Hello all, just a quick bio
Name is Mike, I am a veteran who served 12 years in the military. I got hurt, and sadly was not able to complete the 20 years.
I have spent a month touring the country, and I have settled on setting up initially in Santo Domingo.
I chose this because I am still young, I enjoy the craziness of the city, and I do not feel like I am surrounded by tourists. I will also have reliable (by Dominican standards) access to the Internet, which is mandatory as I will be attending online courses with my school.
I will be arriving some time in January. At this point, I do not know how long I will be staying. And this is where my primary question comes up.
I have no desire to break any rules. I have spent many years in foreign countries, and I understand that my conduct is judged not as Mike, but as an American. In a way, I am an ambassador and should provide a good image of what Americans are like.
I am giving myself 2 months, after I arrive, before I decide to pursue a residency. I have read I can extend my tourist card for 2 months, which is how I came up with this number.
If I wait 2 months before requesting residency, there will be time where I will have an expired visitor card, while I wait for the paperwork to be processed. Will I be safe there for this time? Or will I have problems.
New to the forums
Nicodomeus First off welcome to the forum
Have you been here before?
It sounds like you are going about it the right way and do get out and explore the country some. If you are going to be here for a 2 month trial I actually would do nothing about extending the tourist card for another month. Having said that it would be pretty easy to do since you are setting up in Santo Domingo which is where you have to do that. Other wise if after two months you elect to leave just pay the overstay fee. Not a big deal.
Once your paper work has been filed for your residency then it really is not a problem. Do note that the residency process must start back in your home country and cannot be initiated here.
There are lots of good folks here so please feel free to ask questions and do read the multiple threads here on living in the DR, including on lots of info on getting your residency.
Again Welcome
Bob K
Yes, I spent a month touring the country. I really enjoyed the north coast, and plan to make several trips there in the future. The fact that I cannot initiate residency while there really stinks. It makes sense now that I think more about it, I guess I was just hoping I could do everything from there should I decide to make this transition permanent.
It used to work that way. But things changed a couple of years ago. So now it has to start in your home country. It has also gotten a bit more expensive because of this and the new hoops.
Look at the visa section here and also do a search on residency.
We too loved the north coast and settled here full time over 9 years ago
Bob K
Welcome to the forums. I spent 4 years in Santo Domingo and it does have its charm (plus a whole lot of traffic) I enjoyed the time I spent there. Bob is right just stay until you are ready to commit to residencia. Then you have to go home to do the preliminary paperwork - it will take you likely 2 months to put it all together and submit it. Here is the link to the thread: https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=385083
I appreciate the information. After further research, I have concluded the residency thing is a problem I can put on the back burner and not worry about for now.
I will be living among the locals, spending my time going to school online and enjoying the country. I anticipate there will be times where I will want to enjoy the company of fellow English speakers, the Super Bowl comes to my mind. Any recommendation for a place in Santo Domingo where this will be possible?
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