New stuff going on for folks entering/ overstaying visas.

[Garyexpat]

I wish we could get the story from the Fr-Cdn couple in the other thread.....

They are the ones most of this stems from.... their denial...

Where's that thread.... their driver started it - waiting for them as he did every year.
They were never released - to my knowledge

William,
I appreciate your efforts to get to the bottom of this however I am suspicious of the stories relayed by some on this site and even more suspicious of what "their driver stated". When I myself have come and gone MANY times including several times recently in and out of SDQ and STI without even the hint of a problem it results in my being very suspect of these stories about supposed denied entry due solely to over stays.

 

[SKY]

Anyone denied entry because of past crimes or an Interpol warrant would not be broadcasting it to the public. Easier to say it was for an overstay.

No one from a major country was EVER denied solely for an overstay of a tourist Visa.

 

[cavok]

I believe the driver stated to the best of his knowledge what happened. I think he was unfairly criticized for fear mongering. There very well may have been other factors besides overstaying that the couple didn't want to share with the driver.

 

[CristoRey]

CONFIRMED!
I WAS DENIED ENTRY....

To a bar called Lovera here in Santiago back in May of 2014
for being sh*t-faced drunk and trying to enter while wearing
flip flops.

 

[william webster]

William,
I appreciate your efforts to get to the bottom of this however I am suspicious of the stories relayed by some on this site and even more suspicious of what "their driver stated". When I myself have come and gone MANY times including several times recently in and out of SDQ and STI without even the hint of a problem it results in my being very suspect of these stories about supposed denied entry due solely to over stays.

Gary...
you may well be right -- we may never know

Why bother.??

I hope some helpful 'reject' will share their experience one day....
and let's hope it's not anyone we know !!!

 

[rubio_higuey]

My lawyer had a meeting with some immigration Pooh-Bahs directly related to the situation of overstayers being denied re-entry into the DR.

She was told:

1) The edict is specifically targeted at Venezuelans who come and go in large groups and are becoming a serious problem.

2) This should have no effect on tourist overstayers unless the person has some background issue (non-specific, I assume criminal.)

3) There should be no worries at airporst for regular tourists.

That said, I would not personally tell the immigration officer I intended to stay beyond 30 days, and I would also not state such on the immigration form.

Exactly as my contact at Punta Cana Airport immigration told me. Basically the exact same words...

 

[Garyexpat]

CONFIRMED!
I WAS DENIED ENTRY....

To a bar called Lovera here in Santiago back in May of 2014
for being sh*t-faced drunk and trying to enter while wearing
flip flops.

If I remember correctly (I was not sh*t-faced) you were denied because of the dam flip flops and THEN you got sh*t-faced drunk.

 

[ju10prd]

Here is a new news posting in Las Terrenas Live, web translated from French to English.

http://fr.las-terrenas-live.com/las...rcit-sa-politique-republique-dominicaine.html

Since December 2017 Plan migratory is in total application

The Dominican authorities come to harden their immigration policy. The information went unnoticed last December but between the first people turned back at airport customs and the release of the Embassy of France on March 7, now there is no doubt.

During the last 15 years we have seen the front door to the Dominican Republic to close gradually to newcomers and requirements become more and more numerous at the time to ask his resident card, and more recently, i.e. These last 4 years, a sum of receipts and documents to provide to settle here.

If the migration plan exists since 2004, it is applied that only now. What for?

On February 27, anniversary of national independence, the Codue (Council of unity evangelist Dominican) launched the alert, considering that it was time to stop the uncontrolled migration that is currently living in the country, and for this reason has recommended a migration policy that is transparent and fair.

Actually, for several years, representatives of all sectors of Dominican society call for a brake on migration and careful planning of the quantity of foreigners that the country needs and in accordance with its ability.

Fidel Lorenzo Merán, President of Codue, has put forward several important themes related to migration issues such as including the environment, the safety of citizens and the reduction of crime. But he especially urged to pray and think that God help the authorities to be aware of its role for the preservation of the identity of the Nation and its Christian values, denouncing personal ambitions and the murky political handling.

The problem must therefore be treated in a firm and responsible way in the exercise of the sovereignty of the country and the impact that might have received a migration support which goes beyond economic and social capacity, concluded the President of the Codue.

The next day, on February 28, the Dominican Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas, informed us of the creation of a National Action Plan on migration, which will allow to measure progress and overseeing the proper management of internal and external migration initiatives in Dominican territory.

Then he said that the index of governance migratory of the Dominican Republic, which explores the different policies adopted by Governments in the face of the phenomenon of human mobility and the consequences that these have on nations and the individuals, will be one of the elements that will be used in the development of the new instrument.

This National Plan of Action will also use the goals of the sustainable development objectives, the Global Compact on Migration and the lines of action of the national development strategy to combine a unique, strategic document, with targets, indicators and means of verification clear, he said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mirex), with the assistance of his Commission art Interinstitutionnelle in migratory matters, has already launched the implementation of initiatives in various fields on migration and related areas.

During his speech, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has put emphasis on the idea that management of immigration is exclusive and the discretion of the State which applies it.

There is no international treaty instrument or agreement that would compel the Dominican Republic to necessarily change the way it manages its migratory flows, he said.

He also noted that the Dominican Republic has shown incredibly high performance in the areas of governance of migration policies with a comprehensive approach, the promotion of a safe and orderly migration, the strength of the framework regulatory for migration and the existence of interconnected institutions.

As he noted, the country has implemented a process unique in this area that allows not only the data in different institutions, but their intersection and audit entry, demonstrating that the Dominican State is in harmony and committed in the policy coherence and the inter-institutional synergy.

Clearly, the Dominicans helped as best they could by leaving home a part of the people of Haiti after the earthquake of 2010, defusing a social and economic crisis grave in Haiti during all these years, then just add the wave migration Venezuelan of the past three years, and the Dominican Republic, in the face of social and economic problems emerging, is found in the obligation to review its immigration policy.

Since the first January 2018 so we have repeatedly noted the presence of the immigration services to Las Terrenas, controlling all nationalities without exception.

If previously you could still stay more than 30 days on Dominican soil and therefore exceed the deadline as that non-resident tourism card (or without Dominican identity card if you prefer), no other consequence than to pay a fine to your output with the possibility of subsequently return without a problem, this time it is done. If you exceed the period of 30 days, (or have passed him in the past) you will still pay the fine out of the Dominican Republic, but you may be suppressed at the time of trying to get back on the Dominican territory with a simple tourist card. Payment of departure tax is a kind of fine for exceeding 30 days and is not a pardon, and since you broke the rule in the past, the Customs may consider you're going to re-offend and refused entry.

The most convenient if you are in this situation, is to perform the necessary steps with the Dominican Consulate of your country of origin to get a tourist Visa or a Residence Visa, to again get in the Republic Dominican.

Which means that there are more of them: you stay tourist with your passport and you have a maximum thirty days on Dominican soil right either you do the necessary steps to obtain your resident card and you continue to benefit from all the rights of residents with a unlimited duration of stay.

As in all the customs of the world, it works on a case by case basis. You can switch between the cracks or do not have this chance. Of course risk for people living in the Dominican Republic fact year-round without documents, to which it is highly inadvisable to leave the territory and return without a Residence Visa duly obtained in their country of origin.


Could the French community in that region be a target in sight with warnings being given by both their embassy and their community news letters? They seem to have a preference for employing Haitians in preference to Dominicans in my experience living there and perhaps not surprisingly there was another immigration purge in those parts yesterday with a number of Haitians deported.

https://acento.com.do/2018/actualid...a-mas-200-indocumentados-las-terrenas-samana/

 

[josh2203]

My lawyer had a meeting with some immigration Pooh-Bahs directly related to the situation of overstayers being denied re-entry into the DR.

She was told:

1) The edict is specifically targeted at Venezuelans who come and go in large groups and are becoming a serious problem.

2) This should have no effect on tourist overstayers unless the person has some background issue (non-specific, I assume criminal.)

3) There should be no worries at airporst for regular tourists.

That said, I would not personally tell the immigration officer I intended to stay beyond 30 days, and I would also not state such on the immigration form.

I fully agree on this.

My latest entry was late last year (yes, with a residency visa), never have I had any issues with any immigration officials, even though I have multiple overstays in my passport. Since we've traveled as a family (2013 onwards), the officials have never even really paid attention to my papers.

I always try to think that the officials might not be that educated on different things, so best to keep things simple with them. No explanations, I'm just a tourist, I stay here the max allowed time and get out. Have I been questioned or asked to show proof? Never. Have I seen them at some point actually reading the forms we've filled out for them, not really...

I recall the other thread of the lady who got detained by immigration for working here, and she demanded even to show her laptop to the official for evidence of her work, why the **** ????

I'm no way promoting of not doing things as any law requires in terms of immigration and legal status, this is the way I've done it, and I would do it no other way, if for nothing else, for my personal peace of mind, so this is just a plain simple observation of what has happened to us.