My wife and I are moving to the DR the middle of September and are looking into the visa process. I was told by some friends who live there that a visa is not really necessary. They told us that you can inter the country, stay as long as you want and just pay an exit tax when you leave and the amount you pay is based on how long you have stayed in the country. I am used to going to countries where you are limited to 90 days with a tourist stamp in your passport so this idea seems hard to believe. But I know my friends and feel like they have more knowledge on this than I do. Is this correct that you can enter the country and stay as long as you want with a normal stamp in your passport and just pay the exit tax when you leave? Thanks for the help.
- Thread starter Jesse Hales
- Start date
Legal length of stay without visa
The residency process is a bitch. And, you have to initiate it from your home country. My wife and I and my kids have been here just under a year, and we entered on the tourist card. I come and go for work every month and a half, and pay the exit fee every time. Apparently, this is all changing sometime next year, but I wouldn't be to worried about it. The only reason you need a residency visa is to work, and to get a drivers licence. So, if you don't need those things, don't bother starting the process until you know you want to live here.
Yes don't bother until you are clear that you want to live full time .... Most snowbirds come down for the winter and pay an exit surcharge for their overstay ... Not much compared to the grief of residency nowadays ... Used to be quite painless and relatively simple compared to now . but that's progress from beauracratics keeping a job .....
If you come and go for work, you may be able to get a Business visa. I do the same, and the lady at the embassy in Chicago recommended this to me. The best part is that it is approved in the embassy, not SD, so I was able to get it approved and inserted into my passport the same day.
If you are permanently moving to the DR than you will have to start the residency process relatively soon after you arrive. The process actually starts in your home country so you would be much better off the collect the info and documents that you will need before you move to the DR. You will need, copies of your passports, birth certificiate, possilby wedding license, a police report, including finger prints, stating that you are not a fugitive from the law, also proof of bank account and the finances to support yourself in the DR. Are you retiring here? These need to be apostilized, which is a stamp that is recognized as a legal International Document as agreed upon by a convention of countries around the world. These documents all need to be translated into Spanish. If you bring these to the DR with you half the battle will be done. You will need to hire a local lawyer who will present your paper work to Immigration for processing. At this time you will take be asked to give a blood and urine sample and they will be you a chest x-ray. This is all part of the process to obtain temporary residency. The process takes anywhere from 9-15months for your documents to be approved. This will cost you about$1200usds per person. Now, you can ignore doing this and do it all later but once you are established in the DR it is difficult to have to go back to your home country to get this accomplished. Legally your tourist card, when you enter the DR, is good for 30 days. You can pay the overstay penalty at this point but a new law has been passed to establish residency for all foreigners and I believe you have 18 months to comply. If you are retiring to the DR it is one thing but if you are working from here or plan on establishing business you will need to get your residency sooner than later. If I were you I would go to a Domincan Consulate and explain your intentions and ask them what the requirements are. You will then have a clear understanding of the process and what you need to do to complete it.
LTSteve's summary and advice is really good.
The situation here in the DR changes slowly but sometimes dramatically. There are many expats in country who have not sought formal residency and have been here for a very long time. Each time they leave the country they pay a nominal "tax" for overstaying their tourist entry visa.
If you choose to go this route, yes it is easier and cheaper in the short term but you have no formal status. Without govt ID, driving could become a problem. Procuring services such as cell service, some banking services and most interactions with the govt. can be pain.
For me, the biggest kicker would be that after being here for a length of time, the rules change and you either have to leave with all your stuff in tow or scramble to comply with whatever the new residency requirements are at the time. If you are coming for a year and then plan to move on to somewhere else, I'd be tempted to forgo the formal residency application and just put up with the inconveniences of not having a cedula. If, however, you are committed to living here for the long term, you may as well save yourself some potential grief and seriously consider formalizing your status so that you need not worry about having to move unexpectedly, leaving that perfect island home you spent time finding and uprooting your family.
There are rumours that change is coming for undocumented foreigners living in the country. To date, we do not know when or exactly what will be involved should these rumours bear fruit.
As LTSteve said above, the residency process is initiated in your home country at the the Dominican Embassy. Contact them and they will advise you further.
Good luck and maybe we'll see you on the beach.
The situation here in the DR changes slowly but sometimes dramatically. There are many expats in country who have not sought formal residency and have been here for a very long time. Each time they leave the country they pay a nominal "tax" for overstaying their tourist entry visa.
If you choose to go this route, yes it is easier and cheaper in the short term but you have no formal status. Without govt ID, driving could become a problem. Procuring services such as cell service, some banking services and most interactions with the govt. can be pain.
For me, the biggest kicker would be that after being here for a length of time, the rules change and you either have to leave with all your stuff in tow or scramble to comply with whatever the new residency requirements are at the time. If you are coming for a year and then plan to move on to somewhere else, I'd be tempted to forgo the formal residency application and just put up with the inconveniences of not having a cedula. If, however, you are committed to living here for the long term, you may as well save yourself some potential grief and seriously consider formalizing your status so that you need not worry about having to move unexpectedly, leaving that perfect island home you spent time finding and uprooting your family.
There are rumours that change is coming for undocumented foreigners living in the country. To date, we do not know when or exactly what will be involved should these rumours bear fruit.
As LTSteve said above, the residency process is initiated in your home country at the the Dominican Embassy. Contact them and they will advise you further.
Good luck and maybe we'll see you on the beach.
Yes no problem. You are allowed to drive here 3 months without a DR license but many drive after the 3 months is up. I lost my license and when stopped gave my nexus card to amet, they don't know the difference! Some people say if you get in an accident you will not be covered under insurance without a DR license but my insurance agent says different. I have residency and may get around to getting a DR license some day.
Don't listen to the people that you HAVE to get residency, you don't yet.
Absolutely. Officially your foreign license is valid in DR for 90 days. Some people use it forever, but there have been claims that if there is an accident after 90 days the insurance company can refuse to pay if license isn't valid.
I would respectfully point out that it is the vehicle that is insured in the DR not the driver.
Last year I was stopped by AMET, roughly 5 months into my stay, and he did tell me I was not allowed to drive on my french licence.
DGM confirmed that. They told me I was taking risks........ even though my insurance told me they would cover me in case of accident, which DGM confirmed ( they seemed to say it was case by case, some insurances have history of paying out, others not....).
DGM confirmed that. They told me I was taking risks........ even though my insurance told me they would cover me in case of accident, which DGM confirmed ( they seemed to say it was case by case, some insurances have history of paying out, others not....).
I would avoid driving for a least a month or two until you see how most Dominicans drive. It's not for the the faint of heart and when there's an accident, the driver with the most money is the one at fault because they can pay more to get out of jail. Knew a young women who was rear ended at a stop light and the cops said it was her fault for blocking traffic and failing to obey the green light the other driver said was there. Set her back about $500 plus the damage to her car.
What insurance do you know would cover you in that situation? Is there an insurance company you would suggest and about how much does it run per month?
So what I'm understanding is the driver's licence is the problem after 90 days. Would it be possible to enter the country with a tourist stamp, buy a car and drive it with my US driver's licence with DR insurance and then make a quick trip across the Haitian boarder once 90 days is up and get a new tourist stamp that would make my US driver's licence good for another 90 days? If I did this would I be able to keep my insurance and not have to cancel it and reinstate it every 90 days?
Yes you can do that. You don't have to cancel your insurance or reinstate it every 90 days.
We use Universal Insurance and they have been very good, we pay around 40,000 pesos a yr I think.
We use commercial de seguros in santiago.
We used to have full premium insurance. ie all costs covered, "get out of jail in 2 hours max" card with company lawyer, very important here....., they also lend u a same price range car while fixing urs.......... last time we paid 26 000 pesos a year ( the price goes down every year cos we dont use it, my wife is dominican, it helps, ........ ).
What was great is I went once, than they also sent me new papers and stuff directly to my home.......
I have stopped that though, now i have near minimum insurance at 6000 pesos a year.........