ABOUT OUR SERVICES

Getting Residency and/or a Passport in The Dominican Republic (DR) may be a perfect solution to certain individuals for tax reasons and/or to have a second option as country in which to be domiciled or have a passport in the event that you are unhappy with or wish to leave your current country for any reason.

As well, especially for Americans, it is nearly impossible to open bank or brokerage accounts anywhere in the world with a US Passport.  Having a second passport opens up unlimited financial possibilities worldwide.

Whether you want residency or a DR passport or just simply wish to live in the Dominican Republic, we offer a service to expedite the process and make it so you don't have to do a thing except for follow our instructions.  We do all the work. We will even suggest hotels for you and pick you up at your hotel in Santo Domingo when you arrive to apply for residency or citizenship.

Through our service, we make getting a Dominican Republic passport easier than almost any other passport in the world.  All you need to do is:

• Call or Email us to request our services
• We will advise you on the process (more on that below)
• We will arrange a time and recommend hotels for you to fly into the Dominican Republic
• We will arrange a time and place to meet you in the capital, Santa Domingo
• We will have a concierge drive you to the government and medical offices to do the requisite applications
• The total process usually does not take longer than a day
• We will then drop you off at your hotel
• A few months later your residency card or passport (depending on what you applied for) will be ready and we will again arrange a time for you to return and our concierge will again pick you up to go to the government office to retrieve your documents

This service was designed by world famous expatriation writer and speaker, Jeff Berwick, who writes the newsletter, The Dollar Vigilante (http://dollarvigilante.com).  Jeff's newsletter has thousands of subscribers who have an interest in internationalizing their affairs and he received overwhelming requests to set-up an all-in-one, easy and fast way to get residency and a passport in an internationally recognized jurisdiction.  Jeff considered many countries and finally settled on the Dominican Republic as being the easiest, cheapest and most accessible option for most people.

Why does he believe the Dominican Republic is better in this regard than most jurisdictions?

• The Dominican Republic is very close and easily accessible to those who live in the United States (it is only 3.5 hours from New York, or 2 hours from Miami), Canada and Europe (9 hour direct flight from many European capitals)
• The process is incredibly easy.  For each document (provisional residency, permanent residency and passport) you will just be required to visit the DR for one day to apply for the documents.  You can then leave and only need to return a few months later when the documents are ready.  You can go through the entire process of getting residency through to getting a passport without having to spend more than a few days total in the DR.  There is no requirement for you to be there if you do not wish to be
• Getting residency and/or a passport in the DR is cheaper than almost any other country in the world (prices below)
• The Dominican Republic passport is widely recognized and is good for visa-free travel throughout much of latin America
• The DR only taxes its residents and citizens on money earned in the DR.  Therefore, for those who earn their income in other jurisdictions, having a DR residency or passport could mean not paying any taxes on your earned income (check with your own tax advisor on whether this applies to you or not)

ABOUT THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

The Dominican Republic is a beautiful, diverse and freedom-minded country in the caribbean.  It is only a short flight from the US or Canada and has numerous direct international flights from around the world including Europe, Central and South America.

The people in the DR encompass the full range of colors from very white to very black - and they all live in harmony.

The country is a world famous tourist destination and has countless beautiful beaches and cities.

For those interested in living in the DR, its cost of living is much cheaper than in the US or Europe.  You can live very well on $1,500/month in the Dominican Republic.

THE PROCESS

There are 3 steps to get a DR passport... and if you don't want a passport but only want residency then you can stop at steps 1 or 2.

STEP ONE - PROVISIONAL RESIDENCY

Cost: $2,795 USD. A $150 USD discount is offered to Dollar Vigilante subscribers. Group discounts: If applying 2-4 people $100 USD discount for each additional person. (First person will pay full price). If applying 5 people or more $150 discount is applied for all persons including the first one.

• An appointment is made for you in Santo Domingo and our concierge will pick you up at your hotel and take you to various government offices as well as to get a medical exam (checking for illegal drug usage, AIDS and tuberculosis via urine sample, blood sample and chest x-ray) throughout the day to complete the application - total time - approx. 1 Day
• Documents needed will be an original birth certificate (you will not receive this back so order a few copies as you'll need it again for permanent residency and passport), a police letter of good conduct from your current residency or place of citizenship and proof of solvency (proof you have more than RD$500,000 - $15,000 USD). Both documents needs to be translated into spanish and apostilled by the nearest Dominican Republic consulate.
• If all is completed and approved then we will drop you off at your hotel
• You will then need to return 60-90 days later to receive your Provisional Residency document and Cedula card (national ID card)
• Provisional Residency is only good for one year.  After that year if you wish to continue then you will need to return again a year later to apply for Permanent Residency (see below)

DOCUMENTS NEEDED

(a) Original birth certificate, duly Apostilled by the applicant's country of birth competent authority or authenticated at his country of birth's nearest Dominican Consulate. Also needed is a Spanish translated version apostilled by the nearest Dominican Republic consulate.

(b) Original marriage certificate, if the spouses are applying together; duly Apostilled by the applicants' country of marriage competent authority or authenticated at the country of marriage nearest Dominican Consulate. Also needed is a Spanish translated version apostilled by the nearest Dominican Republic consulate.

(c) Passport

(d) Pictures (2" x 2"): 4 front and 4 profile, white background required, accessories such as earrings or sunglasses not allowed).

(e) A certificate of no criminal record from the authorities in the applicant's country of origin (US citizens must apply with the FBI CLICK HERE) or, if the applicant has been residing outside his country of origin for five years or more, from the authorities in the applicant's country of residence. The certificate should be Apostilled in the country where it was issued or authenticated at the Dominican Consulate nearest to the place of issue of the document. Also needed is a Spanish translated version apostilled by the nearest Dominican Republic consulate.

A note about legalization of documents, please remember the following rules:

a) PLACE: Documents must be apostilled or legalized in the country where they were issued.

b) APOSTILLE: Documents from countries that are members to the Hague Convention - Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents- must be apostilled, except by Germany, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands.

c) CONSULAR LEGALIZATION: Documents from countries that are not members to the Hague Convention must be legalized in the Dominican Consulate where issued. This is also the case for Germany, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands.

d) TRANSLATIONS: Translations done abroad require their own legalization/translation.  

STEP TWO - PERMANENT RESIDENCY

Cost: $2,495 USD. A $150 USD discount is offered to Dollar Vigilante subscribers. Group discounts: If applying 2-4 people $100 USD discount for each additional person. (First person will pay full price). If applying 5 people or more $150 discount is applied for all persons including the first one.

• You will be sent a reminder by us a few months prior to the expiration of your Provisional Residency to see if you would like to apply for a permanent residency and we will again set-up an appointment time
• The exact same process as above will again be done
• You will again have to return 60-90 days later to pick up your Permanent Residency card and new Cedula
• This permanent residency card is good for two years
• At the end of the two years you are now eligible to apply for citizenship and a passport (see below)

STEP THREE - CITIZENSHIP/PASSPORT

Cost: $3,995 USD. A $150 USD discount is offered to Dollar Vigilante subscribers. Group discounts: If applying 2-4 people $100 USD discount for each additional person. (First person will pay full price). If applying 5 people or more $150 discount is applied for all persons including the first one.

• You will be sent a reminder by us a few months prior to the end of your two year Permanent Residency to see if you would like to apply for citizenship and a passport
• If so, we will then set-up an appointment time in Santo Domingo
• Similar processes as you did for your provisional and permanent residency will be undertaken
• This time, however, you will need to return 2-3 months later for an "interview".  The interview is conducted in Spanish and asks basic historical facts about the DR such as naming the major cities and airports, when the constitution was signed.  We can coach you on and give you the answers prior to the interview.  You will just need to memorize some basic facts - learning rudimentary Spanish helps as well
• After the interview you need to attend a once-a-month swearing in ceremony.  After that ceremony you are a citizen.
• You can then apply for a passport (which we will help you do).  It only takes one day to get a passport.

TOTAL COST IN TIME AND MONEY FROM START TO FINISH

TIMELINE

1. Provisional Residency:

a) Process time: 6 months after we deposit your file at the Migration Department.

b) Valid for: 1 year.

c) Number of trips: 2.

2. Permanent Residency:

a) Process time: 6 months after we deposit your file at the Migration Department.

b) Valid for: 2 year.

c) Number of trips: 2.

3. Citizenship:

a) Process time: 8 to 10 months after we deposit your file at the Ministry of Interior.

b) Valid for: Lifetime (but must renew personal documents when required, approximately every 4 years; the renewal process is simpler and can be done in 1 day).

c) Number of trips: 3.

It will take a total of about three and a half years from start to finish to get a passport.  From beginning to end you will need to visit the DR a total of 6 times (once to apply for each document and once to pick up each document).  Each time you will stay 1 or 2 nights in Santo Domingo in a hotel of your choice.

An average return flight from NYC to Santo Domingo is $400.  An average good quality hotel in Santo Domingo is about $120/night.  Therefore your total costs over three and a half years to get a DR passport will be:

- Provisional Residency, $2,795

- Permanent Residency, $2,495

- Passport, $3,995

- Six return flights from NYC, $2,400

- Six nights in hotel, $720

Total: $12,405

And, if you are a Dollar Vigilante subscriber you will save a total of $450, making the total only $11,955 - just make sure to let us know you are a subscriber at the time of your application.

For this price you can potentially structure your life to pay $0 in taxes and have a second citizenship and passport with little or no fuss.  You do nothing but just show up and our concierge takes you to each government department necessary.  No confusion.  No mix-ups.  Peace of mind.

GET STARTED NOW

The sooner you start the process the sooner you will receive your residency and citizenship status, so call or email us today.

Email us at DRPASSPORTS@DOLLARVIGILANTE.COM or call 315-219-4653.

Please note that while we strive to be ahead of the game the requirements and processes mentioned on this page is subject to change without notification as we have no control over government change in policy regarding the rules of immigration.