TL;DR
1) The DR does not want nor does it encourage foreigners to come here to live and
work.
2) Residency has been and still is for the most part limited to those who have an ongoing formalized external income source.
3) You can't become a citizen without first getting residency (have an ongoing income source).
It seems that one of the most difficult points to get across in these discussions is the practical reality of the immigration system here in the DR.
As many people do and just as many advocate doing - you can come and stay in this country for a long time without much in the way of consequences. "Forever", the govt here has dinged people who overstay a fee when they leave. This fee is not an endorsement of the practice of overstaying, rather a way to monetize the act of doing so rather than sending you to jail.
The point that most prefer to gloss over is that after 30 days if you remain in the DR, you do not enjoy the full protection of law. It doesn't matter if these people are called illegal aliens, irregular migrants or shrewd interlopers, the fact is simply that you are not supposed to be in the country.
Yes, not much has been done about this with respect to white foreign nationals with a means to support themselves. Landlords don't seem to care if you are a resident or not as long as you can pay the monthly rent, they'll take your money. Want to buy a car, sure, someone will sell you one and the Govt seems ok with registering it to you as long as your fork over the money to all involved. Insurance companies, providing liability type insurance such as auto insurance are quite happy to take your money too. Some pay claims and some don't when it comes to illegal aliens. There has been at least one report of a medical insurer providing differing coverage based on residency status.
The govt, the police, the courts, businesses, lawyers, casual domestic workers all take advantage of the overstayer because they can and because they know that such an individual will not pursue the matter much beyond an initial complaint of unfair treatment. The current system is built on the premise that money is easier to get from those who do not have a solid legal footing in this country and as a result are not inclined to put up much of a protest. No wonder little is done to protect "the individual overstayer" because in the end, it's all about the money and the hammer they hold over the heads of those who willingly put themselves into this predicament.
Yes you can come and live in the DR pretty much as long as you like. Provided you accept that you have limited recourse should you get into some sort of contractual or financial dispute. You accept that you walk the streets pretty much at the pleasure of the govt, the police and the courts. From time to time you will have to pay to achieve your desired objective, even if that objective is the continued ability to walk the streets.
It is quite possible that you can go a long time without any direct negative impact predicated by one's decision to overstay. On the other hand, you could (even if unlikely) not have that experience. The longer you stay, the more likely it is that you will get comfortable, accumulate stuff (some of which can be expensive) and grow complacent. Probably not next month, or even this year but sometime, at a time of "their" choosing, someone(s) without legal status in this country will get a rude awakening, probably without much advance notice.
If you are prepared to live this way, with a degree of uncertainty and assuming an element of risk, that's your choice to make. However, it would be folly to believe that the fees paid upon exit offer any sort legitimacy to the decision to overstay. You pay these fees because if you do not you will not be permitted to catch your flight. The DR holds all the power. Tourists here for less than 30 days, legal residents and naturalized foreigners can't be prevented from coming and going without good reason. You others, accept a degree of uncertainty day to day and hope that the whims of this country do not change in a way that impacts you and your expensive stuff.
The message that most newcomers seem to embrace is the message they want to hear, put forward by those who are betting on the system not changing. "Come on down, pay the exit fee when you leave and everything will be golden." While sort of the truth, this operational philosophy (even if the "official govt line" as per DGM) is not one with any sort of legitimacy or guarantee. I point you again to this post by DR1's Laywer of record:
http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.ph...Fabio-Guzman?p=1762215&viewfull=1#post1762215
For some reason, it seems fashionable for some to view residing in the DR without legitimacy in a different light than they would view those who do so in their home country. After all these years, I have to conclude that implied feasibility of doing so here in the DR overshadows the practical reality in our home countries where it is explicitly stated that you may not overstay your visa and where there is no simple exit fee if you do.
Just because you CAN do something, doesn't necessarily make it something you SHOULD do. In the end, individuals will make up their own minds and do whatever they feel comfortable doing. I would hope that before coming to live here in the DR (or any other country for that matter) individuals take the time to make sure, that their decisions are not based on only the ability to do something but on the more important realization of just how horribly complicated things could get if the plan does not unfold as expected. Aliens are vulnerable here and no amount of wishful prognostication changes that fact.
