Getting a Dominican Passport

Mr. Lu

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Mar 26, 2007
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For the children of Dominicans, who were born abroad, but with the hope of getting a Dominican passport, the process is basic and straightforward if you have your information straight, and your documents in order. If you are not the child of Dominicans, you should consult a lawyer, but I would believe the process is just as easy.

The process is much simpler than in previous years and the hassles are mostly gone. Like I said, if you know what you are doing and where to go you can get the process done in a day, including having your passport in your hand. Look to spend between RD$2,000 and RD$3,000 on the process, depending which option you choose. Remember prices change without notice, so this post is not meant to be set in stone.


Steps:

- Get a cedula (Without this you are S.O.L.)

- Get a copy of your cedula.

- For naturalized Dominican citizens, you must get a new copy of your birth certificate. Go to the office were your birth has been registered, or Circunscripcion. This is where your birth certificate is located. If I am not mistaken, this costs RD$200. Within 30 minutes you will get an "Extracto de Acta de Nacimiento." Make sure you let the people at this office know that the birth certificate is for a passport.

- Once you have this, get this document legalized. There is a small office, Legalizaciones, at "La Feria," (Centro de los Heroes). You go in, pay the impuesto, which is about RD$200. Wait in line and within 15-20 minutes your document is legalized and stamped. If a person outside of the office, a Buscon, tries to offer a fee to do this for you, refuse them. You can do this yourself and will be cheaper.

- Once you have this, get THREE passport photos, standard size (2x2). Make sure it is on a white background and you are not smiling in the pics. Also, make sure not to have glasses, jewelry or earrings in the photo and women should make sure they have their shoulders covered in the picture.

- Once you have all of this, go to any BanReservas and pay the impuestos, which is basically the cost of the passport. There are two options, with two costs:

A) Normal: 7-day delivery, and costs RD$1,253
B) VIP: Same day delivery and costs RD$2,238

*Note: If you choose for same day delivery, you must hand in your documents before 12pm otherwise you can hand in your documents before 3pm.

Also remember NOT to go to any BanReservas near La Feria. These are usually packed, slow and hectic. Go to one that is in a residential or commercial area, where you know the service is good. This way you can avoid headaches.

- Once you have all your documents (legalized birth certificate, copy of your cedula, your original cedula, impuestos from BanReservas, your THREE photos and a photocopy of everything), take this to the Direccion General de Pasaportes, also located at la Feria, right across the street from IMPOSDOM and the Maunaloa nightclub. The people at the front desk will check everything for you and make sure you are squared away.

Note: If you were born in the DR, you will proceed as normal, and stand in line like the others. BUT if you were born outside the DR and are a naturalized Dominican citizen make sure you speak up and let this be known. They will then send you to a special place called "Naturalizacion," (Naturalization). This is a special area for those who are foreign born "Dominicans."

You go here, hand in the documents, have your fingerprints taken, and they will return a sheet to you. This sheet is your receipt. Bring this back a week later, with your original cedula, to retrieve your passport.

And that's the process. Like I stated, previously, if you know what you are doing, you can get this done in one day. If not, start on a Monday and hand in your stuff by Tuesday.

Any questions, call: *GOB and have the government operators help you. They might not speak English, but at least they pick up the phone.

And one final though, if you had previously started the process and already have a new birth certificate (with the new format) be mindful that the birth certificate for passports DOES NOT expire. Previously government documents "expired" after three months, but this was just a ploy to get you to pay again. This document DOES NOT expire. Be aware of this in case a buscon or a hustler tries to tell you otherwise.


Mr. Lu
 

DRNED

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Oct 28, 2009
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Seems quite uncomplicated, does it work as easy the other way around?
I see it isn't quite as easy getting out of the country if born there.
 

Mr. Lu

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Mar 26, 2007
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...

Seems quite uncomplicated, does it work as easy the other way around?
I see it isn't quite as easy getting out of the country if born there.

If you are born here the process is the same, accept you don't have to go to the office that says "Naturalizacion." I guess the difficulties are securing your visa and getting your plane ticket out....



Mr. Lu
 

DRNED

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If you are born here the process is the same, accept you don't have to go to the office that says "Naturalizacion." I guess the difficulties are securing your visa and getting your plane ticket out....



Mr. Lu

I meant if you are born in the Domincian and were entitled to a foreign passport or both by foreign father, US, European etc. I expect this is quite common.
 

Mr. Lu

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Mar 26, 2007
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Yes, and that process is also straight forward. If you have been declared as the child of a foreigner, at the US Embassy and have done all your paperwork, then business is as usual.

I have some friends who were born in the DR, and have never been to the US, yet they all have US Passports, because of their dad. When they were born, they got a US Social Security Number and when they needed to travel, they just went and got their passports.


Mr. Lu
 

DRNED

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That sounds very simple also, I was under the impression the doors were pretty firmly shut or tighly closed on that front. I suppose finances are involved somewhere along this process, seems to lubricate everything in DR.
 

mountainannie

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Dec 11, 2003
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advantages?

I ask because I am meeting my Puerto Rican born friend daughter of a Dominican tomorrow and we have been discussing this.. so what are the advantages of her getting her Dominican passport?

She is going to have to go through the entire process of getting the cedula as a foreigner, right?

So is the only difference be that she will get a Different cedula if she does the other step and gets a passport? I know that foreigner cedulas are labeled with NO VOTA

somehow this seems like it makes it HARDER for the children of Dominicans to get their stuff in order.. they have to get the cedula and then the passport.... No way that they can just go with a US passport and the copy of their parents birth certificate to get a cedula?
 

Mr. Lu

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Mar 26, 2007
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The process is very simple to get a cedula for a Dominican child born abroad. I have completed the process and they have made it very easy to get your papers in order.

1) Get your citizenship (i.e, Dominican birth certificate)
2) Get your cedula
3) Get you DR passport, if you wish.

There are many benefits to legalizing your status in the DR, whether you are the child of a Dominican, or just a foreigner.

For anyone looking to legalize their status in the DR, there will be papers to sign and a process to complete. Photocopying passports will not get it done.


Mr. Lu
 

bienamor

Kansas redneck an proud of it
Apr 23, 2004
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The process is very simple to get a cedula for a Dominican child born abroad. I have completed the process and they have made it very easy to get your papers in order.

1) Get your citizenship (i.e, Dominican birth certificate)
2) Get your cedula
3) Get you DR passport, if you wish.

There are many benefits to legalizing your status in the DR, whether you are the child of a Dominican, or just a foreigner.

For anyone looking to legalize their status in the DR, there will be papers to sign and a process to complete. Photocopying passports will not get it done.


Mr. Lu

Other than voting/and no residence renewal every 2 years what would be the advantage of citizenship vs residency?
 

bobsimmons

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Oct 14, 2009
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Dom. Passport?

There are better countries for getting a passport in Latin America. The D.R. is best for just residency cards.

Bob :glasses:
 

Mr. Lu

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Mar 26, 2007
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If you are the child of a Dominican national, and have a cedula, this is the final step in the "legalization" process. If you can get it, and it's cheap , why not? There are benefits to having dual citizenship, and for those who inherit it, it is worth getting, especially at a cost of a few hundred dollars, for the complete process.

For non-Dominicans, the benefits might be minimal. I will say that having a DR passport allows you to travel to certain places with no visas, or cheaper visas. For example, it is easier getting in and out of Cuba, and a visitors visa to Brazil is much cheaper for a Dominican, than it is for an American. There are other examples of this with other countries. I also like the idea of not having to carry around a US passport everywhere. I'd much rather lose my Dominican passport, than my American passport any day.

Is a US/UK passport beneficial? Yes. If you have one, great, but a second passport could do no harm.

Mr. Lu
 

bobsimmons

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Oct 14, 2009
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I will say that having a DR passport allows you to travel to certain places with no visas.... Mr. Lu

Sir:

Can you tell me which countries you can travel to with a Dominican passport without a visa?

Thanks, Bob:glasses:
 

Mr. Lu

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Mar 26, 2007
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Interesting note. I phoned the Brazilian Embassy in Santo Domingo last week, inquiring about visa costs for a friend. For a US American citizen to get a Brazilian Tourist Visa, the cost is US$130 dollars! Compare that to US$20 dollars for a Dominican citizen.

So, outwardly, having a Dominican passport seems of no value, but upon further review, there are certain benefits.


Mr. Lu
 

bobsimmons

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Oct 14, 2009
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reply

Thank you both for this information and I am waiting for an updated list of countries a Dom. citizen can travel to without needing a visa. I am sure someone who is knowledgeable can supply this.

Bob :glasses: