Retirement Visa question

[JLA1125]

I am a U.S. federal government employee who is looking to retire in the Dominican Republic within the next year or two. I am looking to retire on the retirement visa program that was started in the DR a few years ago where if you can show that you have a government pension of $1500 a month or more you can obtain permanent residence. My retirement pension will be about $3500 a month.

My question is how soon before my actual retirement date should I start the application process? I have heard that it takes only 45 days to process the visa, but as someone who is familiar with government bureaucracy, I know there are always snags in the system.

Any help will be much appreciated.

 

[Fabio J. Guzman]

You should start as soon as you retire. Unfortunately it cannot be done before since, to start the application, you will need a certification issued by your government regarding your status as a retiree.

As for the time, you should not confuse residency visawith residency status. The first is issued to you by the Dominican Consulate in you country of origin and allows you to enter the Dominican Republic to complete the application for residency status. Once in the Dominican Republic you must undergo some medical tests and file your application for residency status. The time to obtain residency status is actually several months (not 45 days) from the time the application is filed in the Dominican Republic.