Immigration Taxes (Fines)

Robert

Stay Frosty!
Jan 2, 1999
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Below I have attached a copy of the official document from the Immigration dept.

Some of you might want to print this out before you leave if you have over stayed your visa. This way you and they know exactly what fine needs to be paid.
 

SantiagoDR

The "REAL" SantiagoDR
Jan 12, 2006
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This is the DR, haggle with them....

I personally know of two people that haggled about the amount and got it lowered from what they should have paid. They both had been here for years, thus before the time they started the new system of using the passport swiping of the entry into the computer.
 

lilredrooster

New member
Aug 12, 2006
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Do it Right

Just pay what's stated in the official notice and be done with it.
Produce a copy of the notice, it is irrefutable.
Whaddya gonna save haggling? 2 hundred pesos, 3 hundred pesos?
Don't be a smarty pants.
Get a receipt.....now that is a challenge. Try it anyway.
If you pay for something you wanna receipt right?
Get one. It will help keep them honest.
But good f.....ng luck! on getting one.
"lo siento, no tenemos" is the typical response.
So you just wanna get home or wherever. Pay 'n go.
McDonald's calls that service. So soes DR immigrations.
 

Rick Snyder

Silver
Nov 19, 2003
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Let me think, ,,,,,,,,, after more then 10 years here I have learned that getting a receipt from the likes of government officials is like pulling hens teeth. I have also learned that ?haggling? is the norm and is an accepted and expected procedure in just about every facet dealing with money here.

As the last time I left country was well over 5 years ago then the expected fine for me will be over RD$15,000. Hummmmmmmm ?.. As the US military, IRS and my bank have my address and phone number I have no desire to go back as there is nothing there for me but under the possibility that I must go back, for whatever reason, and as you are under the impression that a few hundred pesos is no big thing and as I would never want to be a ?smarty pants? how about you paying the difference my ?haggling? would save. Sound like a good idea??????

Rick
 

Larry

Gold
Mar 22, 2002
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I have overstayed several times. I have had to pay every time until the last time. Last time, the immigration officer was very friendly and just smiled and stamped my paperwork even though I know she was aware that I had overstayed a few months.

Larry
 

Rick Snyder

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Nov 19, 2003
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If you read other threads and posts that I have made then you will understand the reasons behind my not having my residency yet. This is a situation I haven't been able to overcome yet but I hope to one day.

Added on to that the understanding that I must pay the fine while also paying the residency fee just puts the residency issue further out of reach presently.
 

Lambada

Gold
Mar 4, 2004
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Actually I hadn't realised you didn't have it Rick. I thought you were posing a hypothetical scenario which is why you got a smiley in the response. Yes I'm more than happy to read the history as to why you haven't, but you'll need to give me a little hint as to where to look.
 

SantiagoDR

The "REAL" SantiagoDR
Jan 12, 2006
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Just pay what's stated in the official notice and be done with it.
Produce a copy of the notice, it is irrefutable.
Whaddya gonna save haggling? 2 hundred pesos, 3 hundred pesos?
Don't be a smarty pants.

Get a receipt.....now that is a challenge. Try it anyway.
If you pay for something you wanna receipt right?
Get one. It will help keep them honest.
But good f.....ng luck! on getting one.
"lo siento, no tenemos" is the typical response.
So you just wanna get home or wherever. Pay 'n go.
McDonald's calls that service. So soes DR immigrations.
Two, Three hundred pesos, NO !!!

The one friend saved over a 1,000 pesos.
The other got away with paying NOTHING, so he saved more than 12,000 pesos.

But that's a longer story !
Money is not the only thing to "haggle" about, not being a "smarty pants", just being SMART !.
 
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SantiagoDR

The "REAL" SantiagoDR
Jan 12, 2006
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Sounds like a better idea to get your residencia...............;) after 10 years....................? Not that I want to be a smarty pants, of course...

Well in my estimates, that saved him more then the penalty.
I just renewed my residency in July for the 2 year term and it cost me around $4,000 pesos in all (Includes transportation to SD).

Plus the first residency is only for one year and the total costs are "WAY" over $2,000 pesos. The physical alone is $3,060 pesos as of July 2006.

So at $2,000 per year X 9 years = $18,000 + 1st year costs = Over $25,000 easily,

So at this point Rick has a bargain..........
 

SantiagoDR

The "REAL" SantiagoDR
Jan 12, 2006
5,808
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Yes I'm more than happy to read the history as to why you haven't, but you'll need to give me a little hint as to where to look.

Go to "Search", then click on "Advanced Search", then type in his User Name, then click on "Search Now".

That will narrow it down to just 1,459 posts to look at as of 8pm today.
 

tflea

Bronze
Jun 11, 2006
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Me, Me, Me

Those of you haggling with a
government official (immigrations) then must
think it more important to save pesos than trying
to be a stand-up resident, visitor. Don't b..ch
then about government corruption when YOU are
part of the problem for your own gain. Pitiful and
self-serving. IMO :squareeye
 

Chris

Gold
Oct 21, 2002
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So at this point Rick has a bargain..........

(Not directed at Rick .. directed at the issue) It is not a cost issue. It is an issue of doing what is right in the country where you are. Sometimes, in the DR, it is difficult to do what is right. The residence process is not hard and in comparison with receiving a residency anywhere in the rest of the Caribbean, perhaps the biggest bargain that you've ever seen.

And once you've done it, there is a certain peace of mind that goes beyond haggling about pesos. It is a pleasure to walk in and out of the airports with your paperwork in order. When you are accosted, you have a leg to stand on.
 

Rick Snyder

Silver
Nov 19, 2003
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Seeing as I was stupid enough to make a couple posts in this thread the conversation has swung around to me and at me with some insinuations as to my character and that of other people that may be in the same position as me which upsets me a bit.

In 1999 I went back to the US because of important business that needed to be done there. At that time the maximum a person had to pay to leave country, regardless of time here, was no more then 450 pesos. It was during the banking debacle that the new rates came out. I know this was implemented as a money raiser and I would surmise that it is working as such.

I came to this country to live because I could live here comfortably without having to work and that was my desire. In the aftermath of said living I have unexpectedly produced offspring. Being of moral mind I did the expected right thing and married. This new status placed me into a new ?required income? bracket for living but I found that I could continue to live here without working. The downside to this new bracket was the availability to save income for those things that come up unexpectedly from time to time. A classic example of this was the operation that my son needed in 2003 to have his tonsils and adenoids removed. As it involved my son I looked around for the best doctor for said surgery. I took my son to SD and had the surgery preformed and the cost wiped out all my savings so I had to start building that nest egg again.

As residency has always been a desired position for me it has therefore always been in my mind but such a move requires a substantial amount, to me, of money to acquire. The status as a resident only benefits me and is in no way a benefit to my family. As their benefit and proper living is my number one priority then the ?nest egg? is kept in reserve for those things that are needed for them and not me. An exception to that was my computer which I bought 4 years ago and the added monthly expense of ?flash?.

Unlike a lot of you expats I came to this country not owning anything back home. I sold all my worldly good to come and live here. Due to the simplicity of life here I don?t need a car and a lot of other things that a lot of you have and I don?t feel deprived due to not having them. If I could afford a car I have the option of putting it in my wife?s name but like the residency I can?t afford it.

Of the investigations that I have conducted for residency I have determined that the cost would be in the neighborhood of DR$49,000 pesos and that is not including the transportation costs from out here in El Seybo. As the cost of expired visitor card has been stated as having to be paid also then another 15,000 pesos must be added on to that figure which would mean that I must pay 64,000 pesos just to apply for my residency. I can not afford such an outlay. As I mentioned earlier I have a nest egg, which isn?t enough to pay for residency, for those things that may crop up for my family and they are more important then my residency.

This whole thing for me is a COST ISSUE. I would definitely feel better if I had residency and I wish to have residency but until such a time as I may be able to afford it the whole thing is a COST ISSUE.

Rick

Tflea I hope your statement wasn?t directed toward me personally.
 

BushBaby

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Jan 1, 2002
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Rick,
If you know Spanish (or can get someone to do the translations for you) the cost of getting Provisional Residencia is nothing like RD $49,000 more like RD $9,000! You do not need to include the RD $15,000 for leaving the country either, that only applies if you are LEAVING the country.

Have a chat with the people at Migracion (or a friendly lawyer) & get the list of requirements for applying. Assemble these & be prepared for a couple of hiccups along the way (plus some time of waiting unless you have some pull at Migracion!!). Then fill out the application form, take required papers/documentation to Santo Domingo & get the medicals done - all that should cost about RD $7,000.

At those prices I would suggest that it is NOT so much a COST thing but a determination to get "Into the Pipeline" & 'Making it happen'!

'Go for it' ............ & enjoy the freedom of mind afterwards!! ~ Grahame.
 

Rick Snyder

Silver
Nov 19, 2003
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Grahame,

The statement that I made concerning the overstay payment was acquired from a post made a few months ago on this board and nobody disputed that statement in that thread so I therefore believed it to be true and you are to first and only person to counter said statement.

Last month I had to dip into my nest egg to have a company come from Higuey to pump out my overrunning septic tank which cost me 32,000 pesos and has therefore pretty well drained my nest egg. If I were to do what you say at the present time then my nest egg would be drained and I can't afford that due to the possibility of an emergency popping up before I build the nest back up. I am very proud of the fact that I've never had to depend on anyone to help me in supporting my family in the time I've been here.

If what you say is true then yes that would be the route I would and should go to acquire my residency because it would in fact allow freedom of mind.

If nothing happens in the next couple of months and I don't have to pay for the overstay then I should in fact be able to apply for my residency. If there were the feasibility of finding an attorney that would accept of say 6,000 pesos a month I could do it but all the attorneys I have talked to want their cash up front.

Rick
 

Chris

Gold
Oct 21, 2002
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Whilst I agree with everything Grahame says, we recently assisted someone in a similar position to get through the process but with a badly outdated provisional residency. In this case, the 'overstay' fees were included as well. So, I think worst case cost of provisional residency, round Grahames number up to to say 10,000 pesos with all the bits and pieces, and figure also on the amount (15,000) under 'De 5 años en adelante' on the sheet that Robert posted on post 1. So, to be safe Rick, you may have to budget on 25,000 pesos, or visit another country first to get a new stamp on your passport. ;) Chances are that if this is a new application, they will probably not even look at the last stamp of entry.

The process is easy if you can speak Spanish or have somebody help you. The worst is having to find the medical office for chest x-rays.

Best is to go into the office and pick up the latest list of requirements.

You need some paperwork. From what I remember, Carta de Garantia, Certificado de Buena Conducta, a complete copy of your passport, copies of the cedulas of the guarantor, photos. When I read the list with 'requisitos´ while I was hanging about in migración, I understood the Spanish easily. The list is clear, and it is not difficult. Start saving! and do it OK! And then save for the Residencia Definitiva in a year's time and every two years thereafter.
 
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Lambada

Gold
Mar 4, 2004
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I'd agree with Chris on this one, Grahame. :laugh: Technically they have the right to charge Rick back taxes to the time of his last entry to the DR. It's always possible, as it's a first application, that it would get overlooked, but he needs to budget for it anyway.

Rick, when I said I'd be happy to read the 'history' I meant the link to where you said you'd posted this before. I wasn't expecting your budget in detail!! 'Financial constraints' would have covered it more than adequately. And on this, as in any other aspect of life, we all set our priorities differently. There is no need to justify these to anyone else but we all have to live with the consequences of what our choices are. You are now living with the consequences of not getting residency when you first arrived in 1996. Nothing there for you to be upset about; it is a statement of fact, not a value judgement.

You don't need an attorney for residency after 10 years here. People who have only been here 2 years have applied for residency without a lawyer. All you need is some self confidence and a 'can-do' attitude. Oh.....and a lot of patience. I'm sure we all wish you well with this.
 

Rick Snyder

Silver
Nov 19, 2003
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Lambada,

I looked for the link but couldn't find it as I only seem to be able to bring up my last 500 posts and it was before that. The real reason I told my story was so that that people that read this don't get the idea that I'm some kind of cheapskate trying to save a peso or two. I also wished to point out the fact to those that don't know it that the reign of Hippo brought the late price up 2,000% from what it was.

If I had known about residency back in 96 I would have applied for it then and if I had a computer back then ............ But as I didn't then as you said I am now living with the consequences of my actions or lack thereof. Looking back in retrospect if I had a computer back then and knew about DR1 I know my whole life would be different and I wouldn't be living here in El Seybo but that's another story.

After 22 years in the military I can assure you that patience is a virtue.

Rick