Immigration: Upon further review--good and bad news

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
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Upon further review this is the latest out of Migraci?n:

The Migraci?n people are planing on having people renew their Temporary Residency Cards as many as four times before issuing their Permanent Resident Card--the Blue one.

This so-called holiday, which expires on 5 August, is for those that have their Temporary Resident Cards, and this is where I was misinformed (as was she), not for those with over-stayed Tourist Visas. That is a thing of the past. Or so it seems.

There are other issues involved and she is digging into things at the Foreign Office also.

So, those that have their Temporary Resident Card (Yellow) can apply for the direct emission of their Permanent Resident Card from now until 5 August and avoid going through the Temporary Residence Visa process every year for the next three or four.

Again, since each case is different and there are different circumstances, including marriage, property, income and so forth, each case needs to be looked at calmly over these next five weeks or so...

After this, all persons seeking to reside in the DR will need to do the same process, but through a Dominican consulate--which seems to me to be a serious error in judgment, since it obviously requires leaving the country.

At this stage, it seems that there are more questions than answers. I do hope they provide for those that overstayed tourist visas to initiate residence procedures...you never know.


Cordially,

HB
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
40,964
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There are still many issues to be cleaned up and seems the line is very unclear.

The info I have is folks who have overstayed their tourist visas and are in effect residents are up sh!t creek. Word is, as HB outlined, there is no amnesty and you will be required to go back "home" and apply for a resident visa and wait for it to be issued before returning. There IS NO applying for residency with in the DR on a tourist visa, current or expired.

Unless, as usual, you can find a sympathetic palm to grease. My speculation. Who knows?

In fact we were told the law was written in October and implemented in March. Did anyone here know of this? Pichardo? NALs?
 

Luperon

Who empowered China's crime against humanity?
Jun 28, 2004
4,510
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Is there and existing or can there be an advocacy group for expats by expats to speak as a group with some political clout? A PAC of some sort?

I would contribute some $$
 

PICHARDO

One Dominican at a time, please!
May 15, 2003
13,280
893
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Santiago de Los 30 Caballeros
There are still many issues to be cleaned up and seems the line is very unclear.

The info I have is folks who have overstayed their tourist visas and are in effect residents are up sh!t creek. Word is, as HB outlined, there is no amnesty and you will be required to go back "home" and apply for a resident visa and wait for it to be issued before returning. There IS NO applying for residency with in the DR on a tourist visa, current or expired.

Unless, as usual, you can find a sympathetic palm to grease. My speculation. Who knows?

In fact we were told the law was written in October and implemented in March. Did anyone here know of this? Pichardo? NALs?


The real final regulation is sitting in a borrador "draft" document still a work in progress. What took place was that certain gov sectors asked for "tools" to address in a legal way some of the problems they were facing on a more frequent basis. As a result some parts of the draft were "rushed" to enactment and therefore enforcement before there was a mechanism in place to marry words to practical action.

It was the general consent that the preliminary "tools" of the still in debate regulation draft, were going to have to wait until all parts had a draft of the "basics" of enforcement/application policy of the said tools figured out and approved. That was to be as of July 1st at earliest to have the said draft/application approved and actual enforcement by the 1st of August. What caused the speed up in that time frame? Maybe the fact that a case was to be vented in Costa Rica, which needed to have some existing regulation enforced in place prior to deliberation. My guess!

Like I said before, this is not the final immigration policy of the DR, but a set of tools included in the overall draft awaiting in congressional debate still in progress.
 
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PICHARDO

One Dominican at a time, please!
May 15, 2003
13,280
893
113
Santiago de Los 30 Caballeros
Is there and existing or can there be an advocacy group for expats by expats to speak as a group with some political clout? A PAC of some sort?

I would contribute some $$


So far only Haitians have some.

Would you like to contribute to initiate one for this?

Let me say that the forum of DR1 is one of them! Just not "officially"!
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
40,964
936
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The real final regulation is sitting in a borrador "draft" document still a work in progress. What took place was that certain gov sectors asked for "tools" to address in a legal way some of the problems they were facing on a more frequent basis. As a result some parts of the draft were "rushed" to enactment and therefore enforcement before there was a mechanism in place to marry words to practical action.

It was the general consent that the preliminary "tools" of the still in debate regulation draft, were going to have to wait until all parts had the "basics" of enforcement/application policy draft of the said tools figured out and approved. That was to be as of July 1st at earliest to have the said draft/application approved and actual enforcement by the 1st of August. What caused the speed up in that time frame? Maybe the fact that a case was to be vented in Costa Rica, which needed to have some existing regulation enforced in place prior to deliberation. My guess!

Like I said before, this is not the final immigration policy of the DR, but a set of tools included in the overall draft awaiting in congressional debate still in progress.
So what?

Looks like those overstaying their tourist visa are screwed retroactively. The WILL have to go home and apply at the Dominican Consulate for a Residency Visa first.

This will have a substantial negative effect on many.

No amnesty for the "overstayers" is baloney. But we know how much baloney is generated in Santo Domingo by politicians.
 

potatohead

New member
May 10, 2012
113
0
0
You have described a bit how the new laws will effect the expats but how about us tourists just passing thru? Will my 4-5 month stay be a problem? Sounds like I will pay the over stay fine when I leave and have to return home. Dat's ok, I was going home anyway..........de veras?
 

Expat13

Silver
Jun 7, 2008
3,255
50
48
Upon further review this is the latest out of Migraci?n:

The Migraci?n people are planing on having people renew their Temporary Residency Cards as many as four times before issuing their Permanent Resident Card--the Blue one.

This so-called holiday, which expires on 5 August, is for those that have their Temporary Resident Cards, and this is where I was misinformed (as was she), not for those with over-stayed Tourist Visas. That is a thing of the past. Or so it seems.

There are other issues involved and she is digging into things at the Foreign Office also.

So, those that have their Temporary Resident Card (Yellow) can apply for the direct emission of their Permanent Resident Card from now until 5 August and avoid going through the Temporary Residence Visa process every year for the next three or four.
Again, since each case is different and there are different circumstances, including marriage, property, income and so forth, each case needs to be looked at calmly over these next five weeks or so...

After this, all persons seeking to reside in the DR will need to do the same process, but through a Dominican consulate--which seems to me to be a serious error in judgment, since it obviously requires leaving the country.

At this stage, it seems that there are more questions than answers. I do hope they provide for those that overstayed tourist visas to initiate residence procedures...you never know.


Cordially,

HB

Good info, thanks HB.
My temporary residency expires next March 2013 so is fairly new, therefore I would think I am unable to apply for the "permanent" until I fulfill this coming year, correct? and if this is the case, only "temp res" persons that can take part in the Aug. 5 are only the ones coming due in Aug, or can i go apply for permanent now(9 mths early) to avoid the multiple needed temporary residencies?
 

PICHARDO

One Dominican at a time, please!
May 15, 2003
13,280
893
113
Santiago de Los 30 Caballeros
So what?

Looks like those overstaying their tourist visa are screwed retroactively. The WILL have to go home and apply at the Dominican Consulate for a Residency Visa first.

This will have a substantial negative effect on many.

No amnesty for the "overstayers" is baloney. But we know how much baloney is generated in Santo Domingo by politicians.


El que no grita, no mama! It's as simple as that!
 

PICHARDO

One Dominican at a time, please!
May 15, 2003
13,280
893
113
Santiago de Los 30 Caballeros
You have described a bit how the new laws will effect the expats but how about us tourists just passing thru? Will my 4-5 month stay be a problem? Sounds like I will pay the over stay fine when I leave and have to return home. Dat's ok, I was going home anyway..........de veras?


A 4-5 month stay is not a tourist just passing through... Case in point of the new regulation!
 

PICHARDO

One Dominican at a time, please!
May 15, 2003
13,280
893
113
Santiago de Los 30 Caballeros
Good info, thanks HB.
My temporary residency expires next March 2013 so is fairly new, therefore I would think I am unable to apply for the "permanent" until I fulfill this coming year, correct? and if this is the case, only "temp res" persons that can take part in the Aug. 5 are only the ones coming due in Aug, or can i go apply for permanent now(9 mths early) to avoid the multiple needed temporary residencies?


A lawyer can provide you with the best answer to your particular case!
 

caribmike

Gold
Jul 9, 2009
6,808
202
63
I have been told it is 17,000 RD$ overstay fee for the first 5 years now, on top of that 500 RD$ for every month after these 5 years. I was told by the same lawyer it will be obligatory to apply for Visa from your country of origin, NO exemptions made. Questions regarding that amnesty thingy were ignored and not answered... Why, I dunno...

That is, until I saw HB new posts which gives me hope there might come up some solutions hopefully.
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
40,964
936
113
I was told by the same lawyer it will be obligatory to apply for Visa from your country of origin, NO exemptions made. Questions regarding that amnesty thingy were ignored and not answered... Why, I dunno...
Because there IS NO AMNESTY! That's why.
 

CFA123

Silver
May 29, 2004
3,512
413
83
I read somewhere a few months ago that overstaying a tourist visa was grounds for 'deportation' and that one will need special permission from the migration department to re-enter at a future date. Googling today, this is what I found about it.
The below from this source

" if you over stay your tourist card period, you will need a re-entry authorization to come back. (See Presidential Decree 631-11) articles 120-140.

I?ve received a lot of emails concerning the above paragrapgh.It?s in article 15 and 121 of Dominian Immigration Law (law 285). From reading those articles you will see: a) Staying longer than what your Tourist Card allows makes you an object of deportation. The law explains that when you are ?deportable?, you need a re-entry authorization to come back. This part of the law hasn?t been put into practice yet, but it will, though I believe it will be similar to the tourist card you buy at the airport. ?Special Permit? seems to terrify some people, but the exact words the law uses is ?Re-entry Authorization? , words I hope sound less scary. Dominican Republic remains open to everyone that wants to come here. The only difference is that now, if you come in as a tourist, you can not legalize yourself if you decide to stay. We are working to change this, so please pay attention to newspapers over the next couple of weeks, at the end, this might have been a big fuss for nothing. "