A Residency/Citizenship Legal Path Diagram

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MoJoInDR

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My wife and I are considering a move to the DR within the next five years, possibly sooner rather than later. I've been spending some time on this website trying to glean all the wonderful relevant information regarding our move... Including anything to do with gaining residency/citizenship as an end goal.

But it's not been so easy, as so far I have not been able to find one thread that clearly lays out a path for this matter.

I'm a creative/visual person, so I thought about building a type of graph that would be easy to look at and gain a fairly clear, general understanding of the various steps that are required to accomplish our goal. I realize that there are many details that may require the professional services of lawyers and will not try to go into those details — I may just indicate a "lawyer needed at this point" suggestion. My thought is to just produce a layman's quick-view reference guide related to a residency/citizenship legal path for moving to the DR.

This type of diagram will certainly be helpful to us, and hopefully, I can share it on dr1 for others to use.

Here's a link to a Google search results page for images of various generic timeline diagrams (non-DR specific, but hopefully will be recognized as related to the context of this thread :)).

Appreciate any and all help.

Thanks.

 
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RDKNIGHT

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Get a lawyer who has connections its easier also a little grease on the palm helps speed up the process
 
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windeguy

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MoJoInDR said:
Absolutely what I have gleaned from online comments, and is the reason for creating a residency/citizenship path diagram that can help us see what needs to be done, and check off as we move forward.
Click to expand...
There is a list on the various ways to become a legal resident at migracion.gob.do

Will that do?

Then there is a list at mip.gob.do on how to become a naturalized citizen of the DR

I did my residency long ago with a lawyer, but one is not really needed. My citizenship was done without a lawyer.
I avoid lawyers as much as possible.
 
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MoJoInDR

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windeguy said:
There is a list on the various ways to become a legal resident at migracion.gob.do

Will that do?

Then there is a list at mip.gob.do on how to become a naturalized citizen of the DR

I did my residency long ago with a lawyer, but one is not really needed. My citizenship was done without a lawyer.
I avoid lawyers as much as possible.
Click to expand...

Thanks... It's a starting point... But my wife will need to take a look at it as my Spanish is at a very basic level at the moment.

Thanks.
 
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windeguy

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MoJoInDR said:
Thanks... It's a starting point... But my wife will need to take a look at it as my Spanish is at a very basic level at the moment.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
There is an English version on line at migracion.god.do . Just click English on the upper part of the web page.
 
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MoJoInDR

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400 views in less than 24 hours... An important topic for sure.

So what's the first matter that needs to be identified/clarified?

The question of why someone wants to move to the DR.

Is it for a home away from home type experience?

Or is it, as someone in an older past thread said, a die and be buried in the DR-type experience?

I was so impressed by that thought that I asked my wife the question and she was like, "...Wow, what a consideration...".

And it certainly is.

Why do you want to move to the DR?

Answer that question and then the required path forward becomes a little more clear.

But it doesn't mean it can't change, so keep that in mind also.

Moving on...

Having answered the above question... The visitors' line is over there somewhere... This line is for wannabe residents, some of whom may move on to become citizens.

So what's next (assuming that you've actually visited the DR and know what you're buying into)?

Some suggest reading a book like this one before getting into the nitty gritty of legal requirements...

 
NanSanPedro

NanSanPedro

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MoJoInDR said:
400 views in less than 24 hours... An important topic for sure.

So what's the first matter that needs to be identified/clarified?

The question of why someone wants to move to the DR.

Is it for a home away from home type experience?

Or is it, as someone in an older past thread said, a die and be buried in the DR-type experience?

I was so impressed by that thought that I asked my wife the question and she was like, "...Wow, what a consideration...".

And it certainly is.

Why do you want to move to the DR?

Answer that question and then the required path forward becomes a little more clear.

But it doesn't mean it can't change, so keep that in mind also.

Moving on...

Having answered the above question... The visitors' line is over there somewhere... This line is for wannabe residents, some of whom may move on to become citizens.

So what's next (assuming that you've actually visited the DR and know what you're buying into)?

Some suggest reading a book like this one before getting into the nitty gritty of legal requirements...

Click to expand...
I don't think a book will do the DR or anything else justice. I would opine 6 months minimum renting here to decide if you like it. And gated communities don't count as the DR.
 
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MoJoInDR

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NanSanPedro said:
I don't think a book will do the DR or anything else justice. I would opine 6 months minimum renting here to decide if you like it. And gated communities don't count as the DR.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that insight... I'd come across it in my research and then saw it recommended in a thread (I believe it was that book, but I could be wrong now) and thought it would be worth a mention.

Can you recommend another book?

Online resources are fine... But I like to get away from it all and take the time to read and digest the thoughts of someone else. And I find doing so helps me even later on in a process, which is why I was including reading this book as a part of the "...path..." process.
 
NanSanPedro

NanSanPedro

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MoJoInDR said:
Thanks for that insight... I'd come across it in my research and then saw it recommended in a thread (I believe it was that book, but I could be wrong now) and thought it would be worth a mention.

Can you recommend another book?

Online resources are fine... But I like to get away from it all and take the time to read and digest the thoughts of someone else. And I find doing so helps me even later on in a process, which is why I was including reading this book as a part of the "...path..." process.
Click to expand...
No, I don't think a book will do it. If you think you might like to live in the DR, learn some rudimentary Spanish and come visit for a week or 2. Then, if you still like it, rent for 6 months to a year. At that point you may be in a position to make a life decision.
 
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La Profe_1

La Profe_1

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Just a word of warning...

If you read various threads about obtaining and or renewing residency you will find that requirements are fluid - that is, the government tends to change regulations without notice. You can try to design a flowchart, but six months from now it could well be incorrect.

Perhaps starting at migración.gob.do as was suggested earlier might be wise.
 
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Farmer

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We're from KCMO. We used the nearest Dominican consulate in Chicago. Very helpful staff. On their website we chose the retirement visa. 15 requirements on their checklist. Application and other requirements all spelled out. Can't recommend enough to start the process in your home country. There are many documents to gather. It will take you weeks if not months. An easy one for example: birth certificate. Send your $$ to your state with your request. Then more money and get an apostile seal on it. Same with marriage license and other documents. All will depend on your state's efficiency at getting these turned around. One of the more complicated is your FBI rap sheet. Go to their website and read and follow the directions. Fingerprints at local PD. Then notarized. then apostilized. Then and only then send it to the FBI with $$ of course. Any deviation in that order sends you back to go. You'll have income and medical info to collect. How soon can you get a simple doctor's appointment these days? Ugh. On that to do list is send your current passport to Chicago with all of the above 15 items that pertain to you. Whoops! Can you be without your passport for what could be a few months? When the consulate gets all your stuff they start using your $550/per application to translate all these documents into Spanish. This is all time consuming but no attorney is ever needed. Then they send it all back to you in the stamped, pre-paid envelope you provided them. Don't sit on it. The meter starts running. That stuff needs to get to Immigration there on the Malecon Luperon office within about 60 days. Then you get to start "el proceso" here. It will likely take more months of waiting. Ours has. However, we have our interviews and Dominican medical exams next Tuesday. Yeehaw! I think we're about finished with this phase of visa pursuit. Then if we want to lose the temporary word from our visa we will start the multi-year process of annual renewals. Good luck and be patient. Farmer
 
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