Residence routes to the Dominican Republic: first the visa in The Hague, then the card in Santo Domingo
Anyone who wants to live in the Dominican Republic applies for a residence visa at the Dominican consulate in the Netherlands, then arranges the residence card with the migration service on the spot. For retirees and people with a steady income from assets there is a separate law, with an income test of 1,500 or 2,000 dollars a month. The visa can be used for 60 days, and after arrival you have 30 days.
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You move to the Dominican Republic in two steps. First you apply in the Netherlands for a residence visa, the Visa de Residencia (RS). Then you arrange your residence card in the country itself with the Dirección General de Migración (DGM), the migration service.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MIREX) names three reasons for that visa: family, investment, or a pension and steady income. For that last group there is a separate law, Ley 171-07, with an income test in dollars.
| Route | What you prove | Visa fee |
|---|---|---|
| Pensionado (retiree) | a pension from abroad of at least US$ 1,500 a month | US$ 200 |
| Rentista (steady income) | at least US$ 2,000 a month from assets, secured for at least five years | US$ 200 |
| Investor | an investment of at least US$ 200,000 | US$ 250 |
| Family reunification | a marriage or family tie with a resident | US$ 200 |
| Per family member who comes along | US$ 250 a month of extra income (pensionado and rentista) |
Which route fits you?
The pensionado. You live on a pension from a foreign government, an official body or a private employer. The threshold is US$ 1,500 a month, with US$ 250 extra for each family member who comes along, such as your partner or a child under 18. There is no minimum age.
Whether your AOW state pension and your occupational pension may be added together, the law does not say in so many words. Have the consulate confirm it before you have the documents made. Calculate with the amount you actually receive.
The rentista. You live on a steady income from abroad: interest, dividends, rent or payments from an investment. The threshold is US$ 2,000 a month. The law requires that income to run for at least five years, with a contract as proof. Wages do not count, MIREX writes.
The investor. The regulation to the migration law names a contribution of at least US$ 200,000 to a Dominican company, with a certificate from the export centre. A home of your own is not on the list.
Work. Anyone who comes to work for a Dominican employer gets a different visa, the NM1. That is covered in working in the Dominican Republic.
And if you have not reached state pension age yet?
Then the pensionado route is usually still closed. The law asks for a pension that you receive every month, with a statement from the payer about the amount. A pension that only starts in some years does not count.
Anyone who leaves earlier looks at the rentista route. The US$ 2,000 a month may come from interest or investments at a foreign bank, from rent on property, or from investments in the Dominican Republic made with money earned abroad. Wages do not count. For a couple the amount applies once, plus US$ 250 for the partner. If you cannot prove that income for five years with a contract, investment or work remain.
What do you take to the consulate?
You apply for the visa at the Consulado General de la República Dominicana, at Lange Voorhout 86 in The Hague. MIREX asks for roughly the same documents for every RS route:
- the visa form and one passport photo of 2 by 2 inches on a white background;
- a passport that is valid for at least six more months;
- your birth certificate and, if you are married, your marriage certificate;
- a certificate that you have no criminal record, from every country where you lived in the past five years, no more than a year old;
- bank statements for the past three months;
- for the pensionado: a statement from your pension payer with your details, your years of service, your position and the amount.
Every Dutch document gets an apostille, the international stamp of authenticity. Between the Netherlands and the Dominican Republic that stamp has applied since 3 November 2017. At the court an apostille costs € 27. Anything not in Spanish you have translated by an intérprete judicial, a sworn translator.
The consulate sends your file to MIREX in Santo Domingo, which decides. MIREX mentions 10 to 20 working days.
Do not buy a plane ticket you cannot cancel before the visa is in your passport. MIREX itself advises against it.
How long is the visa valid?
The RS visa can be used for 60 days and is valid for a single entry. After arrival you have 30 days to report to the DGM.
What happens at the DGM?
Here the routes split.
A pensionado or rentista goes to the DGM's investors' desk and gets permanent residence straight away, without first living there on a temporary basis for years. For investors the regulation lists, among other things, a medical examination by a doctor approved by the DGM and a póliza de garantía, a guarantee policy. The card follows within at most 45 working days after the file is complete and checked. Then you get your identity card, the cédula; see registration and numbers.
Anyone who comes through family or work first gets a residencia temporal, a temporary residence. You renew it every year, in person, in the thirty days before the expiry date. Around the fifth year you apply for permanent residence. The regulation names two moments: article 50 says 45 days before you complete five years, article 51 "from five years". Ask the DGM which term it applies. That is valid for a year at first and then for four years each time.
How do you renew as a pensionado?
The first card of a pensionado or rentista is valid for a year. When you renew, you show that your pension or income came into the Dominican Republic during that period. After that the card is valid for two years, or for as long as the DGM decides.
So have your income paid into a Dominican account from the start; see bank and payments.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- MIREX — the visas, with the requirements for the residence visa (RS) as pensionado, rentista, investor or family member — servicios360.mirex.gob.do
- MIREX — the consular fees for each visa — servicios360.mirex.gob.do
- Ley 171-07 on pensionados and rentistas (text published by the DGII) — dgii.gov.do
- Reglamento 631-11 to the migration law, articles 48 to 66 (text published by the DGII) — dgii.gov.do
- Dutch government — the Dominican embassy and consulate general in The Hague — rijksoverheid.nl
- Consulado General de la República Dominicana en La Haya — nld.mirex.gob.do
- HCCH — the Apostille Convention applies between the Netherlands and the Dominican Republic since 3 November 2017 — hcch.net
- Dutch judiciary — requesting an apostille and what it costs — rechtspraak.nl
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