Dominican Citizenship

NALs

NALs

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Jan 20, 2003
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Kricke87 said:
Okay very interesting. I went to the office in Puerto Plata about a year ago and asked and they said that I could do that there. I also became s citizen in June 2019 but because there were a bunch of problems after that because jce screwed up when making by birth certificate that I didn't got it until December 2019 and then I had my family visiting from Europe during Christmas and then Covid happened so I just didn't bother getting the passport. But last year when I was thinking about going back to Europe and according to my lawyer who had helped me with the citizenship I needed that to leave the country without paying I decided to look into fixing the passport. So I contact passport in Puerto Plata and they told me that I could apply over there. So very interesting. Anyway I never applied for it as I figured it was just strange that I would need a passport to confirm that I'm Dominican although having a cédula. So I never got the passport, and it was not true, no need to have the passport to leave. So I wonder what's the point of getting one? My European one works just great, so I don't feel I need one,.especially if it's so complicated.
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Two things out of many:

1) You need a Dominican passport to pass through Auto Gate. Arriving at Las Américas or at Cibao along with other flights at the same time, Auto Gate is a blessing as most people have to stand in the long line for immigrqtion. There is no way around that. Maybe some people like to be in airports for much longer than they should, others like to be in them for the least time possible.

2) When it's done, its done! This I learn a long time ago as a university student. I took one course on a May semester in which they compress a course that would take a normal semester spanning months to simply three weeks including Saturdays, with exams everyday. Yes, very intense, but once it was done, it was done! Anything that appears complicated isn't impossible and many times what seems complicated from the outside looking in, once inside that it's obvious it isn't complicated at all.
 
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Neargale

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The current requirement is to have the 1st passport after nationalization done in SD. Afterwards any passport office can do renewals. Believe me I tried to get the passport office in PP to do it!! LOL nope!
 
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bob saunders

bob saunders

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Neargale said:
The current requirement is to have the 1st passport after nationalization done in SD. Afterwards any passport office can do renewals. Believe me I tried to get the passport office in PP to do it!! LOL nope!
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This correct. I was told this as well.
 
JDFriend

JDFriend

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Gunzergreat63 said:
I obtained residency in the DR in January 2013 despite living and working in the U.S.
I have had permanent residency since 2019.
In January of 2023 I will retire and move to the DR to live full time.
I want to apply for Dominican Citizenship in January.
I speak, read and write Spanish with native fluency.
Can I apply for the citizenship on my own or do I need a lawyer? I understand that I will need an background check from the FBI with apostille as well as a certified copy of my birth certificate, also with an apostille.
I used a lawyer for my residency and renewals because since I didn’t live there full time yet it seemed easier to let a lawyer handle it.

Is it easy to get the Dominican Citizenship on your own or is a lawyer the advisable way to go?
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I agree that a lawyer is recommended for naturalización. They know the requirements and will take you every step of the way and answer your questions. You'll know what to expect.
I did not get the Dominican passport. When I leave at AILA I use my canadian passport and my cedula. Yes I have to wait in line and go to a second desk to register as a citizen.
 
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SKY

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Neargale said:
The current requirement is to have the 1st passport after nationalization done in SD. Afterwards any passport office can do renewals. Believe me I tried to get the passport office in PP to do it!! LOL nope!
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Used to be true. I just went to renew for my fourth passport in Higuey. New law have to go to SD. I went with a lawyer that does Migracion. Was running around almost the whole day to different places and still was not done. A nightmare.
 
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Neargale

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SKY said:
Used to be true. I just went to renew for my fourth passport in Higuey. New law have to go to SD. I went with a lawyer that does Migracion. Was running around almost the whole day to different places and still was not done. A nightmare.
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I guess we will never be considered a real citizen and treated like one!
 
drstock

drstock

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SKY said:
Used to be true. I just went to renew for my fourth passport in Higuey. New law have to go to SD. I went with a lawyer that does Migracion. Was running around almost the whole day to different places and still was not done. A nightmare.
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Wow! It sounds better to stick with Residency if you have to still keep jumping through hoops just to renew a passport.
 
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SKY

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drstock said:
Wow! It sounds better to stick with Residency if you have to still keep jumping through hoops just to renew a passport.
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Well I have been a Citizen here since 2004. Renewed my passport every 6 years outside of the Capital with no problems until this year. I travel a lot in and out of mostly PUJ. Coming into PUJ I go the Citizen line where there is nobody. Out of customs in 5 minutes. And you really do not need a DR passport there. Cedula and whatever other passport is good. And leaving same deal.

I would still recommend Citizenship over Residency for sure.
 
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windeguy

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JDFriend said:
I agree that a lawyer is recommended for naturalización. They know the requirements and will take you every step of the way and answer your questions. You'll know what to expect.
I did not get the Dominican passport. When I leave at AILA I use my canadian passport and my cedula. Yes I have to wait in line and go to a second desk to register as a citizen.
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When I was naturalized fairly recently, I was told they preferred people not to use a lawyer. They were very helpful in the office with any questions I had. Since you have to understand Spanish to pass the civics test I SEE NO REASON TO USE A LAWYER IF YOU CAN FOLLOW THE REQUIREMENTS, which are long but none of them are complicated. The most difficult thing was getting all the documents I needed from the USA. Not even a US lawyer let alone a DR one could have done that hardest part for me. The stuff here was easy in comparison.
 
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Kricke87

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windeguy said:
When I was naturalized fairly recently, I was told they preferred people not to use a lawyer. They were very helpful in the office with any questions I had. Since you have to understand Spanish to pass the civics test I SEE NO REASON TO USE A LAWYER IF YOU CAN FOLLOW THE REQUIREMENTS, which are long but none of them are complicated. The most difficult thing was getting all the documents I needed from the USA. Not even a US lawyer let alone a DR one could have done that hardest part for me. The stuff here was easy in comparison.
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Personally I used a lawyer because although the requirements are not complicated, however getting all the papers and permits and stuff is both time consuming and can be quite frustrating. Also from what my lawyer told me when I did it 3 years ago, every time they changed a minister the rules and procedures were changed. So even though you might have been on top of the requirements and procedures 6 months before, then current process might have changed. And being that I live on the North coast, I would really not have enjoyed to have had to go to the capital a dozen of times. So instead I did let my lawyer "friend" that lives in the capital do that for me, and I could calmly just arrive when I had to be present. And I don't regret it at all 😁
 
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windeguy

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Kricke87 said:
Personally I used a lawyer because although the requirements are not complicated, however getting all the papers and permits and stuff is both time consuming and can be quite frustrating. Also from what my lawyer told me when I did it 3 years ago, every time they changed a minister the rules and procedures were changed. So even though you might have been on top of the requirements and procedures 6 months before, then current process might have changed. And being that I live on the North coast, I would really not have enjoyed to have had to go to the capital a dozen of times. So instead I did let my lawyer "friend" that lives in the capital do that for me, and I could calmly just arrive when I had to be present. And I don't regret it at all 😁
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True that there are many details that must be done in the DR. I had almost as many that needed to be done in my home country and a DR lawyer would not have been useful for those. While I hate Santo Domingo, my wife has relatives there so we would visit them on the trips that were needed to get a few documents that could only be gotten in Santo Domingo. I personally deal with lawyers as little as possible. I saw no changes from that Lindsay passed to me from the time she did it and my process was quite recent compared to hers. I postulate the lawyer may have exaggerated the changes of requirements.

How much did you pay the lawyer?
 
bob saunders

bob saunders

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I used a Notary for several of the requirements but other than that I did everything else myself. I think I only had to make two trips to the capital and the hardest thing for me was getting my fingerprints done for the police report from Canada. There is a good translator in Santo Domingo and she is also very knowledgeable about the requirements and which ministry to go to....etc. I had a student in grade five, one of our teachers daughters as my study partner for the questions, which was a big help for me. All in all, the process seemed very slow, but in reality was relatively easy.
 
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windeguy

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bob saunders said:
I used a Notary for several of the requirements but other than that I did everything else myself. I think I only had to make two trips to the capital and the hardest thing for me was getting my fingerprints done for the police report from Canada. There is a good translator in Santo Domingo and she is also very knowledgeable about the requirements and which ministry to go to....etc. I had a student in grade five, one of our teachers daughters as my study partner for the questions, which was a big help for me. All in all, the process seemed very slow, but in reality was relatively easy.
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True there are requirements locally to use a Notary. Also my only use of a lawyer along with legal translations.

I only recall a couple of trips as well to Santo Domingo: For the copy of the Migracion entries, and exits, some legalizations, and doing the posting in a local paper that I was to become a citizen which needed a receipt from Santo Domingo and not Puerto Plata's office of the newspaper.

I got my fingerprints taken at an Police station in Rochester, NY for my FBI background check. That was quite the experience in and of itself. Trying to do just that here would have cost as much as my flight to the US and back.
 
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nml57

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Feb 22, 2005
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can anyone please give an approximate cost of getting citizenship with an or without lawyer
and passport also
 
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Seamonkey

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bob saunders said:
I used a Notary for several of the requirements but other than that I did everything else myself. I think I only had to make two trips to the capital and the hardest thing for me was getting my fingerprints done for the police report from Canada. There is a good translator in Santo Domingo and she is also very knowledgeable about the requirements and which ministry to go to....etc. I had a student in grade five, one of our teachers daughters as my study partner for the questions, which was a big help for me. All in all, the process seemed very slow, but in reality was relatively easy.
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Bob, did you not have to go back to Canada to get your birth certificate and RCMP criminal check certified prior to applying for you DR citizenship?
 
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