Dominican
Republic Residency - Citizenship Information
When
trying to make a comparison between the process available in
the Dominican Republic and some other jurisdictions, we have
already noted that the Dominican Republic does NOT have an
instant or economic citizenship program (in fact, they never
did). However, there is a process for qualified
investors that allows you to apply for citizenship after 6
months of obtaining a special residency status card from
immigration (which we will explain below). All told,
if you add up the various time lines, the entire process
will usually take about 18 to 24 months (all depending upon
the various government offices). So, while it is not
an instant or economic citizenship as might be offered
elsewhere, it costs MUCH LESS than such programs in other
countries and there are no restrictions placed upon you.

Because the Dominican Republic is one of the most beautiful
countries in the Caribbean, and currently still has some of
the lowest priced real estate in comparison to other
Caribbean destinations, it is a country of choice for many
people - - and it has earned a reputation as one of
the best places to live or retire. In addition,
banking in US Dollar and Euros is available, plus with local
currency investment rates up to 16%, it means that investors
can enjoy a very comfortable income from their investments,
from a relatively small investment. As part of our
core group of services, or included in the residency fee, is
our personal assistance with banking and investment account
introductions for our clients (we gladly take clients to
visit some of the local financial institutions and introduce
them to an English speaking account officer, but we have NO
referral arrangement with any bank or brokerage firm – and
clients certainly are under no obligation to work with any
of the institutions we might suggest). In addition, we
certainly do not manage money or act as signatories on any
accounts, but we do provide any advice and assistance we can
otherwise. After all, it is YOUR money and not ours,
and you should be the only person in control of it.
Why
Choose The Dominican Republic For Residency and
Citizenship?
Some
Key Points About The Dominican Republic:
1.
The Dominican
Republic Fully Recognizes Dual Citizenship.
You will NOT
be asked at any time to renounce your previous citizenship
or turn in your previous passport, and the Dominican
Republic respects the fact that you might be a dual
citizenship accordingly.
2. The
Dominican Republic Offers Investors Some of The Lowest
Priced Real Estate in The Caribbean. Per
square foot, real estate costs tend to be lower in the
Dominican Republic or stated another way: You will get
MORE for your money in terms of a real
estate purchase in comparison to most other jurisdictions in
the Caribbean. Also, because the mortgage interest
rates are high (according to market conditions) and NOT
artificially manipulated by the central bank, as is the case
in the United States, the country has not fallen into a real estate crisis as
we have seen in the US and parts of Europe (Spain,
Ireland). In other words, real estate in the local
markets has not declined and local Dominican Banks are not under water
with abandoned properties or non-performing mortgages.
This means that the real estate market remains on solid
footing in the Dominican Republic.
3.
The Dominican
Republic Offers Banking in US Dollars, Euros and The
Dominican Peso. In
addition, interest rates tend to be higher in the country
than Panama or the US for US Dollar denominated Bonds or
Commercial Paper. Should investors wish to consider
placing monies into Dominican Peso denominated
investments, then in such a case, as of June 2014
investors can expect up to 14 percent (annualized) or so
with some longer term bonds or commercial paper
vehicles. In other words, with a US$150,000
equivalent in Pesos invested this way, one can expect
about US$1,800 or RD$75,000 Pesos per MONTH
in interest. This certainly is enough monthly income
from investments to cover your monthly RENT in an upscale
apartment, your monthly utilities (Electricity, Telephone,
Cable Television, Etc,), And your monthly grocery bill -
plus have something extra left over.
Speaking about banking matters, it is also important
to note that the Dominican Republic does NOT have any currency controls. You
can bring in any amount of money you want, take out any
amount of money you want - and exchange between US Dollars,
Euros and Dominican Pesos any day as much as you want all
within the same bank. Of course, each bank has their
own due diligence policy and may ask to see source or proof
of funds regarding your first wire transfer or for an
unusually large wire transfer, but that is only a bank's
policy and has nothing do with any law in the country
prohibiting you to receive or take out money. Also, as
of JUNE 2014, the retail banking unit of the
Dominican Central Bank will accept and conduct transactions
in the Chinese Yuan
Renminbi Currency. This means the other local banks in
the country will probably be offering savings accounts and
or other transactions in that currency soon as well.
4.
The Dominican
Passport Offers Visa Free Travel To The Following
Countries (as of 2012 according to the Dominican
Foreign Relations Office): Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, The
Philippines, Georgia, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea,
Israel, Morocco, Mozambique, Lebanon, South Africa, St.
Kitts - Nevis, Trinidad - Tobago, Turkey, Tunisia and
Singapore. Travelers with a Dominican Passport may
transit the Following Countries without a Visa:
Germany, Spain. There are additional countries
offering visa free travel to Dominican Passport Holders,
but we have not mentioned them because the foreign
relations department did not list them on their official
communication sheet.
5. The Dominican Republic Offers a Very
Attractive Alternative To Economic Citizenship Programs
elsewhere, Which is to explain, persons
wishing to apply as qualified investors have the
opportunity to apply for naturalized citizenship after 6
months and here are some comparison to the economic
citizenship programs in other other countries:
Some Economic
Citizenship Programs require that you GIVE
US$100,000 to that local government to qualify or purchase
real estate valued at US$300,00o or more. The
US$100,000 donation is money you will NEVER
see again - it is gone, kaput, vanished like a magician's
trick. In the Dominican Republic, if you invest
US$200,000 you are under no restriction as to how or where
you invest it. You can put into government bonds,
commercial paper, real estate, whatever - and the money is
YOURS, ALWAYS AND FOREVER.
You can move it around, change your investments, and take
it out later on if you so choose.
With regards to the
real estate option with these other Economic Citizenship
Programs, the local government is telling you where you MUST buy in order to qualify, and
usually these are not properties you would buy on your own
(which are not really worth the money, and good luck
trying to sell it for that amount later on). In the
Dominican Republic there are NO
RESTRICTIONS as to what you buy, where you buy
and at what price you buy. If you find a nice 2,000
square foot luxury condo for US$200,000 then buy it, as it
will qualify as an investment towards the US$200,000
amount. Want to buy a high end one bedroom condo in
a building with a door-man, swimming pool, etc, for
US$120,000 and put your other money into other interest
paying investments giving you a monthly income, feel free
to do so. That also will qualify.
Just to be clear, there are TWO different Residency Application
avenues and depending upon which one you choose, that will
determine how far off or how quickly you can apply for
citizenship:
THE ORDINARY RESIDENCY
APPLICATION PROCESS
This process was recently changed by a law passed on October
18, 2011 by President Fernandez of the Dominican Republic (who
was President at that time). As a result, the process
now requires 5 years of Provisional Residency and 2 years of
Definitive or Permanent Residency before you can apply for
citizenship (a total of 7 years altogether). Applicants
would apply with the Dominican Republic Department of
Immigration for Provisional Residency as the first residency
category. This card will normally be issued with a one
year expiration although immigration will issue a card with
extended years as the expiration if the applicant is willing
to pay for the corresponding future years up front.
Remember, in accordance with the new law of 2011, applicants
would maintain provisional residency status for 5 years total,
before being able to convert their status to Ordinary
Definitive or Permanent Residency, and then after 2 years of
Definitive or Permanent Residency, you could apply for
citizenship.
The positive side to this process is that NO investment is
required, other than proof of a local bank account (with no
amount in the account specified). This process is
probably more appealing to clients that would prefer not to
make any kind of larger investment in the country and that may
not be in a rush to obtain a dual citizenship. Indeed,
many of our clients coming from Europe or Canada might prefer
this, as the goal for such persons is to be able to declare
themselves non-resident for tax purposes in the previous home
country, more so than a desire for dual citizenship (However,
if your goal is a legal and valid dual citizenship and
passport, then the following will be of interest to you).
DEFINITIVE OR
PERMANENT RESIDENCY AS A SPECIAL QUALIFIED INVESTOR
Prior to 2007, President Fernandez (who was the President of
the Dominican Republic at that time) wanted to offer a program
for retirees or pensioners as existed in places such as Panama
or Costa Rica. Seeing the interest and success in such
programs, a decree was issued creating such a program in the
Dominican Republic – albeit with a number of improvements in
terms of requirements over the other countries
mentioned. However, in 2007 a formal law was created
making this program an official codified process, but with
some additional categories as well. These categories
falling under the same special law are:
A. Pensioner or
Retiree – With a fixed Monthly Retirement Income, Pension or
Annuity. B. Independent Investor – With Proof of Monthly
Income coming from any investment or non salaried source
(meaning bank account interest, brokerage accounts, rental
income, royalties, etc.). C.
Lump Sum Investor – With Proof of a local investment of
US$200,000 (or equivalent in another currency) in local
financial instruments, real estate, business enterprise, etc.
In order to qualify for this special status regardless of A, B
or C, there is NO age
requirement (as is the case in some other jurisdiction if
applying as a pensioner or retiree), with obviously the time
line of eligibility for naturalized citizenship application
shortened down to 6 months from the date your investor
residency card is issued. Over the past few years
roughly 90 percent of our clients have been able to
participate in this program and we would be glad to assist you
as well. One of the positive aspects however is that unlike in
some other jurisdictions, there is NO requirement for the
applicant to invest in real estate, although you are welcome
to do so should you wish – and keep in mind that this will
allow you to file for naturalized citizenship under that
qualifier. Also, the Dominican Republic has been and
still is a real estate investor's paradise because per square
foot, you will get more for your money in the Dominican
Republic compared to just about any place else in all of the
Caribbean (from basic properties up to luxury condominiums or
homes). In fact, over the past 10 years, many of our
clients have already doubled their money in some cases with
regards to real estate investments – and are still buying now
in 2014 because real
estate holdings are a hedge against inflation and possible
devaluation of the US Dollar – AND is still reasonably priced
compared to similar properties elsewhere (compared to St.
Martin, Bahamas, etc.).
But not only that. Persons applying under the above
mentioned special investor residency process also can obtain a
reduction on title transfer taxes for their first real estate
purchase, AND annual real estate taxes are quite low in
general compared to the US, Europe, etc. In terms of
annual real estate taxes in the Dominican Republic : You can
expect to pay one (1) percent of the property value,
calculated for the amount over and above US$100,000 (real
estate valued at the Peso Equivalent of US$100,000 and below
is tax-free in terms of any annual real estate taxes).
In terms of some general real estate information and how it
relates to the application process (for residency and
citizenship) - there is no specific or fixed amount they are
looking for or requiring in terms of a real estate
purchase, so it is up to you what you might
consider. Real estate in Santo Domingo or Santiago will
be less expensive than property in a tourist area such
as Juan Dolio or Punta Cana. With regards to Santo
Domingo, you can find a higher end 3 bedroom condo (in
an upper middle class area) ranging from say US$145,000 for
a 1,400 square foot property up to US$250,000 for maybe
a 2,400 square foot property - and everything and
anything in between. Outside of Santo Domingo, there is
a builder doing Swiss chalet style vacation properties in the
mountain area of Jarabacoa (new construction) for about
US$125,000. In addition, you can get a 2 or 3 bedroom
townhouse condo in Punta Cana – Bavaro for about US$125,000
but it will be smaller (about 1,200 square feet or so).
Regardless of which of the above application scenarios may be
best applicable for yourself, our office can assist with the
initial residency application all the way through to the
citizenship process and passport. Over the last 16 years
we have assisted many families and individuals, and would be
glad to be of service to you as well.
GETTING STARTED:
Regardless if you intend to apply as an
ORDINARY RESIDENT APPLICANT or QUALIFIED
INVESTOR APPLICANT, immigration has started to insist
as of June 2012 that
potential applicants obtain a special residency visa from
their nearest Dominican Consulate as the first step (the
second step would be a visit to the Dominican Republic to
start the actual process with immigration). You should
be aware that this is NOT a new law or requirement, but rather
one that has been in place for many years. However, The
Dominican Department of Immigration did not enforce this
provision previously, that is until they started doing so in
June of 2012. So, we can call this visa in your passport
the first step in the process, and then the actual filing
process with the Dominican Department of Immigration in Santo
Domingo as the second step.
Our office assists clients with both the first and second
step, and to make sure clients have everything correctly
prepared, we ask that they send us one original set of
documents before they apply for the visa. This is so we
can check the documents to make sure they are in order, and to
prepare a document for the client whereby someone is our
office is acting as a guarantor (A Dominican Citizen must as a
guarantor for the visa application and the residency
application with immigration). In addition, we can
provide a complete documents list and templates for some of
the documents as well. Once clients obtain the special
residency visa which is valid for 60 days, then they will
visit Santo Domingo to begin the actual process with the
department of immigration and we will be with our clients
every step of the way through approval and issuance of the
respective cards. In addition, we of course assist with
the naturalized citizenship process for our clients, and we
have been doing so for over 16 years to date (so we like to
think we know what we are doing at this point - knowledge is
fine, but BOTH experience and knowledge is better - and that
is what makes us different).
Send Us An Email For More
Information & To Begin The Process