Residency in the Dominican Republic

[Thegirlnextdoor]

My apologies if there is already a thread about this but, I had a quick scan and most were about Dominicans getting residency in other countries.

I am looking to move to Sosua in April to study Spanish for around four months, with the view of perhaps job hunting when my Spanish is up to scratch.

Ive been emailing the DR consulate in London and they tell me, I can go with just the tourist visa, but if I stay longer than the 30days I will have to pay a fee at the airport when I leave, it also means I have to buy a return flight ticket, and I was hoping of just buying one way, then deciding when to return whilst I was out there.

So I have just been looking at applying for residency, it says I can apply in England and pay a fee of ?170 which is cheaper than the fee if I stay past 30days. But apparently I then have to visit The General Immigration Office in the Dominican Republic, to put in a request for definitive residence.

So first can anyone tell me where that is located and is it appointment only?
Then when I put in a request, will I be charged another fee? And is it likely I will be given the residency or is it possible to be declined after doing all the correct paperwork in the UK.

Thankyou for any help given.

 

[Tamborista]

The Overstay Fee for 3 - 9 months is RD500 Pesos, I am not sure where you are being misinformed. Here are the overstay penalties. Temporary residency is going to cost you a lot more than this, why not take your time?

15 Days - 3 Months: $300 Pesos
3 Months - 9 Months: $500 Pesos
9 Months - 1 Year: $2000 Pesos
1 Year - 1.5 Years: $3500 Pesos
1.5 Years - 2 Years: $4500 Pesos
2 Years - 2.5 Years: $6000 Pesos
2.5 Years - 3 Years: $8000 Pesos
3-5 Years: $12000 Pesos
5 Years+: $15000 Pesos

http://www.dr1.com/support/210/can-i-be-fined-if-i-overstay-my-tourist-visa.html

 

[Thegirlnextdoor]

Oh thanks for that, do you by any chance know the peso/usd exchange rate? The embassy told me the cost was ?500, they obviously meant to write pesos not sterling.

 

[Tamborista]

RD500 Pesos = ?7.35 Libra Esterlina

 

[Thegirlnextdoor]

Oh jeez lol, and heres me talking about residency LOL
Thanks SO much!

 

[MikeFisher]

to the one way ticket:
as a non resident or citizen you are not allowed to enter the country without a return ticket.
Mike

 

[granca]

A 14 day return charter airline ticket certainly costs a lot less than scheduled and frequently less than one way scheduled. Take a 14 day charter flight or even cheap holiday offer but don?t go back to U.K. Remember to tell the charter flight agent and the hotel agent, usually the same person, at the airport, that you are not going back, unless to use the hotel accomodation suits you. I have done this many times, never had a hiccup yet. Good luck.

 

[Fabio J. Guzman]

It is better to apply for residency while in the Dominican Republic. Also, there is much more to the residency application than just paying the expenses. Please refer to various threads here or to the article on that subject here on DR1.

 

[mountainannie]

one way ticket

to the one way ticket:
as a non resident or citizen you are not allowed to enter the country without a return ticket.
Mike

I have entered twice on a one way ticket with no residencia and no problem- only issue was when I was buying the ticket in the US - the airline once asked and I just said "I live there" - there is no check at the airport.

 

[Criss Colon]

They Need To Update Their Information!!!

Ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

 

[Kiboko]

Mountainannie must have been lucky to have been allowed to board the flight without a return ticket. Every time I have flown back to the Dominican Republic on the return leg of return ticket, I have been asked for proof of residency. Once, one of my travelling companions who didn't have residencia was forced to buy a one way ticket back out of the Dominican Republic, but he later got it refunded, so it was no biggie, just an inconvenience. I think it's possibly the airlines that are more concerned about the rule than immigration officials in the DR. American Airlines seems to be particularly strict.

 

[MikeFisher]

hi Kiboko,
the airlines aren't concerned about bringing somebody illegal in the country, but the know about the very high fines they would face if somebody would get caught without a return ticket, by law the airlines are responsible to check that a passenger has his return ticket.
you can do things against the rules as long as nobody find out, it's like that on many things, but when got caught and have to pay some fines they shouldn't cry about a thing.
before i made my residency around 8 years ago i travelled often, one way, just with the passport. the laws been the same back in the day, but the system been very different than today. nobody cared about far overdone visatimes, when coming back the immigration never checked a thing, they wanted to see that you bought/paid your tourist card and gace you your stamp in the passport. the german airlines always asked about residency when buying a one way ticket back, i always said 'yes, i am a resident' and that's it.
today the stuff is handled different, why to take a risk?, you have nothing extra to pay.
Mike

 

[Pete]

One way tickets

For information:
Firstly, a one way ticket is far more expensive than half the cost of a return ticket.

However, if you have no return date in mind, buy a one way ticket from wherever to DR at the best price you can find at the time. Then purchase a fully refundable ticket from DR to home.

Its costly but it serves two purposes. It gets you on the initial flight and satisfies the DR authorities if they check. (they have not checked me in 6 years) Secondly, it is fully refundable for a period of one year. Prior to the end or the twelve months, it can be renewed for another year. exchanged for another ticket, or cashed in.
Don't forget, if you pay by credit card it will be refunded to the same credit card.

Hope this helps.

 

[Kiboko]

Hello Mike,

I fully agree with you. My intention was to tell the OP that she SHOULD make sure she has some form of ticket out of the DR because it is highly likely that either the airline or the immigration officials will check. Sorry if this wasn't clear in my post.

Pete - good idea.

Kiboko

 

[london777]

return flight from UK to DR

Surely the only way of travelling direct to the DR from the UK is by buying a "spare" seat on a package holiday charter flight (typically between ?250 and ?450 return which includes all the extras) which is much cheaper and quicker than a scheduled single or return via the US, Spain, or wherever. This assumes you don't need to travel on a specific day and can accept 20kg baggage limit.

 

[Kateinyork]

Surely the only way of travelling direct to the DR from the UK is by buying a "spare" seat on a package holiday charter flight (typically between ?250 and ?450 return which includes all the extras) which is much cheaper and quicker than a scheduled single or return via the US, Spain, or wherever. This assumes you don't need to travel on a specific day and can accept 20kg baggage limit.

Yes, I think you're right on that and the cost of a scheduled single was about ?500 last time I looked - which is actually more than a charter return!

 

[stelen123]

one way ticket

Anyone can fly out from Brussel on Jetairfly you can buy a one way ticket to POP airport or Punta Cana where they fly every monday. I have used them several times before without any problems. 2 weeks ago the last time 149.00 Euro ( all taxes included ).