The Dominican Republic’s Investment Visa | A Complete Guide

Overview:

The Dominican Investment Visa (Residence for Foreign Investment) is a residency permit program offered by the Dominican government, allowing individuals to obtain residency and a fast-track to citizenship in exchange for investment.

Currently, to apply for the Dominican Investment Visa, you need to invest at least $200,000 in the country. The scope of investment can include purchasing real estate, investing in stocks or equity, business operations, or making a direct deposit in a Dominican bank.

Regardless of the type of investment, your investment must be registered with the Export and Investment Center of the Dominican Republic (CEIRD) and must be maintained for at least three years.

In addition to the economic requirements mentioned above, applicants for the investment visa must also meet the following criteria:

1. Be in good health and have no criminal record.

2. Open an account with a local Dominican bank.

3. Be sponsored by a Dominican citizen or permanent resident, ensuring that the primary and secondary applicants will not become a financial burden on the Dominican economy.

Visa Advantages:

Compared to similar programs in Latin America and other regions of the world, the Dominican Investor Visa has the following advantages:

1. No Minimum Residency Requirement: If you do not wish to apply for Dominican citizenship, this investment visa has no residency restrictions. You only need to enter the country once every four years to renew your residence card.

2. Fast Track to Residency: Investment visa holders can choose to obtain permanent residency after one year and fast-track to citizenship after two years. The Dominican Republic recognizes dual citizenship.

There is a claim that after obtaining a Dominican Investment Visa by purchasing real estate, investors only need to reside in the country continuously for six months to quickly apply for Dominican citizenship. However, this claim currently lacks real-world evidence.

3. Low Tax Advantage: The Dominican Republic does not tax the overseas income of its residents. Additionally, the country has established several free trade zones where companies can receive various tax exemptions.

Application Process:

The application process for the Dominican Investor Visa can be mainly divided into the following steps:

1. Complete the Investment: You need to complete the investment first before applying for the Dominican Investor Visa.

Required documents for this program include:

• Applicant Identification Documents: This includes passports with a validity of at least 18 months for all primary and secondary applicants, four passport-sized photos, and relationship proof documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, etc.

• Proof of Meeting Economic Requirements: You need to provide proof that the investment has been completed and evidence of registration or ongoing registration with the CEIRD.

• Criminal Record Certificate: All adult primary and secondary applicants must provide a criminal record certificate from the area of residence within the last five years.

• Medical Examination Certificate: All primary and secondary applicants must undergo a medical examination.

All non-Spanish documents must be translated into Spanish, and all documents from outside the Dominican Republic must be notarized and submitted in their original form.

2. Submit the Application Online: In this step, you need to visit the online application platform of the Dominican Immigration Department (DGM), register an account, fill out an application form, submit the application, and pay the visa fee.

3. Other Preparations: Within three days after paying the visa fee, all primary and secondary applicants need to complete a medical examination at a DGM-approved medical institution, prepare the investment proof documents, and submit the originals to the DGM or a Dominican overseas embassy or consulate.

The entire processing time for the Dominican Investment Visa is 90 working days.

Dependents:

For the Dominican Investment Visa, the main applicant’s spouse and children under the age of 18 can also obtain the visa as secondary applicants.

Visa Validity:

Although the Dominican Investment Visa is a permanent residence card, it is initially valid for only one year. After one year, visa holders can renew their Dominican permanent residence every four years under the same conditions.

After holding permanent residence for ten years, you can replace it with a permanent residence card that is valid indefinitely and does not require renewal.

Investment visa holders who have resided in the country for two years can directly apply for the DR citizenship through a fast-track process.