To update........ our Permanent Residencia was set to expire on August 23rd. We arrived at Immigration in Santo Domingo at 8:00am, Friday morning the 27th. The first thing I noticed that changed was you now need to obtain a "pass" from the Information Desk inside the lobby to be able to enter the Immigration area. We had to surrender our Cedulas (or passport) to obtain the pass. They will not let anyone into the Immigration area that does not have a pass.
Go to window 10 first. They give you a paper to fill out, name, parents name, birthplace, Cedula number (which I did not enter because the information desk had them...no problem) and they "INK" your fingerprints on the bottom of the form. Might just be some sort of stupid verification to enable them to compare the information to what they already have on file.
We were told to stand in line in window number 3 (renewal) in 30 min from returning the form and things will be ready to continue. So....30 min later went to window 3, paid the $4000.00 RD each, plus $1000.00RD for VIP service. Total of $10,000.00 RD for the two of us. Waited about 30 more min for picture, and then about 30 more min until the card was completed. We got there at 8:00am and left about 10:45am. It could have gone a little faster, but I stood in line at window 3 first. Gotta go to window 10 first...Whatever. It all went good, no lawyer, DONE. They would only renew for two years...I asked for more. The next step for us will be to get citizenship as we are eligible. We will start sometime this fall when we return for the winter.