As many of you know, I have been living in the Dominican Republic on nothing
more than a tourist card since April 2012 . I was told when standing in line
at the JCE Office on San Isidro, SD that I needed to be in the country prior
to October of 2011 in order to qualify for the Regularization Plan. So, I never
bothered going back to get "regularized"
and decided I'll just deal with it when the time comes.
As it turns out, I had family emergency so I needed to catch a flight back to
Florida as soon as possible this week.
I booked a last minute ticket and Thursday morning June 9th I caught the bus
from downtown Santo Domingo to the airport. When I arrived at the airport, they (airport employees)
were in such a hurry to rush me through customs they forgot to charge me my
exit fee/ over stay fine. I have never paid an overstay fine so I was not sure when and where I
was supposed to pay the damn fee (no es me culpa) before boarding my plane.
Long story short, after clearing customs an immigration supervisor along with a
security officer walked over to me as I was sitting in the terminal and asked to see
my (exit stamp) passport. Then she (immigration supervisor) instructed me to walk
with them back to the passport control area. The supervisor asked me some questions
then she asked why I hadn't bothered to pay my 4 year, 2 month 20,000 pesos over stay fine?
I simply replied, "because nobody asked me too :cheeky:" The supervisor shook her
head and said to me "you've been here to long and your starting to act like a Dominican."
She then pointed to the counter on the opposite side of the control area and said "go pay
your fine or they won't let you re-enter when you decide to come back." Which I did. Then
I showed the receipt to her and few curious onlookers, walked back down to my gate and
hopped on a plane back to the good ol' USA.
So whats the point of me telling this story?
A lot of members who post on this forum are in a similar situation as mine. They entered
the country after October 2011 and did not bother to get "regularized". There has been a
tremendous amount of speculation about what may or may not happen to these people if/
when the try to leave the country at a later date?
Well... Let me be the first to tell you.. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING is going to happen when
you decide to leave so long as you have the ca$h in hand to pay your exit (overstay) fee
when you pass through the Customs and Immigration Area at the airport before boarding
your flight.
CCCCCCCCCC was 100% correct again.
Safe travels.
more than a tourist card since April 2012 . I was told when standing in line
at the JCE Office on San Isidro, SD that I needed to be in the country prior
to October of 2011 in order to qualify for the Regularization Plan. So, I never
bothered going back to get "regularized"
and decided I'll just deal with it when the time comes.
As it turns out, I had family emergency so I needed to catch a flight back to
Florida as soon as possible this week.
I booked a last minute ticket and Thursday morning June 9th I caught the bus
from downtown Santo Domingo to the airport. When I arrived at the airport, they (airport employees)
were in such a hurry to rush me through customs they forgot to charge me my
exit fee/ over stay fine. I have never paid an overstay fine so I was not sure when and where I
was supposed to pay the damn fee (no es me culpa) before boarding my plane.
Long story short, after clearing customs an immigration supervisor along with a
security officer walked over to me as I was sitting in the terminal and asked to see
my (exit stamp) passport. Then she (immigration supervisor) instructed me to walk
with them back to the passport control area. The supervisor asked me some questions
then she asked why I hadn't bothered to pay my 4 year, 2 month 20,000 pesos over stay fine?
I simply replied, "because nobody asked me too :cheeky:" The supervisor shook her
head and said to me "you've been here to long and your starting to act like a Dominican."
She then pointed to the counter on the opposite side of the control area and said "go pay
your fine or they won't let you re-enter when you decide to come back." Which I did. Then
I showed the receipt to her and few curious onlookers, walked back down to my gate and
hopped on a plane back to the good ol' USA.
So whats the point of me telling this story?
A lot of members who post on this forum are in a similar situation as mine. They entered
the country after October 2011 and did not bother to get "regularized". There has been a
tremendous amount of speculation about what may or may not happen to these people if/
when the try to leave the country at a later date?
Well... Let me be the first to tell you.. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING is going to happen when
you decide to leave so long as you have the ca$h in hand to pay your exit (overstay) fee
when you pass through the Customs and Immigration Area at the airport before boarding
your flight.
CCCCCCCCCC was 100% correct again.
Safe travels.
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