Dominican Republic residency: requirements, steps and costs in 2026
8 min read.
To live in the Dominican Republic you need a residence visa (RS) from a Dominican consulate outside the country; you can't switch from tourist to resident from inside. With the visa you enter and, within 30 days, apply for residency at the immigration agency (DGM). The most common routes are retiree (a $1,500 monthly pension), rentista ($2,000 a month in income from abroad), investor ($200,000, which gives permanent residency right away) and ordinary residency, renewed every year and permanent after 5 years. There's no digital nomad visa.
Which residency fits you
The immigration law (Law 285-04) and its regulation (Decree 631-11) set the categories. These are the ones almost everyone who moves uses:
| Route | Who it's for | What it requires | Card | Path to permanent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retiree, pensionado (Law 171-07) | People with a pension | $1,500 a month in pension, plus $250 per dependent | 1 year, renewed every year | Under the general rule, about 5 years |
| Rentista (Law 171-07) | People living on income from abroad | $2,000 a month, stable for the past 5 years, plus $250 per dependent | 1 year, renewed every year | Under the general rule, about 5 years |
| Investor | People investing in the country | $200,000, with a certificate from ProDominicana or the Free Zones Council | Permanent from the start: 1 year, then every 4 | Immediate |
| Ordinary (RT-9) | Everyone else, including spouses of Dominicans | A bank certificate for RD$300,000 (RD$150,000 if married to a Dominican) or the title to a property in the country | 1 year, renewed every year | First card plus 4 renewals, about 5 years |
Two warnings that save a lot of grief:
- A salary doesn't count as a pension. The DGM says so on the retiree page. If you work remotely, the retiree route isn't for you, and for rentista you have to show 5 years of income from abroad: dividends, rent or deposits, not a paycheck.
- There's no digital nomad visa. A bill is pending in the Senate, but as of October 2026 it doesn't exist. Be wary of sites selling a "$299 nomad visa".
Step by step
- Apply for the residence visa (RS) at the consulate in your country. In the US it's processed by VFS Global and costs $200. The consulate in Paris takes applications by appointment or by mail. It's single-entry and valid for 60 days.
- Enter the country and go to the DGM within 30 days. If you're late, you pay a penalty.
- Apply online at personal.migracion.gob.do: upload scans of your documents, pay the fees and then take the originals to the DGM on Autopista 30 de Mayo in Santo Domingo (Monday to Friday, 7:30 am to 3:30 pm). Careful: an online application left untouched for 90 days expires on its own.
- Get the medical exam at a DGM-authorized clinic within 3 days of paying. Results take about 10 days.
- Photos and fingerprints at the DGM. Bring 4 photos, 2x2, two facing front and two right profile, white background, ears visible, no jewelry.
- Pick up your residency card and get your foreigner's cédula: the regulation requires every new resident to have one.
- Renew on time. Ordinary residency is renewed every year, filing 45 days before it expires. Every month late carries a surcharge.
The documents
- Passport. The DGM asks for 6 months of validity, but VFS asks for 18 months for the visa in the US. If yours is close, renew it before you start.
- Long-form birth certificate, apostilled and translated into Spanish by a court-certified interpreter. If the translation is done abroad, the translation is apostilled too.
- A criminal record certificate from every country you've lived in over the past 5 years. It has to be the national one: in the US, the FBI report with a federal apostille, not a state one. For France, the Paris consulate asks for an apostilled extract less than 3 months old.
- Marriage certificate or single-status declaration, apostilled and translated.
- A medical certificate for the consulate (in France, stamped by the Ordre des Médecins) and, once in the country, the DGM exam.
- Proof of your income or solvency for your route: the pension certificate, the contract and 5 years of income, the investment certificate or the bank certificate.
- A guarantee policy from a DGM-authorized insurer. The DGM links to the Seguros Reservas quote tool.
The US and France have used the apostille for decades. Canada has applied the apostille since January 11, 2024: if you read that you need authentication in Ottawa and legalization at the consulate, that information is outdated.
What it costs
Official DGM fees as of October 2026, per person:
| Step | Fee |
|---|---|
| RS visa (VFS, US) | $200 |
| Ordinary residency (RT-9) | RD$14,000 |
| Retiree or rentista | RD$28,800, plus RD$3,500 for the card and cédula |
| Investor | RD$42,000, plus a RD$3,500 ProDominicana deposit |
| Medical exam | RD$6,300 adults, RD$4,200 minors |
| Ordinary residency renewal | RD$7,000 |
| Permanent residency (RP-1) | RD$16,800 |
| Permanent residency renewal | RD$16,800 |
| Change of category | RD$15,000 |
Add apostilles, translations and, if you hire one, a lawyer: firms quote $3,000 to $8,000 depending on the route. It's not required, but if your Spanish is limited it saves a lot of back and forth.
How long it takes
The DGM's official timelines are 45 working days for retirees, rentistas and investors, 90 for ordinary and permanent residency, and 30 for renewals. In practice, count on 3 to 6 months for temporary residency and 4 to 8 for the investor route, from the day you arrive.
What you can't do: switch from tourist to resident
Since the 2012 regulation took effect, you can't arrive as a tourist and apply from inside. Every route requires the RS visa issued abroad and an entry stamp dated after the visa.
As a tourist you get 30 days, extendable online up to 120. If you stay longer, you pay a fee when you leave, based on how long you were there:
| Time in the country | Fee |
|---|---|
| 30 to 90 days | RD$3,500 |
| 3 to 9 months | RD$5,600 |
| 9 to 12 months | RD$7,000 |
| 12 to 18 months | RD$9,100 |
| 18 to 24 months | RD$11,200 |
The table keeps rising up to RD$98,000 at 10 years. Many sites still show the old figures (RD$2,500, RD$4,000): the one above is the DGM's.
Taxes once you're a resident
- You become a tax resident after 182 days in the country.
- What you earn in the country is taxed. Of what you earn abroad, only investment income and financial gains are taxed, and only from your third year as a tax resident (the DGII clarified this in 2025).
- Retirees and rentistas have their own exemptions (Law 171-07): no tax on the pension or income they qualify with, duty-free import of household goods, no 3% transfer tax on their first home, and 50% off the IPI property tax and off capital gains when they sell that property. If they work in the country, that salary is taxed.
What anyone pays when buying is in closing costs and taxes.
From resident to citizen
Permanent residency comes with the first card plus 4 renewals of temporary residency, about 5 years (investors have it from the start). Definitive residency, valid for 10 years, is available after 10 years as a permanent resident. For naturalization, the DGM asks for at least 2 years as a permanent resident, and the president grants it by decree.
The mistakes that cost the most time
- A passport that expires soon. With less than 18 months, the visa in the US can be refused.
- A state criminal record instead of the federal one. The DGM rejects records that only refer to fingerprints.
- Missing the 30 days after entry before going to the DGM.
- Abandoning the online application. After 90 days untouched, it expires.
- Renewing late. Every month costs a surcharge, and the count toward permanent residency gets messy.
How Instadigs helps
You don't need residency to buy: a foreigner buys with their passport (we explain it here). But the home can help with residency: the title to a property in the country counts as solvency for ordinary residency, and retirees and rentistas don't pay the 3% transfer tax on their first home.
For investor residency, the DGM asks for ProDominicana's foreign investment certificate. Several law firms say a home bought with money brought from abroad and registered with ProDominicana counts; confirm it with your lawyer before buying for that purpose.
Digger AI Agent, the Instadigs AI agent, finds pre-construction projects for you in English, Spanish or French, and we give you back 100% of our commission wherever you buy; in the Dominican Republic, it is credited to your property after the down payment.
Frequently asked questions
Can I apply for Dominican residency while I'm in the country as a tourist?
No. Every route requires the residence visa (RS) issued by a Dominican consulate outside the country and an entry dated after that visa.
How much money do I need for Dominican residency?
It depends on the route: a $1,500 monthly pension as a retiree, $2,000 a month in income from abroad as a rentista, $200,000 invested as an investor, or a RD$300,000 bank certificate for ordinary residency.
Does a remote work salary count for the retiree or rentista route?
No. The DGM says a salary doesn't count for the retiree route, and the rentista route asks for 5 years of income from abroad such as dividends, rent or deposits.
Does the Dominican Republic have a digital nomad visa?
No. As of October 2026 a bill is pending in the Senate, but the visa doesn't exist.
How long does Dominican residency take?
The official timelines are 45 working days for retirees, rentistas and investors and 90 for ordinary residency. In practice, count on 3 to 8 months from the day you arrive.
Does buying a home give me residency?
Not by itself. The title counts as solvency for ordinary residency, and a $200,000 investment certified by ProDominicana gives investor residency. Confirm with your lawyer whether your purchase counts before buying for that purpose.
Sources
- DGM, residency services (in Spanish)
- DGM, ordinary temporary residency RT-9 (in Spanish)
- DGM, retiree or pensioner residency (in Spanish)
- DGM, rentista residency (in Spanish)
- DGM, investor residency (in Spanish)
- DGM, permanent residency (in Spanish)
- DGM, temporary residency renewal (in Spanish)
- DGM, change of immigration category (in Spanish)
- DGM, tourist stay extension (in Spanish)
- DGM, stay fees (in Spanish)
- DGM, ordinary naturalization (in Spanish)
- Law 171-07 on incentives for retirees and rentistas, Ministry of Finance (in Spanish)
- Law 1683 on naturalization, DGII (in Spanish)
- DGII, Notice 22-25 on foreign income (in Spanish)
- VFS Global, Dominican Republic visas in the US
- Dominican consulate in Paris, retirement residence visa checklist (in Spanish)
- HCCH, Apostille Convention status table
This guide explains how buying works in general. Rates and requirements are set by law, by each bank and by each developer, and they can change: the date above is when it was last reviewed.