Do-it-Yourself Permanent Residency Renewal Procedure

bennymack

Member
Apr 12, 2006
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This Thread is for PERMANENT RESIDENCY RENEWAL and was started in July 2014. There is an excellent thread for Temporary Residency Renewal (thank you Expat-in-Cabarete and those who posted). I didn't see one for Permanent so I'm creating one. If there is one, please just say and I post there.

Tomorrow I head to Santo Dominigo to renew my Permanant Residency. I will keep track of the process and report back to this thread. Hopefully it will be a help to all of you.

I will be renewing residency for my wife and I and our two teenagers. My wife and I have each obtained our Letter of Buena Conducta. This cost 330 pesos each and was done in La Vega. This letter was not needed for our teenagers. We also obtained the Letter of Guarantee (one letter for the whole family). We had a lawyer prepared the Letter of Guarantee and the lawyer also got the Letters of Buena Conducta. In total these letters cost $82 (including taxes to Bank of Reservas).

Tomorrow we expect to pick up the application (100ps per person). We will pay the taxes for 1 month since our residency expired 10 days ago (350ps per person?). And we will get our medical exam (US$110 per person?).

Questions:
1. We have a car. Does anyone know the address for the building where you get your medical exam and x-ray?
2. I think the price on the medical exam may be less for our teenagers. Anyone know?
3. My entire family is going tomorrow for the medical exam. Is it necessary for my whole family to go on the second visit? Do they use the submitted photo's to make the card or do they take a new one?

I will update/correct this as I go along. If you see an error, please correct it too. Please help out by providing your experience with details.

As I said, I hope this will help others in the same way the other thread is a huge help.
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
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I have given up driving in Santo Domingo. I just went last week to start the residency renewal process and took the bus, much less stress. I went the day before so I could be there early in the AM.

I arrived at Migracion at 7:30 AM. I was second in line for residency renewal when they opened at 8 AM. I went to the far left window and submitted 2 copies of the front page of my passport and 2 copies of my residency card and my cedula which were both on the same paper. About 90 minutes later I was called to pay the 4,500 RD fee for the medical exam. I was given a paper with the address to the children's hospital, but I did not keep that paper to provide you with the address. It was some distance from Migracion and I took a taxi. I had a chest X-Ray, blood and urine tests and was told to return in 10 working days to complete the process. I had one other task to perform in Santo Domingo and that was done by 11 AM and I was on the bus back to the north coast at 11:30 AM and home about 4 PM. Minimal time in Santo Domingo is always best for me.

I anticipate the next time I will be giving them my police report and additional passport/Cedula/Residency copies along with 2 photos. I hope to get my residency in the same day and also get my updated cedula after that if time permits on the same day.
 

Olly

Bronze
Mar 12, 2007
1,914
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BennyMack,
Just one small point - make sure you drink enough fluids so you can do the urine Test! It is easy to get really dehydrated on this quest!

Olly and the Team
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
4,329
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I'll try to answer your questions:

yes, you all go back the second trip
as I recall, they take a photo on the second trip

I am going Miercoles to renew my wife's (mine is done) - this is her 2nd / final trip

If time permits, we'll do the cedulas the same day

We are Guzman clients, so I do not know the medical address - sorry

I, too , will report back

After 10yrs residency, you no longer need the medical tests.

renewal is for four years
 

bennymack

Member
Apr 12, 2006
84
2
8
First, sorry for this late response. Here is what happened -

We went to the capital and because my daughter's passport was within 6 months of it's expiration date, they would not start the process for her. I knew this was the case and decided to risk it, as others have said that they may start the process. My mistake.

If you have a passport that expires soon, I recommend you get it renewed before making the trip to Santo Domingo. Renewing the passport was very easy. I recommend going to Puerta Plata or Punta Cana. For us, we went to Puerta Plata. It was quick (about 30 min.) and painless. The website for that Processing a U.S. Passport in Santo Domingo | Embassy of the United States Dominican Republic. Phone numbers are there and an appointment is necessary. It took 3 weeks for us to get the passport.

This week, we will go and start the process for renewing our residency. I will try to report what happens.
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
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The best time to go the cedula office is early or late in the day.

most people renew the residency and trot straight to the cedula... so, 11am to 2pm is busy

my wife renewed at 10-10:30am and was the only one in the office
similarly, I arrived at 1:30pm and waited a bit.... by 2:30, almost nobody in line

go have a nice lunch somehwere..... stay overnight.... anything
 

bennymack

Member
Apr 12, 2006
84
2
8
Today we went to start the proces for renewing our Permanent Residencey. Here is what happened...

We arrived at Miggracion at about 8:30 am. Picked up the directions and a ticket from the desk by the stairs. Proceeded to window #1 and gave them my Residency card, 2 copies of the cedula and residency card, 2 copies of the Passport's photo page.

We were told to have a seat and wait to be called. After about an hour, we were called. While waiting, we noticed the TV monitor and saw that it was calling people to certain windows using their ticket number. This is a nice improvement from the last time I renewed. So, we waited for our number to be called. About about 9:45 it was called and we proceeded back to window #1 to pay for the medical exam. This was 4500 ps. per person. Note, Kids, 12 and older, do have the medical exam. 11 year olds may also need it....I was unclear if the lady said "older than 11 or 11 and older" Once paid, we were told to bring the documents above and the medical receipt to the clinic for the exam.

We have a car and were given the directions to the clinic. The directions state -

Instituto Maternidad San Rafael
Servicios Medicos Direcci?n General Migraci?n
(DMG) CONSULTORIO No. 2
Ave. Bolivar #56, Esquina Enrique Henriquez
(something I can't make out) Dr. Delgado, Santo Domingo, Rep. Dom.
(and a phone number that was hard to make out)

It wasn't too hard to find but here are some things we noticed that my help you -
This neighborhood is located just south of the National Palace.
The clinic is located on Ave. Bolivar which is a one-way street heading west. On Bolivar, it is between the streets Dr. Delgado and Calle Danae. It will be on the left. There is a good sign. If you pass the Popular Bank on the right, you have gone about half a block too far.

If you don't have a car, the taxis know the way and will be glad to take you. I didn't do this, so I have no idea what it will cost.

The medical exam takes place in two different buildings. First you give blood and urine. The lady will not let you close the door to the bathroom but I didn't feel like she was watching as I had read in another post. Once done there, you head to the next building. The doctor pointed it out to me, right next store. Walking around the building to the front door, the x-rays are done in the basement.

With the medical exam done, we were done for the day. We were done at about 11 am. Don't forget to keep the receipt for the medical exam. It's needed when you return to migracion in two weeks.

I hope this is a help to others. I'll write again after we go back the second time.
 

bennymack

Member
Apr 12, 2006
84
2
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We are done! Here is what happened -

A few days ago we returned (2 weeks after we took the medical test). The process seemed pretty straight forward -

We arrived at about 8:20. We got a ticket for the formulario (one for the family). I took the ticket along with the medical receipts (from the first visit) up to window 3. We bought the formulario (100 ps. each) and filled it out.

Then we went and got another ticket and went to window 5. At window 5 we signed the formulario and were finger printed (just the index fingers). Once this was done, we were told to wait for our ticket to be called. After a little while, it was and we brought all the paperwork in an manilla folder to window 8. The paperwork needed is --

1. Formulario with two copies.
2. The expiring/expired Permanent Residency card
3. Your Cedula with a copy.
4. Good Conduct letter (for each adult)
5. Letter of Guarantee (one per family) NOTE-this is not listed on the directions we were given but we were told it was needed.
6. Two photos without any jewelry, with a white background, 2x2 inches square
7. Passport with a copy of the photo page.
8. Medical receipt
9. If married to a Dominican, you will need your marriage license and a copy of your spouse's cedula.

Give all of this to the person at window 8. They will quickly check to see you have everything and arrange things in the right order. If something is missing, they will tell you. When they are done, they will tell you to have a seat and wait for your ticket number to be called. Your documents will then be checked more closely and this will take some time. For the 4 of us, this took a little over an hour. Finally, you will see your ticket called on the TV screen and you get to go to window 3 to pay. Obviously, since you are paying?your documents have been approved.

The costs are:
Cost of service 8,000
VIP service 1,000 (this gets you done in one day)
Extra months past expiration 400 (figure 400 for each month you are over)
Total 9400

Once you pay, you wait for your ticket number to be called for the photo. This didn't take long for us. The photo is taken just a few steps past the guarded doors. The guard let us through with our ticket. After the photo is taken, you just have to wait for the card to be printed. This took about 20 min. The new Residency card is given at window 9 (I think). You sign a book saying you have received it and you are done!

This new card is good for 4 years. In review of the total process - we paid 4500 (medical), 100 (formulario), and 9400 (process and 1 month). Total for us was 14,000 ps per person. The papers that were prepared (Letter of Guarantee and Good Conduct) by a friend and cost less than 3500ps for my family.

We were done about about 11:30. We went and got lunch and then headed over to update our cedula. Because our cedulas had a few years left on them, we weren't sure if we should update them but we are glad we did. When we got there, the attendant told us they would give us a new one and it would have the same dates as our residency card. And all this would be done for FREE! This took about 40 min. We left glad we wouldn't have to do this again for another 4 years.

Overall, the process was pretty straightforward. The ticket's bring a lot of organization that wasn't there in the past. It was really good to changes.

I hope this is a help to you. I don't check DR1 a ton but when I do, I will try to answer any questions that I can.
 

botemon

Active member
Jun 28, 2008
223
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Greetings,
We followed your instructions to the "T" and today (12-17-14) finished our Permanent Residencia renewal. This is our third permanent renewal. Your information was GREAT and we thank you. Below are the differences we experienced and the NEW FEES involved. Surprise surprise!
Our first trip went perfectly except we were told we did NOT need the Letter Of Guarantee. They gave us the new revised information on a sheet of paper. (out $85.00 and a day's work). The only other difference was the "application" is still 100 pesos, but they gave it to us on this first trip. Other than this, everything else, Medical etc., was exactly as you described.
Today (12-17-14) we returned for our second trip, arrived at 8:05am and left at around 9:45am. Here were the DIFFERENCES. I will reference your numbers from above.
3) Your Cedula with a copy. (Now you need three copies of your Cedula).
4) Good Conduct Letter (for each adult). (PLUS one copy)
7) Passport with a copy of the photo page. (Now you need three copies).
Everything else was the same. Now...here are the NEW FEES and I do not know when they went into effect. On a side note there were a lot of folks unaware of the new fees. It was "sticker shock" so here goes.
Renewal late fees went from $400.00 RD per month to $600.00 per month (we were 4 months late).
Processing fee or "cost of service” went from $8000.00RD to $12,000RD EACH person!!!!
Receiving renewing the new Cedula is still FREE, painless and fast!!
There you have it. Maybe I should make a separate post about the new fees....but in any event, thank you so much for sharing your "pathway" through this system. It probably won't be the same path the next time (sarc).
Respectfully
 

shorts

Member
Dec 3, 2012
310
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How is the Letter of Guarantee supposed to be formatted?

My understanding is it's supposed to be signed by a Dominican in front of a notary and two witnesses. But what wording should the actual letter contain?
 

botemon

Active member
Jun 28, 2008
223
31
28
For us, on 12/17/2014 we were told we did not need the letter of Guarantee anymore. We obtained one from a lawyer friend in POP previous to our trip to SD. And yes, it was signed in front of a notary and witnesses. (about 4k pesos I believe). If you wish, I could scan this thing and email it to you for an example.....but like I said......we did not need one. This was our 3rd Perm renewal. I was a waste of time and money.
Good Luck!!!
 

TravelHippo

Active member
Mar 24, 2008
504
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Do you know if this process is the same for FIRST time permanent residency renewal? We are finishing up our second year of temporary residency and moving on to permanent now, so just searching around here for info on what this year's process will require.
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
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38
I didn't need a letter of guarantee for my renewal. Maybe that's because of my wife being Dominican, but it's not stated in the requirements either.
 

bennymack

Member
Apr 12, 2006
84
2
8
Thank you boteman for updating things with your experience. The system is consistently changing! And now, a year or so after your post, I'm sure it has change more.

Shorts - I know you posted a year ago with a question but in case you look, I had the letter of Guarantee done by a lawyer. Yes, it was signed by the guarantee, two witnesses and a notary. It was just one letter with copies for each member of my family. Note that boteman said it was not needed when he went.

It's been a long time since my post. I don't know how accurate my experience is anymore but hopefully it will still help people.
 

harry myrtle beach

New member
Sep 16, 2015
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did not need letter of gaurantee for my one year residency or my naturalization. That is because I am married to a Dominicana.
 

bennymack

Member
Apr 12, 2006
84
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It's been a few years since I started this post. Please update it or start a new post with the current information. If you start a new post, maybe note it here so that people will go to yours.
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
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does anyone know when to renew permanent residency? is it 30 or 45 days before expiration date?
 

bennymack

Member
Apr 12, 2006
84
2
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It's 2017 and I realized I need to figure out this system to renew again. My residency doesn't expire until August of 2018, does anyone know if the renewal process has change much?

Dv8, I have the same question, but as the posts above share, 2 of us renewed after residency expired and paid a fee for each month late.

Once again, this thread is about the renewal of Permanent Residency.

Thanks!
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
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benny, for now, relax and chill. by 2018 the rules will be tweaked again. there's already been some changes since i renewed in november last year. i suggest you don't even think about it yet unless you want the ulcers to pop up on your stomach lining. :laugh:
 

bennymack

Member
Apr 12, 2006
84
2
8
Ok, back on this again. Here's the link with the directions for Permanent (RP-1) renewal:

https://www.migracion.gob.do/Menu/SubList/31

It looks like they now want 18 months left on your passport, so we need to get our passports renewed first. I did get caught on this last time but I think only 6 months was required. Here's the statement on the directions:

4. PASAPORTE Y FOTOCOPIA DE LA PÁGINA PRINCIPAL ESTE,
CON DIECIOCHO (18) MESES MÍNIMOS DE VIGENCIA. LA DGM ES FLEXIBLE CON EL TEMA Y CONSIDERARÁ, EN CADA CASO, LA REALIDAD DE CADA PAÍS Y EL RIGOR DE SUS NORMAS EN LA EXPEDICIÓN DE LOS PASAPORTES.

Does anyone know if they are flexible with people from the USA? My wife has 8 months left on her passport and my daughter 11 months.

Thanks.