New members of the Dominican Republic forum, introduce yourself here - 1st quarter of 2015

Glad to hear that you did use Dolly. She does a good job and hard as it is to find here one of the honest lawyers.  She as  done ours as well as multiple friends and clients residency.

Yes it has gotten much more expensive and much more involved that it was. Like I said glad we did it 10 years ago.  Know that renewal is much easier.

PM me where in PM you are>

Bob K

Bill not really a problem depending on where you locate.  We love it here in the smaller towns of the North coast and also certainly not as "touristy" as Punta Cana area.

We don't even realize that there are major large cities around unless we have go to Santo Domingo for government work (residency and such) or the couple of  times we went to the Colonial zone on our own and with some family that visited. So probably in SD 5 times in 9 years.

We go to Santiago (second largest city here in the DR) may be every couple of months either for Doctors appointments (and the hospital is not in the city so we actually never go in to the city) and on occasion (2-3 times a year) for shopping for things we cannot get here on the NC. They have a Price Mart (like a Sams club) there and we will stock up on household supplies.

I mention that Santiago is the second largest city here in the DR.  The actual second largest "Dominican City) is New York

Bob K

Can't wait to see it!

We look forward to your visit

Bob K

Hi, We are looking in to maybe moving to the DR, Punta Cana area to retire. We will be coming over in October to check things out. Any suggestions of what area to look at, would be welcome.
I have been very confused about the RD800, if you have to pay it for each month that you stay over your limit or if you're living there full time do you only pay it once or once a year?

Shelia welcome.

There are lots of areas in the DR to consider for retirement.  Punta Cana is almost exclusively a tourist area.  Other places like the north coast have lots of expats as well as tourists and locals.  Do spend some time exploring your options.

The overstay fee increases the longer you are here.  Here is the schedule for any time over your 30 days allowed by your entrance tourist visa:
De 1 dia a 3 meses RD$2,500.00
De 3 a 9 meses RD$4,000.00
De 9 a 12 meses RD$5,000.00
De 12 a 18 meses RD$6,500.00
De 18 a 24 meses RD$8,000.00
De 24 a 30 meses RD$9,500.00
De 30 a 36 meses RD$11,000.00
this fee is paid when you leave at the airport

If you plan on being here full time you should consider (and soon will be required to) getting your residency and cedula.

Bob K

There are lots of good folks on this forum with lots of good information and ideas.  Please feel free to ask away

YOu pay this fee only when you LEAVE the country again.  So if you overstay between 3 and 9 months the fee is 4,000RD or less then  US 100 each. 

Bob is right,  the east coast is very upscale but almost no Dominican culture to speak of. It all depends what you are looking for. Tell us more about you, what you want in a lifestyle and we will be able to help more.

And welcome to the forums

Thank you Bob, but this still does not help me because I do not understand this de 1 dia a 3 meses RD$25,000.
Could you explain this to me in American money and English.
I am NOT set on Punta Cana but I have a timeshare over  in Puerto Plata. we have been taken through some pretty bad areas in that area that is why I was leaning towards Punta Cana  but I read one blog that mentioned Cabarete so I look into the homes over in that area. I guess I will not decide on where to buy until I've gone over there a few times.
Thank you again.

Thank you Planner. So if we stay 1 year would it cost us $100 each to go visit our kid's  in the states?

The schedule is in Spanish

After the 30 tourist visa then if you stay
1 dia (day) to 3 mes (months) you pay $2500RD (pesos) not $25,000.  This is about $56 US apiece.  I usually needs to be paid in pesos.
In your case it would be 9 mes (months) to 12 mes (months) you pay $5000 pesos or about $112 USD each at today's exchange rate..

When  you are living here you will want to conduct your business (bills, food, utilities, phone etc) in pesos not Dollars.

It sounds like you did not see anything other than the resort when you were in Puerto Plata.  There is lots to see and do here.


Bob K

Hey guys, nice to see you...
I've been living in Dominican Republic for over a year and I visited like maybe 80 % of this crazy carribean country (everything except La Romana,La Altagracia and Monte Plata provinces) on my motorbike - I drove almost 15,000 KM here.
I live here with less than 1,000 $/ month and I'm fine. I'm male around 30.
As for the records, for anyone who would like to live/ visit here, few tips:
1. learn spanish/ have good basic of it. you cant live OK without it.
2. having your own transport is the best thing.
3. prepare for the culture shock and different mentality. also not so small poverty levels that may surprise you if you never went outside so called developed countries.
for more info, visit my website:
dominicanfun.net
I put A LOT work into it...and basically its the best guide to Dominican Republic for people who want to live smart $ cheap here.
any questions? just write them here and I will TRY to reply, if I wont be busy with a) drinking wine b) swimming in the ocean c) ....
;-)
Have fun !

Dominicanfun welcome to the forum.  It sounds like you are having quite the adventure with a very good attitude.

Bob K

I second that welcome.  We look forward to you continuing to comment and give us your perspective.

Let me know when you are going to visit La Romana.....

Thank you Bob K. So it will cost my husband & myself around $224 a year to stay there.
We have a couple of years before my husband  can retire. So I have some time to learn basic Spanish, so I better get started.

Thanks again.

You are welcome.  Yes that would be the amount at the current tax level.  This however most likely will change sometime in the next couple of years as a way for the government to push towards those living here getting their residency.

if you plan on being here full time then the residency route is the way to go.

Bob K

I agree with Bob,  sooner or later the gov't will close this route and open others. I would HOPE they will create a 6 month visa for snowbirds, but  who knows here............

They would be stupid not to have a 6 month snow bird visa.  But you know smart decisions are not always the norm here

Bob K

So true Bob,  they would be smart to do a 3 month,  6 month and 12 month visa,  with only some renewable yearly!   The rest can get residencia.... 

I will call them and tell them...........   

You do that and I will sit here holding my breath for their reasonable response.

Bob K

Hahahahaha  me too honey.............