Need advice - re: dual citizenship

[KositaQ]

A mi nunca nadie me dijo que you podia tener dual citizenship. Naci en Neuva York, hija de padres dominicanos, vinimos a Dr cuando tenia 4 anos, mis padres decian que estaba aqui con visa - all parecer la pedian en ese entonces (1974), estudie hasta que me gradue de la universidad en Santiago and I was told I had to leave the country before my 21st b'day but was never told I could have dual citizenship. Extrano a mi quisqueya y me gustaria volver. Quiero saber si no es demasiado tarde para mi tener mi dual citizenship (DR & US). Please advise what I need to do. Thanks.

[sunshine73]

A lawyer is not need if you decide to do very minimum leg work.
Collect these documents
1. Mom/Dad's Birth Certificate's
2. Mom/Dad's Cedula's

Go to the dominican consulate pay $100 certify your birth certificate and they will give you written instruction on the rest.

The cost for the following I expect to be around $300 US
The steps following legalizing your B/C include:
1. Legalizar en santo domingo $600 RD
2. Pasar por cansilleria$900RD
3. Traducir B/C from english to spanish $2000RD
4. Have an attorney write a short request for citizenship (1 page and around 15 lines long) Remember in DR notary's are lawyers and this document needs to be notirized and legalized. $3000RD
6. Take all these documents to the Junta Central Electoral and give them a DR address one close to your home in DR or family. (This is where your B/C will be registered) FREE
You will recieve a dominican birth certificate from JCE in about a month. Just Pick it up and get a cedula right there (A cedula will take around 3 weeks and you can pick up in NY no need to wait 4 it) FREE in NY $15US

After all that you are a dominican citizen!!!!

Good lck and PM if you have any questions

[sunshine73]

Originally Posted by xEnchantdFaeriex

You can get a lawyer to take care of the "getting citizenship" part or spend alot of time in the capital messing around with the government. Are you considering moving back? Do you know the state of the economy? or are you planning to retire? You will need original birth certificates you and your parents and a whole bunch of other cr*p... You wouldnt have much trouble living in DR illegally though... they dont really check... and if you overspend the 6 month visa they give all they do is charge you a fee when leaving the country...

Wow I don't understand time and time again why I see so many ppl on this forum critizing the dominican economy!!!! I'm sure she knows the state the country is in, my 8 year old knows how bad things are in DR. I do know she's dominican, who probably has family screaming to all the heavens on how bad things are. I am a US born dominican, who has her cedula and who obtained dominican citizenship for her children so they can make a choice to be in DR or the US without any issues. So they will be able to open bank accounts without asking for dominicans with cedulas as reference, so they can get credit and enjoy the right their grandparents have given them.The right to a dominican citizenship many foreigners pay a lot of money to obtain!!!!

[KositaQ]

Appreciate everyone's feedbaack. That is what I now get for not having the chance to decide back then and there, and for lack of knowledge. I never wanted to leave but had to. I understand things are bad everywhere, but I thank God everyday and my parents as well for spending the best years of my life in DR. As I get older, I have come to realize that it is bad everywhere, it's not about the economy. It's about the way of life, and the values and principles that were instilled in me that I see in every good, honest, hard working dominican, and that is so lacking in this cesspool people call the United States of America. Como dice la cancion: Las cosas lindas de mi pais (DR) ya no las encuentro aqui (US)......

I also noted on a legal post that for a foreign woman to become a dominican she would have to marry a dominican man....I am already married and to a wonderful Panamanian, I wish I had known that 20 yrs ago (hehehe) mi primer amor fue from back in HS y llore un mar cuando me tuve que ir pero nunca le dije porque.....oh, well, I wish him well always...

BTW, I apologize for my typos on the original post - I was typing too fast....yo soy muy educada, y se me nota: estudie en DR!!!

[Alfredo Guzman]

A person born of a Dominican father or mother has the right to acquire Dominican citizenship by virtue of Article 11 of the Constitution and Article 26 of law 1683 of 1948. The required documents and steps to be taken are the following:

1- Passport

2- Pictures (2" x 2": 5 front, white background required, accessories such as earrings or sunglasses not allowed).

3- Copy of the Dominican ID (cedula) of one of the Dominican parents.

4- Original of the Birth Certificate of the Dominican parent, legalized at the Electoral Department (JCE).

5- Original of the Birth Certificate of the applicant duly authenticated at the nearest Dominican Consulate of the country where the applicant was born and then legalized at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic. If the Birth Certificate is in English or another language than Spanish, a translation into Spanish needs to be provided. Please note that if the translation is prepared abroad, it must be authenticated at the nearest Dominican Consulate, if the translation is prepared by a Dominican legal translator, then it shall be legalized at the General Attorney's Office.

6- Affidavit duly signed by the applicant in front of a Dominican Notary.

7. Petition to the Executive for the obtaining of the Dominican citizenship (Naturalization) filed through the Ministry of the Interior and Police of the Dominican Republic.

8- Receipt of payment for the publication of the announcement at the national newspaper advising of the obtaining of the citizenship.

If you're not the do-it-yourself type, you should retain the services of a lawyer to assist you through the process.

[KositaQ]

Originally Posted by Alfredo Guzman

A person born of a Dominican father or mother has the right to acquire Dominican citizenship by virtue of Article 11 of the Constitution and Article 26 of law 1683 of 1948. The required documents and steps to be taken are the following:

1- Passport

2- Pictures (2" x 2": 5 front, white background required, accessories such as earrings or sunglasses not allowed).

3- Copy of the Dominican ID (cedula) of one of the Dominican parents.

4- Original of the Birth Certificate of the Dominican parent, legalized at the Electoral Department (JCE).

5- Original of the Birth Certificate of the applicant duly authenticated at the nearest Dominican Consulate of the country where the applicant was born and then legalized at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic. If the Birth Certificate is in English or another language than Spanish, a translation into Spanish needs to be provided. Please note that if the translation is prepared abroad, it must be authenticated at the nearest Dominican Consulate, if the translation is prepared by a Dominican legal translator, then it shall be legalized at the General Attorney's Office.

6- Affidavit duly signed by the applicant in front of a Dominican Notary.

7. Petition to the Executive for the obtaining of the Dominican citizenship (Naturalization) filed through the Ministry of the Interior and Police of the Dominican Republic.

8- Receipt of payment for the publication of the announcement at the national newspaper advising of the obtaining of the citizenship.

If you're not the do-it-yourself type, you should retain the services of a lawyer to assist you through the process.

Thank you so very much for your post. I have only one more question - can I do all of this while in New York, or do I have to travel there....It's been so long since I left DR that I never came back. The best case scenario for me would be to do all of that in New York, I will have to ask my mother if she has the B/Cs I will need a copy of....I'm sure she will wonder why would I be so crazy in doing this, she may not understand.

[Alfredo Guzman]

You would need to fly down to Santo Domingo at least four times at different stages of the process:

(1) For the signature of the Affidavit needed to submit your citizenship application; You could complete this step at any Dominican Consulate in the US to avoid the trip.

(2) For the interview at the Ministry of Interior and Police;

(3) For the sweating-in ceremony; and

(4) To pick up your original documentation.