that's pure BS far away from the reality.
90% of visitors applying for residency get that denied??
you should spend a day at the immigrations office and count the ones who get the 1st residency handed over towards the ones who go out with hanging heads because their request been denied.
i live on the island as a foreigner since 2 decades with permanent residency, cedula, DR drivers license, owner of a Ranch, owner of a residencial property, owner of 2 sports Fishing Yachts, Tenant of a Rented Appartment on the Beach, owner of my own DR based Business, and i can not confirm not one of the points you talk about, the opposite, actually i could not imagine any other country where a newly arriving foreigner with nothing can start up that easy and hassle free as here in the DR, and that's by own experience, not by some out of the air foreign affairs crap statistics.
and yes,
there is a good number of applicants for residency denied, and here comes the 90% number into the game, as about that number of denials may be due illegal substances found during their medical checks, which does not mean they are all junkies on the needle, regularly smoking pot or consumng cocaine(even that a good number shows exactly that), it also includes many applicants who take permanently anti depressive medications without mentioning those in their applications, then on the medic checks such substances show up and the application gets rightfully denied, too.
Mike
You said it yourself, you have been in the country for two decades, things have changed a lot! Years ago immigration in this country was super easy, in fact foreigners could live in the country without bothering to legalize their status. However, those wishing to become residents now must first obtain a residency visa via the Minsitry of Foreign Affairs. This is where the 90% of denials are taking place. If a foreign national cannot obtain a residency visa, they cannot apply for provisional residency. This measure was taken recently without prior notice to anyone including the legal community. According to various sources within Immigration and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this is a foreshadow of things to come. I am not commenting on how things HAVE been but on the tendency of this country's government to make drastic changes at the drop of a hat, which is the reason why many foreigners with residency status or that otherwise qualify have opted for Dominican citizenship.