Citizenship via permanent residency by investment

[jschmied]

Hi everybody,


first happy to meet you all, this is my first post on this forum ^^

I'm a German citizen but left the country beginning of last year. Currently, I've still got my base in EU and I travel part time. I can work remotely as a freelancer, hence I'm able to do this setup. I'm thinking about moving to the Dominican Republic next. I like Santo Domingo, so I imagine having a base there and being able to travel accross beautiful Latin America in my part time could be fantastic. While to my understanding a permanent residency in the DR would be enough for living there, I'm also interested in aquiring the DR citizenship by naturalization.

My current understanding is, that I could get a permanent residency very fast and easy in a 2-4 months by an investment of around US$ 200.000, e.g. in real estate. After living in the DR for 6 month with this PR, I'm eligible to apply for DR citizenship. Assuming I can provide all required documents and pass a test (in Spanish) to demonstrate my knowledge of the country and history, the processing time till I receive the DR citizenship would be around 9 - 12 months after I applied for it. My understand of this process is based on the following DR laws: Law on Migration 285-04, 613-11 and law on Naturalization 1683.

So yeah, this is the theory. Now, I'm aware that things in reality might be very different from what is written somewhere.

Hence, I would like to know if you can confirm my understanding from practical experience or from witnessing other people going through the process of DR Citizenship by naturalization. Please also correct my understanding or the timelines if you have a very different unterstanding or experience. I would also like to hire an good immigration lawyer to support me in the process - so any recommendations are very welcomed too


Thank you so much for your suppport 🙏

 

[Liberator]

Interesting. What is your background in terms of living and investing in the DR over the past decades?
Think twice about giving up your German nationality for the Dominican. That's about the same as trading in your Mercedes for a Daewoo. In addition, there may be all kinds of economic reasons for simply retaining your current nationality.

Anyway, I think there are already many topics written about your questions here on the forum. Search and you will find.

 

[Pikobello]

Interesting. What is your background in terms of living and investing in the DR over the past decades?
Think twice about giving up your German nationality for the Dominican. That's about the same as trading in your Mercedes for a Daewoo. In addition, there may be all kinds of economic reasons for simply retaining your current nationality.

Anyway, I think there are already many topics written about your questions here on the forum. Search and you will find.

Germany allows since last year the double nationality, so no need to give up the german one.

 

[jschmied]

Hi Liberator, thank you for your response

I currently do not have a background in the DR. I imagine investing in some real estate in the DR is possibly not as straight forward as in Germany but should not be impossible either with good preparation. It seems like a lot of Americans are buying holiday homes and similar.

Germany introduced a new law mid of last year to allow dual citizenship. Hence, I do not need to give up the German one for the DR citizenship - I can have both. At least currently - the law was already very heavily discussed last year and with the current political volatility in Germany, it might be revised again after the next election in 4 years. That's why I'm wondering about the timing - it could be only a brief window of opportunity.

I've also researched the forum. I could not really find anything that fits my case. There are not a lot of discussions on DR citizenships in general. The ones that exist tend to be about people living in the DR already for many years, possibly with local partners.

I couldn't find anything where acquiring DR citizenship after a rather short period is discussed, also nothing in regard of acquiring DR citizenship after permanent residency by investment. Still, if you know some threds I might have missed and could point me to them I would highly appreciate that 🙏

 

[jschmied]

Germany allows since last year the double nationality, so no need to give up the german one.

Exactly - it was debated a lot.

 

[Liberator]

Hi Liberator, thank you for your response

I currently do not have a background in the DR. I imagine investing in some real estate in the DR is possibly not as straight forward as in Germany but should not be impossible either with good preparation. It seems like a lot of Americans are buying holiday homes and similar.

Germany introduced a new law mid of last year to allow dual citizenship. Hence, I do not need to give up the German one for the DR citizenship - I can have both. At least currently - the law was already very heavily discussed last year and with the current political volatility in Germany, it might be revised again after the next election in 4 years. That's why I'm wondering about the timing - it could be only a brief window of opportunity.

I've also researched the forum. I could not really find anything that fits my case. There are not a lot of discussions on DR citizenships in general. The ones that exist tend to be about people living in the DR already for many years, possibly with local partners.

I couldn't find anything where acquiring DR citizenship after a rather short period is discussed, also nothing in regard of acquiring DR citizenship after permanent residency by investment. Still, if you know some threds I might have missed and could point me to them I would highly appreciate that 🙏

I wish you the best of luck.

My advice, rent for a year in different places (you mention Santo Domingo, my base in this beautiful country for more than 35 years)
Get to know the people and the customs and don't worry too much if agreements are not kept and if you pay too much somewhere (e.g. with a rental contract)
In this country, an agreement is not always an agreement, whether it is hiring a real estate agent, electrician or buying real estate.

Start small and learn from your mistakes,

Cheers!

 

[jschmied]

I wish you the best of luck.

My advice, rent for a year in different places (you mention Santo Domingo, my base in this beautiful country for more than 35 years)
Get to know the people and the customs and don't worry too much if agreements are not kept and if you pay too much somewhere (e.g. with a rental contract)
In this country, an agreement is not always an agreement, whether it is hiring a real estate agent, electrician or buying real estate.

Start small and learn from your mistakes,

Cheers!

Thank you, your wishes are highly appreciated 🙏 I'm currently living in a mediterranean EU country where also contracts are seen a bit more "flexible" 😂 I'm slowly dipping my toes in a world where things are not really fix 😅

 

[Cdn_Gringo]

I don't have the link but the DR Migracion site lists and describes the various residency programs you can apply for with their respective benefits and requirements. It isn't necessary to purchase real estate to get residency with a quick turnaround path to citizenship.

An immigration lawyer can help you pick the right path for you. There are lots to choose from including Guzman Ariza. Be aware if applying for an investor grade residency the DR Govt will have to approve your investment under the plan and personal real estate holdings are not always accepted as being sufficient.

 

[cavok]

Hi everybody,


My current understanding is, that I could get a permanent residency very fast and easy in a 2-4 months by an investment of around US$ 200.000, e.g. in real estate. After living in the DR for 6 month with this PR, I'm eligible to apply for DR citizenship.


Thank you so much for your suppport 🙏

You cannot just buy any type of real estate. It has to be a Dominican business or investment in financial instruments in a Dominican bank, like bonds or CD's..