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JusMe

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Aug 26, 2018
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G'day,

I'm a Canadian resident who's spent many many years in Thailand, but that destination is now soooo far away, that I'm trying the Dominican Republic as a warm alternative for the winters.

I'm sure I'll have a good number of questions, but first, I'm planning on staying in Puerto Plata for four months over this winter. Nothing special to do, (I'm a single fat ol' man) but hang out, drink some good stuff, eat some good food, maybe hear some good music.

First question: anyone know of real problems of staying four months? I can enter without a visa, but I read that only gives me 30 days. What then?

Another: I'll use an ATM to get pesos from my Canadian bank account. What are the limits for each bank, and charges for withdrawals?

(I can answer those questions for Thailand, but not my upcoming winter sojourn.)
 
melphis

melphis

Living my Dream
Apr 18, 2013
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When you leave after your 4 month stay you will have to pay a penalty. It's been covered to death here so do a bit of research and you will find a chart that gives the amount of $ for the length of overstay. It's not much.
As far as how much you can withdraw daily that's pretty much up to what you set your limit at with your bank. Mine gives me the equivalent of $500 CDN per day in most countries.
Good luck and enjoy your time here.
 
J

JusMe

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Aug 26, 2018
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melphis said:
When you leave after your 4 month stay you will have to pay a penalty. It's been covered to death here so do a bit of research and you will find a chart that gives the amount of $ for the length of overstay. It's not much.
As far as how much you can withdraw daily that's pretty much up to what you set your limit at with your bank. Mine gives me the equivalent of $500 CDN per day in most countries.
Good luck and enjoy your time here.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I did a bit of search and got so many links to postings that didn't have the info I wanted.

Good to hear that one can withdraw a good amount of cash at one go without having to front up for many with charges for each one. Same for all the banks or is one more desirable than others for their ATM?
 
AlterEgo

AlterEgo

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Jan 9, 2009
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You will find that different machines have different maximum payouts. They don’t care what your bank allows. Ours permits 1500 USD daily, I don’t think a machine exists that will spit that out in pesos.

Even machines from same bank, but in different locations, may have different maximum withdrawals per transaction. They have hefty charges per transaction, so it behooves them to encourage multiple withdrawals.
 
D

DRob

Gold
Aug 15, 2007
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First, welcome to DR1!

If you're going to be staying for any real period of time (more than 30 days), or returning on a regular basis, you may want to consider opening an account. That way, you can transfer as much cash as you'd like into the account, and either do a local ATM or counter withdrawal.

Many banks don't offer the service for non-residents, but BanReservas does.

I'd also consider getting the Charles Schwab card, if it's available where you live. You can apply online, and all foreign ATM fees and charges are waived, making it a bit easier to get your funds.

Best of luck and have fun!
 
J

JusMe

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Aug 26, 2018
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Thanks for the responses. I am hoping to get cash out in pesos, even though the Interac system will take something for the exchange from Canadian dollars in my Canadian bank account.

I know how banks "encourage multiple withdrawals" by limiting the amounts per transaction. Thai banks were doing the same.

I'm definitely planning on staying more than 30 days. I am going to be warm this winter :laugh:

Can't get a Charles Schwab card - not available, I think, anywhere in Canada. But I could consider opening an account in order to transfer reasonable living funds in one go and then using the local card for cash needs.

I'll make a note of BanReservas, and perhaps even ask about in Puerto Plata when I'm there.

Off topic - maybe meet up with other members of the forum for a beer or two. I arrive early December.
 
CristoRey

CristoRey

Welcome To Wonderland
Apr 1, 2014
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JusMe said:
G'day,

I'm a Canadian resident who's spent many many years in Thailand, but that destination is now soooo far away, that I'm trying the Dominican Republic as a warm alternative for the winters.

I'm sure I'll have a good number of questions, but first, I'm planning on staying in Puerto Plata for four months over this winter. Nothing special to do, (I'm a single fat ol' man) but hang out, drink some good stuff, eat some good food, maybe hear some good music.

First question: anyone know of real problems of staying four months? I can enter without a visa, but I read that only gives me 30 days. What then?

Another: I'll use an ATM to get pesos from my Canadian bank account. What are the limits for each bank, and charges for withdrawals?

(I can answer those questions for Thailand, but not my upcoming winter sojourn.)
Click to expand...


Welcome to Wonderland!
I used to live in Thailand.
This place is definitely SAME SAME but DIFFERENT.
As a single fat ol' man I've no doubt you will probably
end up in Sosua. Great town. Lots of cheap beer and
cheap women available.
The only problem with staying 4 months is...
not staying longer :cheeky:
 
W

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
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DRob said:
First, welcome to DR1!

If you're going to be staying for any real period of time (more than 30 days), or returning on a regular basis, you may want to consider opening an account. That way, you can transfer as much cash as you'd like into the account, and either do a local ATM or counter withdrawal.

Many banks don't offer the service for non-residents, but BanReservas does.

I'd also consider getting the Charles Schwab card, if it's available where you live. You can apply online, and all foreign ATM fees and charges are waived, making it a bit easier to get your funds.

Best of luck and have fun!
Click to expand...

Schwab card definitely. I almost always get better FOREX rates using the Schwab card than what is posted on this forum as the current rates by people using any Bank where they do business, or money changing or check cashing services. And Schwab refunds all ATM fees.

It is true that without a DR Cedula (ID card given when you are a legal resident or a citizen) that it is harder to open a bank account. I defer to others on that point who have more current information. Apparently Banreservas allows accounts to be opened using a passport as ID. Is that the only bank allowing passports these days?
 
J

JusMe

New member
Aug 26, 2018
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CristoRey said:
Welcome to Wonderland!
I used to live in Thailand.
This place is definitely SAME SAME but DIFFERENT.
As a single fat ol' man I've no doubt you will probably
end up in Sosua. Great town. Lots of cheap beer and
cheap women available.
The only problem with staying 4 months is...
not staying longer :cheeky:
Click to expand...

Thanks, CristoRey.

I got some impression of the Same Same But Different. I think traffic and reference to road rules seems to about the same, so I won't have any difficulty adapting to that!

I definitely plan to AVOID Sosua. Everything I've read reminds me of Pattaya, another place to avoid. At least for me.

But if you're in the area, we can arrange to meet up for a beer or two, and chatting.
 
J

JusMe

New member
Aug 26, 2018
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Wanted to edit my last post to add, but for some reason I may not edit, according to the Posting Permissions.

So, despite my searches on the forums, I can't find a table showing the different banks, the different daily withdrawal limits at their ATMs, or the charges per withdrawal transaction for each of them. Any idea if such a table exists, and if so, where?
 
D

DRob

Gold
Aug 15, 2007
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windeguy said:
Schwab card definitely. I almost always get better FOREX rates using the Schwab card than what is posted on this forum as the current rates by people using any Bank where they do business, or money changing or check cashing services. And Schwab refunds all ATM fees.

It is true that without a DR Cedula (ID card given when you are a legal resident or a citizen) that it is harder to open a bank account. I defer to others on that point who have more current information. Apparently Banreservas allows accounts to be opened using a passport as ID. Is that the only bank allowing passports these days?
Click to expand...

Windy,

It's the only one I know of, perhaps others have some leads?
 
D

DRob

Gold
Aug 15, 2007
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JusMe said:
Thanks, CristoRey.

I got some impression of the Same Same But Different. I think traffic and reference to road rules seems to about the same, so I won't have any difficulty adapting to that!

I definitely plan to AVOID Sosua. Everything I've read reminds me of Pattaya, another place to avoid. At least for me.

But if you're in the area, we can arrange to meet up for a beer or two, and chatting.
Click to expand...

I'd encourage you to visit Sosua, and see for yourself. During the day, it's actually a very pleasant town, with a few nice beaches. Lots of expats, good restaurants, not the worst place ever to spend a few days.

Puerto Plata has definitely started to experience a bit of a renaissance these days, and offers both dining option, and day and night activities that have improved remarkably over the past two decades.

Cabarete is still very much a surfer's paradise, although trust fund/wanna-be bohemians are increasingly making their presence known.

It's all a lot of fun, and I treat the three towns as one big playground, hope you enjoy. You should also check out Santiago/Moca, a little over an hour away from Puerto Plata. My favorite place is Las Terrenas, on the Samana Peninsula. It's the most beautiful place I've seen on the island.
 
J

JusMe

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Aug 26, 2018
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This is probably not the forum for discussion of ATMs and their differences, but I couldn't find any other appropriate location, so if there's a moderator, please move it into something new.

I saw that recently Canada's ScotiaBank has bought out Banco del Progressa, and did a bit of research.

ScotiaBank does operate independently in DR, and if one has a Canadian account with ScotiaBank, one can use the debit card associated with that account to withdraw in the DR for a Cdn$5.00 fee per transaction, with I was told, a transaction limit set by the cardholder at his own Canadian branch.

With the takeover of Progressa, I would think the same applies there, but of course, you'd need a ScotiaBank account from Canada.

Does anyone have recent ATM fees for the different banks? Transaction limits, fees per transaction, daily limits?
 
lifeisgreat

lifeisgreat

Enjoying Life
May 7, 2016
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Banco Santo Cruz you can open account there... My Canadian TD bank card works in DR also..
 
J

JusMe

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Aug 26, 2018
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Thanks, LifeIsGreat. Is that your TD debit card, or a credit card?

Edit: I also notice that Banco Santa Cruz is in Suosa, but apparently not in downtown Puerto Plata. Strange, but not so good for regular banking of one is in the city.
 
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