Whilst researching my upcoming move to the Dominican Republic, I found this information regarding residency application.
'The initial process is of course the application for legal provisional residency first. In this regard, there is of course a list of requirements to meet, but they are fairly simple to comply with for most people. One such requirement is the medical exam that MUST be taken inside the country with the medical doctor at the Department of Immigration. While this sounds somewhat daunting, it is not, and in fact the entire process can take less than two hours (including time waiting your turn). A very brief interview is conducted, asking the applicant some standard questions (have you had any surgery in the last five years, do you take any prescription medication, etc.) In addition, a urine sample, a blood sample and chest x-ray is taken. What they are looking for is Aids, illegal drug usage and tuberculosis. Providing you have none of these ailments, you will pass with flying colors.
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The next step is the deposit of the residency application itself, including all supporting documentation such as copies of current passport, certified or official copies of your birth certificate (you will not get this back, so it is a good idea to keep some extra sets before hand) and a police letter of good conduct from your local police department. In addition, immigration also looks for what is called economic solvency in the amount of RD$500,000 pesos at least. What does this mean? Well, it simply means that they want you to demonstrate that you are not destitute and have assets of some kind inside the country. However, the way to demonstrate this is very open ended and RD$500,000 is equivalent to about US$17,000 under current exchange rates. So, it could as simple as opening a bank account (which can be maintained in US dollars as there is no requirement that you need to convert your fund to Pesos), or you could demonstrate a real estate purchase, business investment or even utilize a locally incorporated company as well.
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In addition to the above, an Interpol background check is completed by the national police and often enough, this is the most time consuming process of all. However, assuming you are not someone wanted by Interpol, you will not have a problem and this background check not a concern.
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Once the residency application file is deposited, it has been the case that immigration has processed such applications fairly quickly and as such you can expect to obtain your initial provisional residency card (valid for one year) and your initial Cedula card (also valid for one year) within 60 to 90 days. With such documents in hand, you can legally live and work inside the country and have all the rights of a citizen with the exception of voting privileges (only citizens can vote in local elections). In addition, this puts you on track towards eventual citizenship, or we can say starts the clock ticking.'
Is anyone able to tell me if this info. is: up to date, accurate and complete?
Thank you very much. AL
'The initial process is of course the application for legal provisional residency first. In this regard, there is of course a list of requirements to meet, but they are fairly simple to comply with for most people. One such requirement is the medical exam that MUST be taken inside the country with the medical doctor at the Department of Immigration. While this sounds somewhat daunting, it is not, and in fact the entire process can take less than two hours (including time waiting your turn). A very brief interview is conducted, asking the applicant some standard questions (have you had any surgery in the last five years, do you take any prescription medication, etc.) In addition, a urine sample, a blood sample and chest x-ray is taken. What they are looking for is Aids, illegal drug usage and tuberculosis. Providing you have none of these ailments, you will pass with flying colors.
.
The next step is the deposit of the residency application itself, including all supporting documentation such as copies of current passport, certified or official copies of your birth certificate (you will not get this back, so it is a good idea to keep some extra sets before hand) and a police letter of good conduct from your local police department. In addition, immigration also looks for what is called economic solvency in the amount of RD$500,000 pesos at least. What does this mean? Well, it simply means that they want you to demonstrate that you are not destitute and have assets of some kind inside the country. However, the way to demonstrate this is very open ended and RD$500,000 is equivalent to about US$17,000 under current exchange rates. So, it could as simple as opening a bank account (which can be maintained in US dollars as there is no requirement that you need to convert your fund to Pesos), or you could demonstrate a real estate purchase, business investment or even utilize a locally incorporated company as well.
.
In addition to the above, an Interpol background check is completed by the national police and often enough, this is the most time consuming process of all. However, assuming you are not someone wanted by Interpol, you will not have a problem and this background check not a concern.
.
Once the residency application file is deposited, it has been the case that immigration has processed such applications fairly quickly and as such you can expect to obtain your initial provisional residency card (valid for one year) and your initial Cedula card (also valid for one year) within 60 to 90 days. With such documents in hand, you can legally live and work inside the country and have all the rights of a citizen with the exception of voting privileges (only citizens can vote in local elections). In addition, this puts you on track towards eventual citizenship, or we can say starts the clock ticking.'
Is anyone able to tell me if this info. is: up to date, accurate and complete?
Thank you very much. AL
