Buying without being a permanent resident?

Mietek,
First off welcome to the forum. You will find some very nice people here who will help you answer any questions you may have. My wife and I "retired" here on the north coast (Sosua/Cabarete) area 7+ years ago and have not looked back for a second. As to the questions you have asked.

Yes you can purchase property here with out residency. All you need is a valid passport and $$. However before you buy anything I would suggest that come and rent the for a month or two in the various areas you are talking about, then look to purchase if you want.

Second if you plan on staying here for 6 months or so I would apply for residency.  By law you can only stay for 30 days and currently there is a "fine" to be paid when you leave if you overstay.  The government seems to be moving in the direction of requiring residency for those that stay longer than the 30 day "tourist" trip

Again welcome and keep the questions coming.

Bob K

Thank you for your reply. It sounds difficult right from the beginning. As I have read in some posts here residency is not easy to get. Is it true that they even check your income? Isn't it enough that you own property there and spend your cash supporting local economy for you to be allowed to stay? Our idea was to live there from mid November to mid April, have a good time, eat good food and sleep. Why would you need income verification for that? And what happens if your income can not be verified but you have cash? (no, I am not a drug dealer).

Welcome to the forum!!!  you are asking good questions and I  will have some of this moved to a new thread.  That way people can follow and find these answers later.

Come for at least 3 to 6 months - pay the fee to overstay your visa.  that will give you a good idea of what you are getting into!  Then move forward on residencia etc!  It is not that hard to get really.  I can refer you to a really good English speaking lawyer [email protected] who can help you with the basics in anticipation of being here long term.

And I love that you have seen more then one area of this country. I have lived on the north coast and the south coast,  very very different!!!!  Check things out for yourself.

Planner is correct the residency is not hard to get, just time consuming and a bit $$.
We used a lawyer in Santiago and it was a breeze.
It is not a bad idea to try it one year and then if that is how your are going to do it (6 months here every year) I would get the residency. Just today in the news the government was saying it was going to start getting stricter with those who are here without residency.

Bob K

hi bob, ihaven't used this forum for months, been looking into info about Ecuador. great place to live but multitudes of paper word and cost to become a resident and so many restrictions about the amount of time you are allowed to be out of the country, so Ecuador is out. main reason I was looking out side of DR is health insurance for a 74 year old person. with all that said, i'm coming to DR on 12/11/13, and of course i'll come to visit you. one thing I would like to learn is, can I live there permanent on a visa without the need of the residency visa. and if not, what are the requirements. I need this info before I leave the USA. reason being I know some countries require lots of documents to have an apostile that is done is the country or your origin. can you lead me to a source in English that I can read, or give me a name of someone that knows the requirements. I looked for a box to click on to send a private message to you but didn't see said box, I know it can be done. can you tell me how to do it. thanks, see you in dec.
good thing I scrolled down the page before I submitted this request. I see a lawyer you recommend, thanks again

Welcome back Michael!  Yes there is a list of documents you need and Wilson Rood can  send you that ahead of time.  I've used him for many many things and he has always provided me a good professional service at a good price.

Any other questions just ask!!!! 

to send a private message, click on their name and it will take you to a page where you can choose to send the person a message.

thanks, but my memory is in there somewhere, just haven't found the place yet, i'll ask this same question again sometime in the near future. look what you all ( ya'll in Alabama ) can look forward to.

Michael,  fell free to ask away. If you end up not having the reference to a lawyer we and our clients use just let me know.

Good luck

Bob K

Planner congrats on the promotion to the Expat.com Team!!!!!

Bob K

Thanks Bob!

I wouldn't worry too much about the 90 day trap. I stayed last year from 9/23/12 to 1/17/13 and paid $50 to leave at the airport

Congrats on the promo planner, both you and Bob always lend a helping hand :-) Planner I just spoke to someone today and I was told that the residencia is only good for 4 years and must be renewed thereafter for about RD 22,000, but the the exit fee for the same amount of time is RD 17,000 is this true? And if so, wouldn't it make sense to charge more for the exit than the renewal of a residential visa??? Just trying to separate facts from fiction :-) Thanks.

Actually your first residency card (temporary one) is good for 2 years and the first of the permanent ones also 2 years.

Bob K

You need to go thru various stages starting with your provisional residencia  and ending with your "permanent" residencia which is renewable based on a schedule.

The fee schedule for overstaying has no relation to the fees for residencia so don't try applying logic - just won't work.

Getting residencia is intended for those who are not standard tourists.  Staying here is not a right but something the government and people allow!  I say get your residencia if you want to stay here. In the big scheme of things it is not expensive.

Thanks again for the info guys :-)