that Dominicans need visas to go to Mexico, places like Chile, Uruguay, and even Guatemala. Very soon, only Antigua will accept us—thank you, Gaston! Antigua may have its own problems too, don’t get me wrong. However, Antigua still enjoys visa-free access to the U.K., to Canada in certain situations, and to more countries in Central and South America and Asia than Dominica.
You see why I want a new passport? I don’t know how i will get one but I certainly can’t afford to buy one. I know, though, that when the time comes, our Dominican passport will not stop us from accepting the plane and ferry tickets back to Dominica in droves to tell this near 3 decades-old government, F-OFF!
Disgusted Dominican.
Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Antigua!
We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages.
Contact us at [email protected]
You need a new PM!
That letter should also be addressed to the TOP Dawg (oh hell, I meant poodle) those 2 PMs should be carted out of office Bird speed (pun intended)
You sure you are not writing About Antigua.
Same thing going on in Antigua
Is the letter writer following what is happening in the world? There is a crazy man named Trump who now rules the richest and militarily most powerful country in the world and he wants to be king of the world. And everyday he changes the rules and no country dare oppose him. That is reality. So no passport is worth anything. So be grateful for what you have and forget the US. Go to Canada, to Europe, to Panama for shopping, to Colombia for medical and to the Caribbean countries.
@Truth Seeker.
You are not seeking no damn truth, so stop it.
I’ve said it in here over and over. They are running Labor Cabal across Caricom for years, and everyone knows it. These two are the top leaders of that Cabal and the ones that speak the most.
kamala in Trinidad knows it, and thats why he called out GB to explain to his people as to why they lost visa privileges.
That wasn’t just throwing stones, that was some serious insight as to the truth she knows, and that’s why GB was going after her.
That’s the truth. These two leaders are compromised, and the “US” knows it.
Who do you think gives Trump his information dummy? You think the CIA is just some agency with three letters?
These are very intelligent people, and they report to their bosses.
So stop the BS about Trump. I don’t care for the man,but truth is truth.
Tell your PM to stop taking gift from nefarious people, and that’s why we are here. Criminals who have slipped through the CIP/CBI cracks.your PM knows who they are, so does the CIA.
It’s right in front of us.
You start off your essay with a boast. I don’t want to disrespect any country, but even in Congo anyone who can afford to visit the UK every Christmas and Canada every summer plus Miami in between will have no issue traveling anywhere.
Other Caribbean countries which I won’t call have visa free access to the South and Central American countries you called . Your country should have bilateral agreements with them.
Last It Brown and Skerrit are so bad, Why do they keep winning?
@writer: You mentioned ‘they sidelined our true friends’, that needs some clarification because if you are referring to the USA as one of the true friends, you better think 10 times.
Also, you don’t need a new passport, you need to build up your pride. I think we are losing our pride in the region. If your neighbour don’t want you to visit them, why beg? Find other friends. Most of us do not even go to the USA for a read vacation, we go to shop (spending money in their economy buying products that are not even made there).
Having said that, it is time for our governments to learn from the Chinese (plan quietly for the distant future). We rely to heavily on the USA that our people to not see a life with them. Hence we are like battered housewives that think we cannot survive without the abusive husband.
We need to stand with our government when they take the correct stand. From my stand point we are saying NO to military presence and NO to Refuges but at the same time we CANNOT do without their VISA. Our stand will have consequences and our governments will need to navigate carefully, especially since we are very small states. However, it should necessitate the need for us to plan more to reduce our reliance on any one country.
Hopefully our government will develop more trade and tourism with South America, Africa and China.
@ Jamboy
When you are in office you always have an advantage you can secure BIG BIG MONEY from businesses to win election because their kickbacks are secured that’s a privilege Opposition Parties hardly ever have. Are you so dumb you cannot understand that. Winning an election doesn’t mean you win by fair means (maybe fear means)
Why do they Keep winning. Well Sir, that can be a whole other letter. Browne hardly won the last election. Skerrit has not won an election legitimately in the last 3 elections. Why was Maduro winning Venezuela elections?
@jamboy.
Is that a real question?
It’s like asking.if Hitler was so bad, how did he get grown men to follow him in slaughtering thousands of Jews?
Are you that naive?
So here is a question for you. If they are so good, why were their particular islands singled out,the two longest tenured PM in the Caribbean currently?
They have won, but the people of their islands has lost big time. In 23 years, all that Skerrit has been able to achieve, is to have one of the highest Debt to GDP ratio in the Caribbean, running at almost 100%. Is that winning?
And for Antigua, an island with one of the most lucrative tourist sector in the Caribbean, and we don’t even have proper roads, and very little in the way of infrastructure to show for it.
Is that winning?
So stop sounding dumb, just so you can have a conversation or get attention.
These are real topics here. It’s your voice, but add something impactful if you are going to criticize someone who’s island is hurting big-time.