Say It Aint So....

After visiting the DR, reading every scrap of material I could about it, finding out about part time work, and doing the preliminaries on buying a place to live......I now hear that I have to pay $RD 500,000 each for me and my gal to live there. Somebody please cheer me up and say it aint so. Who the heck has that kind of money. Do they want cash or is the ownership of real estate, automobile, etc. enough collateral?? I asked before about shipping my Harley. Any Harley rider knows that our bikes are like children to us, but I would sell and buy another one there if I had to. Not my first choice but, if I have to, is there a real Harley Dealer in Santo Dominingo, and if so, does anyone know if they have an email address. You guys are great help, keep up the good work, see ya soon!

I have asked my lawyer and I was assured that the 500,000 applies to a worker who is sponsered by a company to work in DR and who wants to obtain a residency. I am not too sure about this but I am sure that there are ways around this if you use a lawyer. No one that I know has deposited 500,000 pesos. The lawyers know how to bypass this 500,000 issue. I have done my residency about 2 yrs ago and I didn't have to deposit a penny. But I hear that this law is in effect now. But don't worry, no one here that I know of who has deposited a single peso in a bank to get their residency. Get a lawyer, a reputed one. If you need help, i would refer you one lawyer in pto pta who had done my temporary residency in less than 3 months. The permanent residency, i had done it on my own. Not so difficult process (the permanent part).
Yes, i think there is a harley dealership in santo domingo but I do not have their address or a phone number.
Don't worry man, this is dominican republic. There are always ways around every hurdle.
take a deep breath and don't listen to people who only try to scare you. I have been living here for 3 years and I tell you this, nothing is impossible in DR and everything gets done if you pay the right person. The only person who has ever ripped me off was a foreigner....not a dominican.
have a nice day.

AZB,
You just met someone who has had to meet the $500,000rd financial requirement. In fact, two people: my wife and I, that's a million pesos net worth between us. In fact we own two DR corporations valued well in excess of the requirement but still have to prove financial responsibility and net worth. She's been here 15 years and I've been here 5 years. Length of time in the DR has nothing to do with it. Up until recently, a foreigner could own and operate a DR corporation without having a residency. That was always a "gray area" in the law. But things have changed and that is why we are now spending a considerable sum to obtain ours.
I also know other people who are going through the same thing and are scrambling to show a personal net worth of at least that amount either in holdings or on deposit in the DR.
To ask a lawyer to falsify documents is just asking for trouble for both you and the lawyer. You may get away with it, but then what if you don't and are asked to depart after you've spent all your money to settle here?
The best advice you can give is to a prospective immigrant is to deal only through an attorney qualified and well-experienced in the residency process.

Forget it! There are tens of thousands of foreigners living here for many years on a tourist card. The residencia is for suckers.
If you go through all the BS and then want to bring your Harley in duty free, they will rip you off at customs anyway. Trust me.

Come here on a tourist visa, invest zero, don't buy property or a business. Have as much as you need transferred here from the US every month and enjoy youtself. No one will ever ask you to show your residencia. Only if you have assets here is there any percentage in deporting you.

I have been saying the same thing on this board for a long time. I guess people like to do things the hard way.

Hard way or not, a German national was deported from here last week for working and doing business without a residency permit. The times, they are a changin'.

No one has ever been deported from Puerto Plata area that I know of for just being here more than 90 days. I thought the German in Samana had a business and I am sure that he made some local enemies or was wanted in Germany.

I don't want to do things the hard way. I just want to buy property because I don't believe in throwing my money away in rent. I would also like to buy commercial papers and keep my money in a dominican bank. I don't owe the U.S. anything but I don't want Uncle Sam to have access to my bank account for any reason while I'm not living there. I would prefer to show I have the assests if that's what it takes, rather than look over my shoulder the rest of my life. I'm going to DR to relax and beat the rat race, and I won't be able to do that if I have to worry every day about being deported.

I have just spoken to my imigration lawyer and I was told the following: if you can get a police report (buena conducta)from your country of origin stating that a decent civilian without any cases pending against you, then the 500,000 peso depisit will be waived. She will take your financial resdponsiblity. To get more information on this issue, you must call her directly in puerto plata. Dra. Graciela fermen tele: 586-9534.
She had done my residency (2yrs ago) in 3 months and she is still doing it for eligible foreigners without the 500,000 requirement. She is a very well-connected competent lawyer who knows many people in the immigration department. A seriously powerful woman who knows every legal loop-hole in the system. All work is 100% legal and she will fulfill her commitments. Price is 1000 US dollars and you don't pay a penny more afterwards. She took me to santo domingo twice and paid for all the fees and even bought me a lunch in an expensive restaurant.
So once again, don't worry and follow my advise.
Of-course there are lawyers who stick to the books and possess no connections in the immigration dept., so they have to fulfill every requirement like religion.
Have a nice day.
P.S. I personally know of foreigners who were simply picked up from their businesses and from streets and were deported. So don't listen to the people who tell you that nothing will happen to you if you live like a tourist; just remember, these people will not help you in times of trouble.

Apparently you don't believe me. No need to look over your shoulder, you will NOT be deported. You do not need a residencia to own property or invest in commercial paper.

There is no point in buying property because you then have a highly illiquid investment. That is if the title wasn't forged or is missing which is often the case. There is no MLS here. The best argument is that the rental/purchase ratio favours renting and investing the money. The only reason to buy residential property in the DR at this time is an ego trip.

Commercial paper has dropped 5% so the interest rates are less exciting. Remember your money will be in pesos and subject to wild inflation and devaluation if it goes the route of almost every other latin currency over time. Twenty odd years ago one peso was equal to one US dollar. If you had then invested $100,000 US at 20% and lived off the interest, your investment would now be worth about US$ 6,000. High interest equals high risk.

I have said the above to hundreds of new arrivals here. Almost none of them listened. Almost all of them have left the DR poorer, sadder and wiser. Go ahead, have fun and get your residencia. The first one is the temporary. By the time you get it you will have to start on your "Definitiva" jokingly called the permanent residencia. It will have to be renewed every two years. You will know the route to Santo Domingo like your hand.
The lawyers and the public servants will love you.

Be carefull of investment advice. I have nothing to sell you so I don't have to tell you how great a place this is to invest and perpetuate the myth.