Question about US Born Citizen Travelling to DR

I take it you have dual nationality then, us and dr? If this is the case then your wife is entitled to permanent residencia straight off without the provisional (she still needs to do the first step provisional from the US, but as soon as you are in the country you will apply for the permanent rather than the longer provisional), then citizenship if she wants, I think this now is same for male and female, eventually. The kids don't get this right through decent if they are not yours, but once she has her permanent residency then they will through her.


It is a bit of a headache but the best way I can think of around the rules and regs, there is no fast way that I know of. And infact it might turn up someone else has a better solution.

As long as you have a Dominican passport or residency card, no return ticket is needed. Everything else requires a return ticket according to the latest consensus.

Chip said:

As long as you have a Dominican passport or residency card, no return ticket is needed. Everything else requires a return ticket according to the latest consensus.

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Dominican born with foreign passports don't need a return ticket either. I don't need a return ticket to go to the DR even though I travel with an American Passport. Because the foreign passport has the place of birth as "Dominican Republic". I don't know need a Dominican Passport or Cedula.

You should go to the Dominican consulate and request the Dominican legal documents of your 2 kids. You will have to prove that you are their father (your birth certificate and theirs is required, all in Spanish), which in itself will be proof that they are Dominican nationals as per the constitution. Once that is settled, their c?dula and passport is automatically issued.

Your wife, however, will have to go through the naturalization process (or the legal resident process), unless she is a foreign born Dominican, in which case naturalization is not necessary since foreign born Dominicans are Dominican nationals. In such case, she will have to do the same thing as the kids, but proof has to be with one of her Dominican parents. If she is not a foreign born Dominican, then she faces the tedious process of becoming a Dominican and then, requesting her Dominican legal documents.

Aside from all the benefits this will give your family once in the DR, it will also annul the requirement for a return ticket on international flights to the DR or to the US (since they will be able to use their USA passport to enter the US and their Dominican passport to enter the DR or they could just show the US passport in the US and also show the US passport in the DR and insert the c?dula in the booklet, so the Dominican immigration officer will know they are Dominicans and will be treated as such -no need to buy tourist cards, no need to show proof of a return ticket, etc).

You should search the forums for the procedures to accomplish this, since it has been posted multiple times.

lisagauss said:

My wife, and 2 children are all US born citizens; I am a Dominican born US Citizen.

1) Do they need return tickets if traveling to DR from USA? YES

2) If so, what would be the cheapest/smartest way of abiding by this law if we will be traveling to DR with no intentions of returning to the USA in the near future? Easy, buy Fully Refundable return tickets on your credit card and cancel them upon arrival-- funds are returned to your card.

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P.S. Be advised, there are new, potential, immigration rules in the works which aim to adversely address overstays...

I was under the impression these two kids are not yours?

lisagauss said:

@NALs- How long does that process take? Does one just walk into the consulate or is it best to hire someone? Cheers.

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You should have their Dominican passport within 30 days after soliciting them. There's no need to hire help. Its simple and you and your kids must be present at the consulate so they can legalize their birth certificates and take their finger prints (if they are under 10 years old, your finger prints will be taken in lieu of theirs).

Expedici?n de pasaporte por primera vez – menores de edad

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