Residency & Bank Account info needed. I am confused!!!

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Alex Roudos

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Oct 18, 2008
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Hello everyone,

I will be arriving in the DR in the 11th of January 2009 and i would really appreciate any clarification you could provide regarding the residency permit and the opening of a bank account.

I have searched and read everything here as much as possible but i'm far from saying that i have a clear picture of what exactly to do and in what order.

So, i'll try to be as specific as i can be in my questions hoping that you will be able to help me sort this out once and for all.

1. I know that i must have a color copy of my passport and my birth certificate, translated in spanish. I am Greek and there's no DR embassy or consulate in Greece. Do the translations have to be made in the DR embassy/consulate or in the absence of them an authorized/certified official translation office would be acceptable? On the other hand there is a Greek consulate in the DR, could this be of any help?

2. How many and what kind of passport pictures do i need(face only, profile etc.)?

3. How do i open a bank account? What papers are needed? And is it necessary that i have first a residency permit?

My apologies for another post about these issues but even though i found some answers, still the connection or not between the two(residency and bank account) is not clear at all to me.

I will be looking forward to your replies.

Thank you all in advance.

Alex.
 
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Ceasar Garcia

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Oct 1, 2008
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The best advice is to choose your bank. Like Banco Popular go there and, ask them exactly what you need. As a U.S. citizen all I need was my passport, a letter from my bank in the states stating that my money was mine and, clean. Also I needed a letter from someone that knew me for a reference.
 
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Alex Roudos

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Oct 18, 2008
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Thank you for your replies Ceasar and bigbird.

Yes, i read the above threads except the DR1 - Legal, but after just reading it, it added a bit more to the confusion, where it says that the legally translated in Spanish documents should be legalized "at the Dominican Consulate in the jurisdiction closest to the residence of the applicant." And the closest is the DR embassy in Italy, and obviously this is useless.

So, my question here is, if i can do all the legalization of the documents in the Greek consulate in Santo Domingo if it still exists of course. Anything that has to do with Greece is also changing very often and is very uncertain most of the times as well.

Regarding the bank account, what i get from your replies is that i can just open an account without any other requirements besides my passport and a recommendation letter from someone who knows me or has already an account to the certain bank? Am i correct?

Thanx again for your help.
 
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Ceasar Garcia

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Oct 1, 2008
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Bank account I think that should be enough. That person must be a resident or a citizen. As fas a leagizing your documents you can get them done here. There are certified translators for this. It is not that big of a deal.
 
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LuvtheDR

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Apr 4, 2004
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Alex Roudos said:
Regarding the bank account, what i get from your replies is that i can just open an account without any other requirements besides my passport and a recommendation letter from someone who knows me or has already an account to the certain bank? Am i correct?

Thanx again for your help.
Click to expand...

Depending on which bank you choose in the DR - they might ask for a letter of good standing from your bank back home. (I know Santa Cruz asks for this). Get that letter and have it with you just in case. It's much easier to get it before you come here than trying to get it once you arrive.
 
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planner

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Sep 23, 2002
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Normally when you apply for residency here via a lawyer they will handle the translations etc for you. Unless you have experience here AND you speak spanish doing it yourself can be an exercise in frustration!

For banks - the one thing to get ahead of time is a letter of reference from the bank you use now.
 
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Sanation

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May 21, 2007
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Birth Certificate

We had problems with our residency applications as we did not have our birth certificates legalised in our country of origin. There must be an embassy or consulate for Greece that you can send the documents to. I would follow this up, as this was a major headache for us.

Bank Account

I opened a US$ & RD$ bank accounts with Banco BHD a few months ago.

You MUST have a local reference from an existing customer in order to open an account. I also had a letter from my bank back home, but they were not interested in this. It took about a month for them to conduct their international credit checks before they opened the account. I had to contact the bank regularly to check on the progress of my application.

Visa Requirements

Here is some information that our lawyer provided to us in February 2008:

• Copy of the passport (complete – not just the first 2 pages). Minimum validity: Three (3) months. Support of the last entry to the Dominican Republic (certification of last entry issued by the Department of Certifications of the Immigration General Office). Not applicable if you have not been to the DR before.

• Permission of entrance, visa or tourist card in force. If current DR visa or tourist card is expired, the applicant should pay the staying taxes. Visa should be renewed

• Original Birth Certificate duly legalized by the nearest Dominican Consulate. This document should be translated into Spanish by a judicial interpreter. If the country of origin of the applicant only issues one original, a certified copy of the birth certificate is accepted

• Nine (9) photos 2 x 2. (Six (6) photos: front / Four photos: profile).
 
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Alex Roudos

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Oct 18, 2008
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Thank you all for the detailed info you provide. It's very helpful.

In Greece there's no DR embassy or consulate. In fact, i checked and DR has just a few embassies or consulates worldwide and very few of them in Europe.

So the question is, what can i do in this case?

The spanish translation of the birth certificate must be done from a judicial interpreter in the DR? Or in Greece? And would this still be valid? And if it's the first case, is there any judicial interpreter in the DR that speaks and writes Greek well enough to translate in Spanish?

I certainly wish, as planner said, that when i go to a lawyer he will manage to get all the translations done. Greek language is a PITA everywhere in the known and unknown universe, except of course, Greece itself(and not always).

And a last question(for now most probably). Could you mention from your experience which banks in the DR don't ask for a letter of reference?

As it seems my biggest problem, besides the official translation and legalization of my Greek documents, will be to find someone who knows me, something that's a bit difficult since i myself don't really know anyone there. Maybe i should just go and buy a safe and forget the whole bank thing ;)

Thanx again,
Alex.
 
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bigbird

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May 1, 2005
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Alex Roudos said:
.........that when i go to a lawyer he will manage to get all the translations....
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Alex, Sanation's post is about as accurate as you will get. Sanation's information is up to date. I have posted the same info before but there always seems to be someone who will disagree. If you have connections in the DR than sure it is possible to get things done differently.

I had the same results opening a bank account at BHD. They didn't care two craps about a letter from my home bank in the USA. I had to wait until they completed a credit check. In obtaining a quick bank account you can try La Nacional on Avenida Bolivar in Gascue, SD. They will open a peso account, give you a debit card, and provide the necessary letter needed for your residency application.

I strongly advise contacting a lawyer in the DR immediately. It may take a month or so to complete paper work in your home country which will be needed for your application.

I may be wrong but I believe you will have to mail your birth certificate to the nearest country with a Dominican Consulate to have it legalized. Your lawyer in the DR will take care of the translation. The cost for the temporary residence should be +/- $1,000 USD.

Save yourself some grief and contact a lawyer. ;)
 
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Alex Roudos

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Oct 18, 2008
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Thank you bigbird for your reply.

Sending my documents to another country for legalization seems quite unorthodox to me. Never heard of something like that in the past, and also during my lawyer working years.

I wonder if the Greek consulate in the DR can do something about this, but i guess i will have to pay them a personal visit once i'm there.

As for the lawyer, this the only safe option anyway and the one i'm going to follow. So if you can recommend a good lawyer or firm in the Puerto Plata city, please let me know.

Alex.
 
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bigbird

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May 1, 2005
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Alex Roudos said:
.......I wonder if the Greek consulate in the DR can do something about this, but i guess i will have to pay them a personal visit once i'm there.
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You will just be wasting your time trying to figure out how the system works in the DR.

Alex Roudos said:
.......As for the lawyer, this the only safe option anyway and the one i'm going to follow. So if you can recommend a good lawyer or firm in the Puerto Plata city, please let me know.
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Contact:
Guzman Ariza Attorneys at Law
Offices Guzman Ariza Law Firm in Dominican Republic

or send a PM on DR1 to Fabio J. Guzman

FYI you must travel to Santo Domingo to take your medical exam.
 
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Sanation

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May 21, 2007
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Alex Roudos said:
Thank you bigbird for your reply.

Sending my documents to another country for legalization seems quite unorthodox to me. Never heard of something like that in the past, and also during my lawyer working years.

I wonder if the Greek consulate in the DR can do something about this, but i guess i will have to pay them a personal visit once i'm there.

As for the lawyer, this the only safe option anyway and the one i'm going to follow. So if you can recommend a good lawyer or firm in the Puerto Plata city, please let me know.

Alex.
Click to expand...

Alex

If there is a Greek Consulate in the DR, they should be able to legalise your birth certificate. It would be worth calling them to double check. Otherwise, you will need to send to your nearest consulate in Europe.

We have just found out that our residency has been held up because we did not have our birth certificates legalised. Our lawyer thought she could get around this, but after 9 months has advised otherwise. :eek:gre:

She was going to send them to Trinidad (where the nearest Australian Embassy is in the region) but I have told her not to as we are flying back home for Christmas, so will arrange this whilst we're home.
 
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georgios

New member
Oct 2, 2004
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The Greek connection...

Griegos13 said:
Καλημερα !!! εχεις πμ !

(apologise to the other members but i found a fellow Greek,so i had to speak him,you know,Greek !!!)
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I had to join in since I am a Greek Cypriot. I am also in the process of moving in the Dr. Located at Toronto, Canada.

I am wondering why would Alex move to the Dominican Republic.
Greece has nice weather amongst other "goodies"...

Georgios
 
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