Cdn-Gringo. When you say yearly renewals can only be done in Santo Domingo, are you referring to the ridiculous ballistics check that is required to be done only in Santo Domingo each year for renewal?
The process took about 90 days.
1) Go to a gun store and buy a gun.
2) Gun store will arrange for drug test, psych eval, firearm proficiency demonstration and ballistic testing/fingerprinting
3) Fill out paperwork.
4) Get Criminal record check from home country
5) Pay fees/taxes at BanReserva
6) File paperwork and deposit gun at Ministerio
7) Be told license will be issued in 10-15 working days
8) Wait
9) Wait
10) After six months go to Ministerio to find out what other documents are needed for license to be processed
11) Submit new documents or copies of ones already submitted
12) Wait some more, maybe up to a year or longer
13) Figure out a way to know when your license has been issued.
14) Pick up license at Banreserva where you paid the fees.
15) Discover that the issuing date of the license is the same as the date you originally deposited application
16) At BanReserva pay for renewal of license you just picked up
17) Go to Minsterio and pick up firearm
18) Proceed with license renewal process
It's expensive, time consuming, frustrating and the Govt really doesn't want people running around with guns especially foreigners these days. I suspect the Ministerio is waiting for the new law to come into effect so they can deny all of the applications that are pending.
Figure on $5000 - $6000 to buy a pistol and submit the application. Yearly renewals that can only be done in SD. Very few if any legal out of the box new pistols for sale here.
New law is supposedly in the works that will require those who wish to carry to demonstrate a need to do so.
Good luck.
May I ask when you did this? I've had a new escopeta in prosesso for 14 months now and I am making no headway. I've just unleashed a new contact on them. Next step will be a lawyer. This is why I think there is a deliberate attempt to slow down applications by foreigners. I already have a license so this should not be a big deal.
No yearly renewals for a shotgun license, but all the other trials and tribulations of acquiring a license still apply.
You said you have the licence. So you have the card with your picture on it right?
Moving there in December. Im assuming I have to sell my pistols...uggh