President Hipolito Mejia is in favor of no limits to the number of visas Dominican consulates issue to Haitians. El Siglo recently said that Dominican consulates had issued more than 43,000 visas in the first trimester of the year, of which 7,000 persons had not returned. The newspaper highlighted that there was a limit on the number of visas, that was by far being surpassed by the consuls. Dominican consuls are charging US$50 and US$250 for the single entry and multiple entry year long visa, of which the consul can pocket a significant part. President Mejia does not see a problem in the numbers of visas issued to Haitians. "We are granting visas to everyone, everyone who wants to come with a visa will not have a problem, nor should there be a problem," he said when interviewed by the press when attending the First Dominican Congress of the Federation of Municipalities held at the National Theater. "I want a lot of people from Haiti to come using a visa. They are one of our best markets," said the President, referring to the fact that Haitians come and buy lots of Dominican products.
