IF you speak Spanish and/or have a friend who does and can go to Immigration with you, you can save a lot of money by filing the documents yourself. It?s easy and the only difference with paying a lawyer to do it for you is that you?ll have to make copies of your documents. NO MEDICAL REQUIRED.
TEMPORARY RESIDENCY RENEWAL
Instructions provided by Immigration in Spanish can be downloaded from this link (pdf file).
For those who don?t speak Spanish, here?s a translation of requirements (You?ll need to bring with you original (or copy if original is not possible) plus four additional sets of copies (prepare the five sets; otherwise, the immigration person will have to sort the papers in sets while you wait):
1. Letter to the Director of Immigration requesting the renewal., written in Spanish. Here?s the letter I typed and used (word doc). You need to fill in the name part and maybe include what you do.
2. Residency Renewal form (you?ll get this from window 3 or 4 by paying RD$100 when you go to do your renewal--this is the only document you?ll need to fill out while there).
3. Passport or travel document, with no less than an 18-month expiration date (although DGM is flexible with this and will look into each case individually).
4. Original of your temporary residency card.
5. Original of your Cedula.
6. Criminal Records (this costs RD$300 (pay at BanReservas prior to going to and can be obtained on any of the places listed on this page (right column): http://www.gob.do/Servicios/Detalles/917e8d33-fbb6-e011-9658-001d092f0b84 In Puerto Plata, this process takes about three hours.
7. Two photos 2 x 2 without jewelry or accessories, and your ears uncovered. (Just attach them to the original of your documents with a paper clip.)
8. Guarantee letter signed by a notary public, from a Dominican national or a Foreign national with permanent residency, by which this person accepts responsibility for your moral and economic conditions, support and repatriation if needed, legalized by Procuraduroia General de la Republic, with copies of both sides of the guarantor cedula,
OR guarantee policy provided by a company;
OR proof of solvency.
ALL YOU NEED to just do it with proof of solvency is: (a) a letter from your Dominican bank addressed to the Director of Immigration saying you have an account and the balance of your account; OR (b) copy of your car title, your house title, your corporation title, or anything of value you own in the DR. (Note: I used the title of a corporation we own together with a copy of our 2013 Registro Mercantil. I also brought a letter from my bank, but one document is all you need. The immigration employee that received my papers chose the Registro Mercantil and corporation title. If you have more than one document that you can bring, do it just in case).
PROCEDURE on the day you go to Immigration with all your documents and copies ready (don?t get a visitor?s pass--you?ll need your cedula):
1. Go to Window 3 or 4 to purchase the temporary renewal form and fill it out.
2. Go to the last window on the right (window 11), give them all five sets of documents with the renewal form on top. The person at the window will check your documents and get your fingerprints.
3. Go to the place where they make copies (right behind you when in Window 10 or the first window on your left when coming into the immigration area of the building). Make four copies of the form, put one on top of each set and return to Window 11 to submit your paperwork. You?ll be told to wait 30-40 minutes and go to Window 3/4 to pay.
4. Go to window 3 or 4 to pay. Note that even though the cost on the instructions page says RD$4,000, the actual cost is RD$3,000 (plus the RD$1,000 for VIP). Payment in cash only.
5. After you pay, you?ll be told to wait X number of minutes that you?ll be called to get your picture taken. NOW, you need to go out and get a visitor?s pass. You?ll have to leave your cedula behind and you?ll need it to pay so don?t get a visitor?s pass before paying. Get your picture taken, wait outside for about 15 minutes and pick up your new residency card from Window 10.
TOTAL TIME in Immigration: 2 hours
TOTAL COST: Form 100 pesos, photos 180, criminal records 300, renewal and VIP 4,000 = RD$4,580 (about USD $208) plus the cost of copies (about 5 pesos each) Once you have your new residency card, you can go to renew your cedula. You don?t need any copies (I brought some but they do make them there for you at no cost). You bring your passport and your new residency card, that?s all. Cost is RD$3,000 for a 12-month renewal. You can pay cash or credit card. To get your cedula, go to Cedula Extranjeria on Av. Luperon and 27 de Febrero.
Consider whether it is worth your while hiring a lawyer or doing it yourself. What your lawyer will be doing for your is: get criminal records, make copies of documents you provided, and submit the payment and documents to Immigration while you?re there with him/her. Whether this is worth an extra US$600 or so is up to you.
Obviously, there are cases that are complicated and do require legal services.
PS: I'll try posting procedure to renew permanent residency in English soon. It's a two-step process requiring two visits to immigration (with or without a lawyer). First for medical; second to submit and pick up your residency. In the meantime, if anyone is interested, a pdf document with Immigration instructions in Spanish can be downloaded from here.
TEMPORARY RESIDENCY RENEWAL
Instructions provided by Immigration in Spanish can be downloaded from this link (pdf file).
For those who don?t speak Spanish, here?s a translation of requirements (You?ll need to bring with you original (or copy if original is not possible) plus four additional sets of copies (prepare the five sets; otherwise, the immigration person will have to sort the papers in sets while you wait):
1. Letter to the Director of Immigration requesting the renewal., written in Spanish. Here?s the letter I typed and used (word doc). You need to fill in the name part and maybe include what you do.
2. Residency Renewal form (you?ll get this from window 3 or 4 by paying RD$100 when you go to do your renewal--this is the only document you?ll need to fill out while there).
3. Passport or travel document, with no less than an 18-month expiration date (although DGM is flexible with this and will look into each case individually).
4. Original of your temporary residency card.
5. Original of your Cedula.
6. Criminal Records (this costs RD$300 (pay at BanReservas prior to going to and can be obtained on any of the places listed on this page (right column): http://www.gob.do/Servicios/Detalles/917e8d33-fbb6-e011-9658-001d092f0b84 In Puerto Plata, this process takes about three hours.
7. Two photos 2 x 2 without jewelry or accessories, and your ears uncovered. (Just attach them to the original of your documents with a paper clip.)
8. Guarantee letter signed by a notary public, from a Dominican national or a Foreign national with permanent residency, by which this person accepts responsibility for your moral and economic conditions, support and repatriation if needed, legalized by Procuraduroia General de la Republic, with copies of both sides of the guarantor cedula,
OR guarantee policy provided by a company;
OR proof of solvency.
ALL YOU NEED to just do it with proof of solvency is: (a) a letter from your Dominican bank addressed to the Director of Immigration saying you have an account and the balance of your account; OR (b) copy of your car title, your house title, your corporation title, or anything of value you own in the DR. (Note: I used the title of a corporation we own together with a copy of our 2013 Registro Mercantil. I also brought a letter from my bank, but one document is all you need. The immigration employee that received my papers chose the Registro Mercantil and corporation title. If you have more than one document that you can bring, do it just in case).
PROCEDURE on the day you go to Immigration with all your documents and copies ready (don?t get a visitor?s pass--you?ll need your cedula):
1. Go to Window 3 or 4 to purchase the temporary renewal form and fill it out.
2. Go to the last window on the right (window 11), give them all five sets of documents with the renewal form on top. The person at the window will check your documents and get your fingerprints.
3. Go to the place where they make copies (right behind you when in Window 10 or the first window on your left when coming into the immigration area of the building). Make four copies of the form, put one on top of each set and return to Window 11 to submit your paperwork. You?ll be told to wait 30-40 minutes and go to Window 3/4 to pay.
4. Go to window 3 or 4 to pay. Note that even though the cost on the instructions page says RD$4,000, the actual cost is RD$3,000 (plus the RD$1,000 for VIP). Payment in cash only.
5. After you pay, you?ll be told to wait X number of minutes that you?ll be called to get your picture taken. NOW, you need to go out and get a visitor?s pass. You?ll have to leave your cedula behind and you?ll need it to pay so don?t get a visitor?s pass before paying. Get your picture taken, wait outside for about 15 minutes and pick up your new residency card from Window 10.
TOTAL TIME in Immigration: 2 hours
TOTAL COST: Form 100 pesos, photos 180, criminal records 300, renewal and VIP 4,000 = RD$4,580 (about USD $208) plus the cost of copies (about 5 pesos each) Once you have your new residency card, you can go to renew your cedula. You don?t need any copies (I brought some but they do make them there for you at no cost). You bring your passport and your new residency card, that?s all. Cost is RD$3,000 for a 12-month renewal. You can pay cash or credit card. To get your cedula, go to Cedula Extranjeria on Av. Luperon and 27 de Febrero.
Consider whether it is worth your while hiring a lawyer or doing it yourself. What your lawyer will be doing for your is: get criminal records, make copies of documents you provided, and submit the payment and documents to Immigration while you?re there with him/her. Whether this is worth an extra US$600 or so is up to you.
Obviously, there are cases that are complicated and do require legal services.
PS: I'll try posting procedure to renew permanent residency in English soon. It's a two-step process requiring two visits to immigration (with or without a lawyer). First for medical; second to submit and pick up your residency. In the meantime, if anyone is interested, a pdf document with Immigration instructions in Spanish can be downloaded from here.