8
Jan

The most frequent question among people who wish to immigrate to the Dominican Republic is: “How do I obtain residence in the Dominican Republic?”

In this article, we will detail the steps you would need to follow to obtain Dominican residence.

The first thing you should know is that the Dominican Government grants two types of residence: a temporary and a permanent residence. In most cases, if you wish to settle in our country, you would need to apply for a temporary residence permit first; given that to acquire permanent resident status you must have been a temporary resident for five years.

In some cases, it is possible to immediately apply for permanent residence. We will be listing those cases below.

In both cases, it is necessary to request them at the Dominican consulate closest to your domicile abroad. Law 285-04 along with its Regulation No. 631-11 on Migration, dated August 15, 2004 and October 19, 2011 modified the residence application process. “It is no longer possible to apply for a residence visa in the Dominican Republic”.

The documents necessary to submit your residency application are the following:

1.Passport valid for a minimum of 18 months.

2.Photocopy of your identity documents. In the event you are not a citizen of the country in which you are submitting your residency application, you must present the residence permit of that country.

3.Birth certificate.

4. Marriage certificate, if married.

5.Criminal record clearance certificate issued by the authorities of your country of residence.

6. Supporting documents explaining your interest in residing in the Dominican Republic (for example a contract or job offer, investment documents, etc).

7. Medical certificate issued by the health authorities of the country where you reside.

8. Letter signed before a notary by a Dominican citizen or foreign permanent resident in the Dominican Republic, guaranteeing that you will not be a burden to the Dominican State.

9. Documents supporting your financial solvency.

10. Photographs.

Important note: All documents need to be in Spanish, otherwise they must be translated into Spanish. Ideally, the translation would be done by an translator from the Dominican consulate located in your country. Documents that do not come from the Dominican Republic must be “apostilled” in the country in which they were issued. An exception to that rule applies when the apostille does not proceed, in which case the documents must be legalized at the nearest Dominican consulate in that country.

The Dominican consulate in which you made your request may require documents not listed above. In their petition for residence, applicants may include petitions for their spouse and minor children; by including the marriage certificate and the birth certificates of their children, as well as their passports and additional documents.

Other provisions

Temporary residence permits must be renewed every year. You must personally make your renewal application thirty days before your permit expires, attaching the following documents: passport with a minimum validity of 18 months, criminal record clearance certificate from the Dominican Republic, residence card, Dominican issued ID (known as cédula), photographs and a letter signed before a notary public by your guarantor in the Dominican Republic.

Forty five days before the five-year term as a temporary resident, you may apply for a permanent residence permit by submitting the following documentation: temporary residence card, recent medical exams, Dominican issued ID (known as cédula), passport with a minimum validity of 18 months, proof of your financial solvency, criminal record clearance certificate from the Dominican Republic, photographs and a letter signed before a notary public by your guarantor in the Dominican Republic. Please keep in mind that the General Directorate of Migration may require additional documents in case they deem it appropriate.

The first permanent residence permit will only be valid for one year and the following one for four years. This timeline does not apply for residence permits for retirees and rentiers, the validity would be two years in those cases. For the renewal of permanent residence status, the following documents will be required: residence card, passport with a minimum validity of 18 months, Dominican issued ID (known as cédula), criminal record clearance certificate from the Dominican Republic, letter signed before a notary public by your guarantor in the Dominican Republic, proof of financial solvency and photographs. Retirees and rentiers must prove that they received their corresponding pension or income monthly in the Dominican Republic. After ten years as a permanent resident in the country, you will not need to renew your permit again and you will receive a definitive residence card.

Other Categories

There are other types of legal residence in the Dominican Republic for a certain time, depending on the applicable motive. These types are as follows:

1.      Students: This can be renewed until you can prove the studies you are completing in the country.
2.      Work MN1: It can be renewed annually, presenting a contract and authorization from the Ministry of Labor of the Dominican Republic as proof.

Citizenship

Permanent residents may apply for Dominican citizenship, if they so desire, after two years of being granted permanent residence in the country. Individuals granted residency by investment and spouses of Dominican citizens may do so six months after obtaining their residence.