?Hola! New Neighbours

[Cdn_Gringo]

Harleysrock,

I don't know the exact date that the paperwork was submitted. The immigration lawyers are taking care of the minutia. We have to pee in a bottle in August. I've been told that it wont take too long after that before we would have to go pick up the final paper work.

I was under the impression, that if you had the embassy certify your current driver's license as being legitimate and valid, I might not have to write a test and/or do a practical exam. I'll get the driver's licensing process clarified in Aug. It doesn't really matter one way or the other. If I can use my current license for 90 days great. One less thing that needs to be considered a pressing matter.

I've encounter a lot of conflicting information about processes and timelines in the DR over the past year or so. I've all but given up trying to discern fact from fiction myself. I just indicate a need and the lawyers tell me what I need to do to make it happen. So far so good.

 

[rogerjac]

Don't worry about writing a test or driving exam. In this country you just hire a local to do it for you. You just stay home and enjoy a cold one. My brother in law told to do this. I decided I don't need no stinking license.

 

[Cdn_Gringo]

That too is a real solution Roger. I'm confident that I will get everything sorted out, just not today.

 

[Harleysrock]

Yes C Gringo it is crazy the amount of different info you get here! It changes day by day!

Just don't hold your breathe about the residency being done in Sept ;-) We were told 6 months and it was 11, just got it last month. It really is not a big deal to have it anyways, really you just need it to get a DR drivers license.

 

[ccarabella]

Sounds like you have most of your ducks in a row.
Welcome to the Dominican Republic.

 

[gibbs]

Welcome

 

[jjstone]

Good Day cnd gringo, My husband and I (are also canadian) and we are looking into moving to dominican as well, and if all goes as planned we aspire to be there by oct/nov or dec. with a possible quick real estate visit aug/sept.
I've just come accross your recent post and wonder if you could guide me thru your beginning process for permanent dominican residency, I have been trying to find this on cnd govmnt websites with little success! and then all the information I have found through internet searches has been so conflicting..I'm a little lost.. haha
Who have you been dealing with for required paper work and etc. and does this application really need to be completed here first? and what make someone eligible to apply? Are you also working with a lawyer?
I'd so appreciate some insights. Thank you!

 

[Cdn_Gringo]

Sure, ask an easy question!

First off let me just say, that the requirements for residency in the DR change rather frequently. What was the case three months ago, now seems to have changed slightly. More on that later. Just keep in mind these suggestions:

1) You are going to get frustrated.
2) You can do all this yourself, but see #1, it's not worth it. Hire an immigration firm.
3) Everything takes more time than expected.
4) This process takes some money. The more you spend the less of #1 you have to endure (usually).


You can enter the DR for a maximum of 30 days on an automatic tourist visa for $10 at the airport, then you are expected to leave. If you stay you are considered illegal and will be fined when you do try and leave. The longer you are illegal, the higher the fine.

You can apply for residency in the DR if:

-You are married to or are the offspring of a Dominican citizen
-You are going there to go to school or to work as a sponsored employee
-You are retired and have sufficient money to support yourself without working or you invest several hundred thousand dollars in a business or property.

There are no other reasons under which you may apply for residency at this time.

Yes you need to start the process while you are in Canada. More on that after you answer my next question.

Do you meet the requirements for applying for residency? I do not wish to type the next 10,000 words if you don't qualify or aren't serious about proceeding. Keep in mind if this is something you plan to do sometime in the future, the information I can offer today will probably not be correct in a years time.

1) You start the application in Canada.
2) You go to the DR for medical testing and initiate the 2nd phase of the application.
3) You move to the DR and renew your temporary residency permit every year or two for four years.
4) You receive your perm residency and renew every two years (I think) until you apply for citizenship
5) If you do not become a citizen, then you need to keep renewing residency every few years

I'm prepared to offer specifics if warranted.

Rgds.

 

[jjstone]

Thanks so much for your reply, that's very nice of you.

 

[Cdn_Gringo]

Thanks so much for your reply, that's very nice of you.

Does that mean you are requesting instalment #2?

 

[Cdn_Gringo]

Part 2
(Applying for residency from Canada)



In Canada:

You need to gather these documents:

1) Certified long form Birth Certificates (Fee)
2) Certified long form Marriage License (Fee)
3) RCMP criminal background checks w/fingerprints (not from local police force) (Fee)
4) Medical certificates stating that neither of you have any communicable diseases. (Fee)
5) Proof of pension income
6) 3 months bank statements
7) Photocopy of your entire passport
8) Residency visa application form
9) At least two recent passport photos

These you need an immigration lawyer to provide:

10) Letter of guarantee - If you run up debts and flee the country, someone agrees to pay them. (Fee)
11) Proof of solvency by guarantor - Proof your Guarantor has money to cover your debts (Fee)
12) Letter of intent to apply for residency to the minister of immigration. (Fee)

Hopefully you have a Dominican embassy or consulate close to where you live in Canada; you are going to see them at least or twice.

Gather documents 1 - 5. Get them notarized (shop around for a cheap notary public). Get them authenticated and stamped by Foreign Affairs Canada (Free). Take them to the DR embassy and get the embassy staff to stamp them as well (@$100 USD per stamp).

Retain an immigration firm in the DR to handle all this paperwork for you (recommendation available upon request). All of your documents will need to be translated into Spanish (fee), numerous copies created, forms submitted to the DR Govt. etc. You can't do this from Canada and doing it in person in the DR for someone who is not fluent in Spanish and doesn't know their way around Santo Domingo or the Dominican Civil Service is not for the faint of heart. Your lawyer will have you send all of the documents to them (1lb via FedEx is $85). The lawyers will process your initial residency visa request and then forward the results to the DR Embassy in Canada. You then take your original passport to the DR embassy and you will receive a temporary residency visa valid for 60 days.

Step 2 in the DR:

Within 60 days, get yourselves to Santa Domingo for your medical tests and whatever else your lawyer needs you to do (probably pay them more money at this point). You must enter the country using the residency visa in your passport. Do not enter as a tourist using a tourist card/visa. Your lawyer should then be able to proceed with the second step of the residency process. You will be released to enjoy the rest of your week getting drunk and doing touristy type things.

Come home and prepare to move to the DR within a year (before the requirements/terms change again).

When you retain an immigration lawyer, they will confirm all of this or advise you of anything that has changed. The biggest investment for you to get to this point is time and money. You can expect to spend $4500.00 CDN to get to the 2nd stage of the application process. This sum does not include airfare to the DR or your hotel stay while there. It does however, include the single largest line item that being the lawyers fees to date. At the beginning of the 2nd stage you will probably need to pay the 2nd instalment of the lawyer's fees if you didn't pay them all up front and I do not recommend you do that. The promise of more money to come is a good inducement for the lawyers to keep the process moving forward quickly and keeps them responsive to your questions and needs.

Time: It takes about three weeks to get a new birth certificate. About three weeks to get a copy of your marriage license, it takes about a month to get the RCMP check results and it can take a few weeks to get a appointment with your doctor and medical test results. It is best if you have the time to get all of these document processes going concurrently. If you tackle them one at a time one after the other, it will take eons. While waiting for your documents try and narrow down what part of the country you would like to settle in. I recommend renting accommodation for a year or so while you figure out where permanent home will be.

I'd recommend not picking up your passport visa (60 day) and heading to the DR to start stage the 2nd stage until you have a firm move date in mind. While you are in the DR peeing in a cup you may as well find rental accommodation for when you move in a month or two. Not much sense having to come back to do that before the big move.

The rest is easy. Get rid of all your CDN stuff, pack a bathing suit and your favorite mojito glass and move to your new digs in the land rum & sun.

 

[KATIEJAY]

Hi everybody. I am a Canadian from Ontario. I retired a couple of years ago. My wife retires this summer. She has always wanted to flee the frozen north for somewhere warm and pleasant. Now my dear wife is dragging me kicking and screaming to the north coast of the DR.

I know I am not going to like the sunshine and ocean breezes. I can't stand the thought of cheaper beer, palm leaves all over the place, year round gardening and fruit trees in my yard. I won't enjoy having to look up to ensure I don't get wacked on the head by a falling coconut and the lack of North American fast food restaurants. I am going to miss shoveling snow and dealing with uptight people scurrying from one shipping adventure to the next at the likes of Walmart, Target and Zellers. This is going to be horrible!

We have considered and researched retiring in Panama, Belize and the DR over the past five years. While we travel to the DR 3 or 4 times a year I personally did not really want to relocate to an island. Up until about a year ago, we were pretty sure that we would be heading to Belize. The cost of living, English speaking country and all that. Well, the political situation in Belize seems to be on downswing and violent crime on the upswing. Panama is just too far and too hot. So the DR it is.

We are coming down in August to find a place to live and expect to move in Sept. or early Oct. We have the immigration situation under control. We have a general idea of where we want to locate to, at least initially and have a real estate agent on the hunt.

Years ago all this didn't seem so real and there was no reason to panic. Now each tick of the clock actually brings home the reality of it all. Not many days left before all that is familiar and comfortable is tossed to the winds. I've moved many times in my life thus far. The actual move is not that big of a deal. Standing in my driveway and wondering where the grocery store is or where my favorite cantina can be found will be rather disconcerting.

Oh well, it's nothing that copious amounts of alcohol and new friends won't cure.

Cheers![/QUOTe
Welcome to DR1..Canadians here as well! Travelled here twice a year over the past 14 years..Did a 3month trip last winter in a rental house( great advice btw!! rent first)..went back to NS and sold most of our "stuff"..returned end of August! Lucky for us same rental was available..QUIET secure, gated community..Sleep is important in my retirement!! Choose wisely ..enjoy your new life..message if you have any questions

 

[KATIEJAY]

We are Canadians also..awaiting word on our Residency/Cedula Application (Sept 5th) ..things are paced differently here..Hire a good lawyer the first time..Ours is great(pm if you want her name and #) came highly recommended and rightly so!! Our friends have Cedulas /Residency already..process changed last year. Lots to do in Canada first..timing is everything!! We hadour passport stamped in Canada at DR Embassy for a 60 day visit and are hoping our Cedula comes before our scheduled trip to Canada..if not ..small fine to pay.. Embassy website in Canada or call..Maria was great..have her # if you would like..good luck!!

 

[Harleysrock]

Just something to add, no need to actually go to a DR Embassy or Consulate in Canada. We lived in the West Coast and there are no Embassy's near us. It is easy to deal with them through phone calls or emails.

Also we paid no where near $4500 Cdn, that is crazy expensive!! Maybe $1600 each for the whole thing including documents needed but I am thinking less than that.
You should pay around $1000 each for the lawyer in the DR to do the year provisional residency, any more is a major rip off!
I personally don't think you need to hire a lawyer in Canada to deal with this as it is pretty easy.

If you have a contagious disease like HIV or Hep C and/or have a criminal back ground don't bother applying!

 

[Cdn_Gringo]

Just something to add, no need to actually go to a DR Embassy or Consulate in Canada.

True. You don't actually have to physically walk in to the Embassy but you do need to send your passports in to get stamped and send them money. Much easier and faster if there is a consulate close by.

Also we paid no where near $4500 Cdn, that is crazy expensive!!

That may well have been your experience. The cost of having documents stamped by the DR Embassy was $800 and cost the of amassing all of those certified documents and record checks exceeded $800. That's $1600 right there and none of those costs are not discretionary.

We also did not have anyone to offer guarantor letters and had to pay for that service. You certainly do not need a lawyer in Canada but a first time application certainly needs one in the DR.

I'm not here to argue. I presented my information as I experienced it recently. I also have a little bit of money, so I have no desire nor inclination to inconvenience myself to save $500. I don't mind telling you that our immigration firm charged just slightly over $2500 each and that cost as I said above includes all paperwork, permits and fees, a real estate agent to do onsite research to aid us in finding a house, a driver to meet us at our hotel and drive us around for the day when we are in Santo Domingo as well as a representative of the firm to accompany us to translate and offer whatever additional serve/support that we might require. I only have a final payment to the lawyer for the remaining 1/3 when I come down in Aug. Other than that, I'm done paying. I just have to show up. No fuss, no muss no stress.

For me, I am not at all ashamed to admit that I feel we got value for our money. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Cdn_Gringo]

Before this thread turns into a have/have not free-for-all let me just say:

Yes there is undoubtedly a "super cheap do it all yourself", a "moderately cheap do most of it yourself" and obviously a "more expensive do nothing for yourself" way to apply for residency. I cannot comment on the first two options as I did not pursue either of those.

I offered the costs associated with the method I chose. By not listing each line item it is possible and not unreasonable to assume that some may misconstrue what is a required cost and a discretionary cost. I assumed that anyone from Canada going through the process today would quickly learn that the application fee for the for the 60 day visa is now $350 USD. Anyone who orders a certified birth certificate from BC would learn that it costs $50 CDN and from Ontario $35 CDN etc. You can probably find a lawyer operating out of a Barrio that wants $500. I found a firm in a glass tower that offered me a level of service I was comfortable with for a price I could live with. Not everyone thinks like I do, I realize that so don't flame me.

I figured a total cost would be more informative than a detailed breakdown. For those who who can't walk into an embassy in Canada, then you'll have postage fees that I didn't have to deal with. I drove to Foreign Affairs and got my documents stamped, others may have to send them registered mail. Registered, because if you lose them, you're back to square one. Yes you can throw a $1 stamp on the envelope and would probably make out just fine, to each there own.

Yes you can do it cheaper. If someone ends up spending more than I did, please let me know so I can remove this "pompous a$$" sign that is hanging round my neck.

 

[Harleysrock]

I was just letting people know that was not my experience in cost and there is a cheaper way to do things. If you are happy with your service and cost that is great!

 

[Cdn_Gringo]

Harleysrock,

No issues. Remind me to offer you a cerveza when our paths cross.

 

[KATIEJAY]

Just something to add, no need to actually go to a DR Embassy or Consulate in Canada. We lived in the West Coast and there are no Embassy's near us. It is easy to deal with them through phone calls or emails.

Also we paid no where near $4500 Cdn, that is crazy expensive!! Maybe $1600 each for the whole thing including documents needed but I am thinking less than that.
You should pay around $1000 each for the lawyer in the DR to do the year provisional residency, any more is a major rip off!
I personally don't think you need to hire a lawyer in Canada to deal with this as it is pretty easy.

If you have a contagious disease like HIV or Hep C and/or have a criminal back ground don't bother applying!

yes..true Harley. We did ours from NS VIA Canada Post Express Post..Right about lawyers fee!! Ours around $1000 each..have been quoted almost double. Long form birth and marriage while you wait if you have a vital stats office in your city..we (unfortunately) were told local police check(Translated and stamped at Dominican Embassy also) was ok.that is being dealt with from this end
The cost of Notary/translation and Embassy stamp was $140 US(Yes we live in Canada) for each document..all this was done at DR Embassy.. Our lawyer provided our guarantor via fax ..you have to have a guarantor from and living here. Passport was stamped..we arrived couple weeks later.Off to the lovely capital..Metro is best!! Our lawyer met us there and hand-held our way through..Driving in SD not for the faint of heart!! then you wait..and wait..and wait some more. Hmmm, just coming up on 8 months. The immigration situation with Haiti has definitely impacted the process. A good lawyer helps immensely..Ours speaks great English..married to a Canadian and knows her way around things!! pm for name#..

 

[jjstone]

Does that mean you are requesting instalment #2?

Number 4 for sure! I've noticed you've posted a part 2 here somewhere, I'll go to that and have a read. Enjoy your morning Thanks again Cdn_Gringo, I appreciate it..