#625 – The Expat Files: Navigating Residency, Cost of Living, and Citizenship in the Dominican Republic

Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.

[00:00] South of the border, down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came out to play and now as I wonder Hello there all you expat wannabes. I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America The show that tells you just what it's like to live work play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good the bad the ugly and the great and it's all right here. So let's get started I still get a lot of emails about getting residency and hopefully leading to a passport in the Dominican Republic Yep, it used to be cheap and easy at least a lot easier than it is now But it's never fun standing in lines and dealing with the bureaucracy in a Latin country or first world country for that matter a word

[00:50] To the wise here if you're standing in any government line anywhere never pack heat Hmm packing heat now, there's a subject. We'll talk about in a future show you can do that down here You know, yep, even gringo expats and you can do it legally too but first let's clear a few things up about getting your residency and passport in Dominican Republic now remember the Dominican Republic is on an Island called Hispaniola There are in fact two countries that make up that island Dominican Republic the DR and Haiti and remember because it's an island They have to import almost all high-tech and medium-tech stuff including basic household appliances like coffee makers washing machines dryers faucets toilets practically anything that's manufactured because the DR does not have a

[01:38] sophisticated manufacturing base Not even close meaning all the stuff that you take for granted in your kitchen living room Bedroom garage bathroom and office will cost a lot oftentimes twice as much compared to Latin countries on the mainland So you have to plan for the fact that finished goods sold on any island are always more expensive No matter if it's a Latin Island British Island American Island doesn't matter and of course your electric bill You can plan on that being very high double even triple what you're used to paying Since islands like Puerto Rico the DR Cuba Bahamas Jamaica Whatever rely almost exclusively on expensive diesel electric generating power plants though They may be island paradise is for the vacationer and the retiree

[02:25] You'll find if you plan on living there permanently or having a business in many cases air conditioning will be a 24 7 Proposition and that combined with some of the highest cost of electricity in the world you're looking at a big-time electric bill Well, that's okay if you can afford it However, if your intention is to move down to Latin America on the cheap, you know live on a social security checker a small pension You are much better off living in a mainland Latin American country even better still in the Alti Plano where you'll have no Electric or heating bill at all now, of course most gringles and expats who are living in the DR They want to live by the beach So they have a beach house or they live in a gated guarded community near the beach Whereas the native Dominicans who've got a little money usually live in the big cities where they have their workplace and they too

[03:11] Generally have a beach house somewhere on the island and the DR does have some fantastic beaches now It's rare that expats and gringles who come to the DR do so for work Though of course, there's always a small percentage of that most come down just to enjoy the Sun and fun because it's marketed as a vacation Paradise and it is however unlike countries off the gringo tourist trail It's not exactly cheap to live a middle or upper middle class life and have a beach house in the DR Anyway, those gated guarded communities on the beach are first world expensive Plus they've got heavy maintenance costs because it's understood that you have to have nice beachfront Facilities and that means a big well-maintained pool or pools. In fact just the other day

[03:58] I was talking to a friend of mine who lives in the DR. He's been there about five years now He lives in a gated garden community right on the beach near Punta Cana has a two-bedroom condo around 1200 square feet beautiful setup guess he paid around $230,000 for it five years ago and back then he told me his maintenance costs were around a hundred bucks a month however now five years later 260 bucks a month now I can tell you I know a lot of people living on the mainland Latin America off the gringo Tourist trail, of course who have nice little condos and even small houses whose total monthly rant is just a little more than that Oh, and how about this when I lived in Costa Rica many years ago I had a very nice condo complex three bedrooms around

[04:45] 1500 square feet and my maintenance way back when was around 60 bucks a month. We're talking 20 some years ago now Well, it's been sold a couple times since then and now just found out the maintenance on that very same unit is 350 bucks a month, of course, it was a very nice place nice pool and all that well kept up beautiful gardens But I'll tell you that's not anyone's idea of cheap simple nice tropical living not 350 bucks a month for your maintenance. Come on. Oh, and by the way 20 something years ago I was paying around a hundred and thirty dollars a year for my property taxes on that unit and now 20 years later, it's 1600 bucks a year now, I know that doesn't sound like much to anyone living up in the States

[05:30] But listen, that's what happens when gringos invade any area in Latin America prices Eventually just take off. So in 20 years the property taxes on that very same place went up over 1000% who could have predicted that but we were talking about the DR, right? I'd say a good 95% of the gringos and expats who come down to the DR and stay permanently Do have a beach house. That's the kind of living they like and there's no doubt they have fantastic white sand beaches and so many hundreds of miles of them that even the Dominicans themselves who do absolutely nothing to preserve or take care of their environment Even they can't seem to kill off those beaches except the ones near towns and cities where the sewage goes directly into the ocean

[06:15] However, all those nice new first world beach resorts have all the latest and greatest sewage management and treatment facilities But as usual third world governments never apply those strict rules to the locals and you know, that's actually counterintuitive You'd think a big chain like Marriott or Clarion Suites would come in bribe the local officials So they wouldn't have to put in expensive solid waste and gray water treatment equipment Oh, they pay the bribes all right just to get the project going But they still treat the waste and put in the proper pollution control stuff Why because they know soon enough they'd be ruining their own project crapping and eating out of the same bowl So to speak now talking about beachfront properties for gringos and expats whether they're in the first world or third world There's always going to be public access

[07:03] Even if your property butts right up to the ocean and the beach in other words You can't fence off the beach side You got to let people pass if they want and believe me that Automatically throws a monkey wrench into your plans on how to secure the place because if there's one thing that's certain if you leave that beach House for more than a couple of days without any movement without the presence of a maid or a gardener Let's say well word gets out fast. There is a neighborhood grapevine You know don't think what your gardener and your maid and your maintenance guy are seeing around the house behind closed doors are totally private They're not you can be sure there's some discussion going on when your maid and gardener are at home and off-duty For them it's good dinner table discussion, and you've got no control over it You know everyone's curious as to how the other half lives you are the other half

[07:53] You know well at least to your help The fact is no matter where you live no matter how nice and first world your subdivision or your private little estate There's always a small local town nearby You might be even living on the fringes of it when you're in Latin America You have to get used to the fact that a lot of beautiful subdivisions and houses, but right up against well Trailer trash in the states, but it's middle and lower middle class according to Latin standards By the way the good thing about being close by to Latin working classes is that you'll have access to everything Shopping hardware stores those huge open fruit and vegetable markets of course That's where all your local help is going to come from to maids gardeners maintenance men pool guys However scruffy little middle and lower middle class towns like that have their share of sticky fingered

[08:43] Delinquents too, which is why if you leave your house alone for a couple of days where it'll get out and things will go missing Pool pump tools from the garage etc etc of course that's not gonna happen if you're living in a gated guarded community But you'll be paying maintenance too now believe it or not when you're off the gringo tourist trail And you live in a really nice gated guarded community Maintenance will seem ridiculously cheap compared to the states however on the gringo tourist trail You'll pay first-world maintenance prices all the way so off the gringo tourist trail and a beautiful subdivision Maybe 40 bucks a month for maintenance Which you'll usually include water and garbage pickup too Whereas pretty much in the same kind of subdivision in Costa Rica or Panama on the tourist trail will run yeah 150 a month in fact builders these days are saying if you live in a

[09:32] Residential high-rise or gated guarded community. We're talking first-world high-end quality They're saying maintenance runs about a dollar a square foot So for a thousand square feet hundred bucks a month two thousand square foot two hundred a month However, that's on the very high end again. That's for brand new first world construction off the gringo tourist trail Now talking about the Dominican Republic recently. They've changed their immigration procedures Again seem to do that every year or so now it used to be that you'd get temporary residency It'd have that for a couple years move on to permanent residency and after around seven years you could apply for citizenship and naturalization However to get your naturalization and a passport you have to be able to read and write in Spanish

[10:19] And you'll have to take what they call the Dominican nationality test in Spanish now the latest new rules say that if you get permanent residency and hold it for two consecutive years that qualifies you for Naturalization and a passport so the government says now they've made it streamlined and much simpler however when you go to the government website You see they haven't changed the wording it still says first step provisional or temporary residents once granted It will be valid for one year You'll renew that temporary permit each year and after five years as a temporary resident You'll be able to change your status to permanent Then it says now get this foreigners have to live in the Dominican Republic with a temporary residence permit for five years

[11:04] Before obtaining a permanent residency, which you will then need for at least two more years That means after seven years of legal residence. You can apply for a naturalization Citizenship and a passport now like I said just a couple of years ago That process only took five years and then a few years before that the process only took three years Now according to the info on the government website that I just read off to you to get that passport It's up to seven years, but now they said they changed it again Made it easier Streamlined it hmm Then it says after that seven-year period you will file some more documents and be called to appear at the home office in Santo Domingo for an interview in Spanish and to take a quiz also in Spanish

[11:52] Within five months after that interview you will be summoned back to take the oath of citizenship if you pass And there's just one more thing that's not quite clear to people It seems there is a difference between being born a Dominican and becoming a naturalized Citizen and getting that passport by going through the temporary and permanent residency thing It says here under article 25 of the Dominican Constitution foreign nationals That would be you have the same rights and responsibilities as Dominican nationals But with one exception a foreign national who's obtained Citizenship may not participate in any political activities Except he can vote then it says if you're a foreign national with a passport and you face any legal

[12:40] Problems from other countries while being in the Dominican Republic you can request diplomatic protection from extradition But it's only possible if you've tried every other possible solution So in other words for example if you were born in the DR and got into some International trouble and headed back to the DR and another country tried to extradite you for a serious crime Let's say worst case you got a hit-and-run in England and you killed somebody you high tell it back to the Dominican Republic The UK filed a petition to have you extradited for trial Well, if you're a natural born Dominican, they'll never send you back no extradition However, if you've been naturalized through the permanent and temporary residency process It seems by the wording of article 25 the protection you'll get from your new government is not so bulletproof

[13:30] So it seems you're a citizenship and passport are not quite equal to the citizenship and passport of a born national bottom line Dominican Republic seems to be the one Latin country that changes its rules all the time every year or two Something else they add or take away. No one can really predict what their next move is gonna be So why is that? Well in a word Haitians, you see the Dominican government is Constantly looking for ways to regulate what is essentially a massive free flow of illegal immigrants from Haiti You know, that's the other country on the island of Hispaniola and they share a very long open porous border with them Now I've been to the DR a few times last time just a year or so ago

[14:16] In fact, and I can tell you Dominicans have an inbred hatred for Haitians and treat them like second even third-class citizens But oddly enough they all want to have one for a maid or a gardener because you know They're off the books and will take a quarter of what you'd have to pay a local Dominican to do the same thing So they've got a porous border and a huge immigration problem and a very poor country next door In fact Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere And though the average Dominican only makes maybe two or three hundred bucks a month That's riches compared to the Haitians who only make around 25 to 50 bucks a month in their own country Hmm sound familiar now, that's the situation that the US and Mexico been dealing with for years, right? So in the DR you got a microcosm of what's happening up in the states with Mexico

[15:04] In fact in the DR, they just annulled 20,000 passports and residencies claiming fraud Who do you think most of them belong to Haitians? Of course, so many Haitians have been sneaking in and getting and buying false documents again like Mexicans when they sneak in They know a guy who knows a guy or they're led to a purveyor of documents and they all of a sudden qualify for benefits You know the story anyway in the DR Haitians can buy some pretty good documents that actually work Most DR cops can't tell the difference. They're like all Latin cops about an eighth or a ninth grade education They don't know their laws or their own rule books. That's been proven time and time again By the way, if you've ever been to the DR, you know any Dominicans up in the states and you ask them about Haitians

[15:53] They'll always roll their eyes make a face and say yep They're ruining our country taking our jobs bring in their terrible habits with them Does that sound familiar? Even when I was in the DR I heard Dominicans say nasty things about Haitians all the time Of course, they're talking to each other in Spanish and don't think I understand it because most gringos don't understand Spanish So they'll rattle on and complain about them in Spanish right in front of you And you know the DR in a lot of ways is like Costa Rica that got loads of gringos on vacation there The difference is very few gringos actually lived there permanently tourism is a tremendous industry there But where were we? Oh, yeah, I was saying if you know Spanish and you're in the DR You'll hear the locals say very nasty things about the Haitians all the time

[16:41] Worst of all is when a young Dominican falls in love with a Haitian you think they can bring them home to dinner No way the parents usually make sure things never get that far heard one guy say he could spot a Haitian a mile away Just by the way, they walk and his friend said yeah, you can smell them too That's a huge amount of racism and classism in the DR and it's all against the Haitians I've heard Dominicans say that Haitians are liars and lazy have sticky fingers all of it Not to mention their hygiene is poor and they have bad manners And you know when I hear that or variations on that theme always makes me laugh because Dominicans with any moderate amount of dough Will always have a Haitian or two as a gardener or a maid man humans are a twisted species, huh? And you know Dominicans have this heavy color prejudice thing going to even though

[17:30] 98% of them are black according to the stateside definition of it anyway And you know they just hate it when some tourists or gringo refers to them as black and some will correct you right then And there they'll say we're not black the Haitians are black and funny enough even the darkest Dominicans will say no What are you talking about? I'm not black. I'm more a no oscuro. That's dark-skinned Latino, man They're just so sensitive about color there just looking around in the Dominican Republic You can see the obvious effects of racism and classism. It's almost always true that the darker they are the poorer they are and Surprise surprise in the high levels of government and in the military and in industry The people are much more light-skinned how'd that happen and rich guys no matter what color they are

[18:17] Always prefer light-skinned or white ladies, and you'll see that everywhere guy with a nice car looks like he's got some money He's pretty black and his wife mistress Whatever is bottled blonde and light-skinned enough to look like Shakira So you think the US is racist or classist well learn a little Spanish Spend a month or two in the DR with the common people not at the resort and just eavesdrop a bit So then what about getting residency in the DR? We were talking about that weren't we? Here's something you don't find out till you're stuck there for a little while as Mentioned in last week's show when you're coming from a first world country to any Latin country You generally get a 90-day tourist visa automatically and you got to go out of the country or go down to immigration and get an extension

[19:05] When that 90 days is up well in the DR There's really no Adjacent country to pop off to really quickly stay for a day and come back You got to fly out which can cost you five six even seven hundred bucks Oh, and by the way If you think you're gonna pop off to Haiti and get your passport stand and then come back a day or two later Apparently that's hit-and-miss sometimes they'll do it sometimes they won't that is sometimes DR immigration will accept that and sometimes they won't So it's not a good idea not to mention the border stations and immigration on the Haitian side are absolutely decrepit and disgusting Believe me, you don't want to use the restroom and it's a real trick avoiding the hangers-on and beggars Haiti unless you're a missionary building solar outhouses for Jesus is never recommended for tourists out for a good time

[19:52] In fact, there's only one place in the whole country. I can kind of recommend They actually have a brand new D camera on all-inclusive resort in Haiti Who'd have thunk, huh? I mean, there's only about three regular people in Haiti that can afford it A lot of government people can because they're stealing everything blind. It's the last place I think you'd want to build a resort, but I understand now there's big-time corrupt government Haitians involved in financing it So what else is new? Since you can't pop out of the DR easily and cheaply to renew your 90-day visa That means there are lots and lots of gringos who really like the Dominican Republic who are there Illegally at least overstaying their visas So when they do end up leaving they have to pay some pretty hefty fines when they fly out

[20:41] One of their biggest industries is tourism and therefore they see a lot of gringos coming in and out not to mention Canadians and Europeans Believe it or not The Dominican cops are cracking down on people driving with foreign driver's licenses and they can get away with it because you know It's an island and the only way out of the country is by boat or air Which begs the question if the cops are so dumb and don't know the rules. How do they even know that? How do they figure it out? Well, it's something else not really having to do with the cops at all If for example, you have to pull over at one of those police stops and you have a first world driver's license. Sure It's good. Don't let you go However, if you get in a car accident and the cops and insurance adjusters come by they won't honor your Insurance claim if you've been in the country more than 90 days using a foreign license

[21:29] That would be your license from Ohio, right? And of course, we all drive or rent cars and we all want to have insurance So the catch 22 is after 90 days of driving in the DR to be covered by Insurance in an accident you have to get a DR license and in order to get a DR license you have to have residency Meanwhile in the rest of Latin America your foreign driver's license is good until the date it expires and sometimes a lot longer than that By the way when applying for temporary or permanent residency in the DR you have to have a complete medical examination including a urinalysis HIV test TB chest x-ray. They're big on that in Latin America and a drug test And when you're applying for permanent residency now You'll need a copy of an employment agreement or proof of a substantial real estate purchase in the DR and or documents proving

[22:21] Financial solvency that is pension or income from a foreign source But the foreign source income limits in the DR are higher Then when applying for permanent residency in most other Latin countries except for example, Costa Rica and some of the more Gringo eyes Latin countries that have a higher cost of living so to qualify for permanent residency That is skip a couple years needed for temporary residency You'll need to prove income either from a foreign investment rental income CD annuities You'll have to show and prove a minimum of 2,000 bucks of continuous income for a single person or show a Pension or Social Security income of at least 1,500 bucks a month But the fact is the average Social Security payout in the United States is slightly over 1,300 bucks a month

[23:09] Meaning the average Social Security recipient won't qualify which cuts out a huge Segment of the gringo retirement population. However, there are a few other ways to qualify All you need to do is make a two hundred thousand dollar or more investment in the country either with a property purchase or Investing in a banking institution or a company registered in the DR now, that's still rather high amount There are many Latin countries where you qualify for permanent residency by making an investment of only 30 to 50 grand And the rules are much more flexible, but you knew that I really right by the way If you're interested in getting residency leading to passport in the Dominican Republic They have some residency in passport expediters located in the country and there's some on the net to

[23:55] Just checked into one right now and they want $3,500 to get you temporary or permanent residency and you'll usually have to make two trips down and stay for a week or two Get all the government paperwork signed and stuff So maybe all in all it'll cost you five or six grand to do that including the trips and the hotels and all that Who knows these things are changing all the time, especially in the DR and strangely enough I can't seem to get a firm answer on a very important point Once you get permanent or temporary residency, how many days a year do you have to spend in the country to maintain it? We all know that in some countries like Nicaragua It's three to six months and in Guatemala just one day a year now as for the DR There's some government literature that goes back only a year or so and it says if you have temporary residency

[24:41] You're required to stay and to leave you have to ask for formal permission And then there's information that says if you've got permanent residency You don't have to stay at all Like I said because the Haitians things are in such flux that you just can't get a straight answer on some of this stuff Alright changing gears a bit here. I like to mention a new phenomenon. I'm seeing all over Latin America Well, it's not that new about a year ago. I first started seeing it Everyone knows what those distinctive California license plates look like right well It seems like it's quite a fad down here in Latin America to go into a local bar or tavern or cantina And they'll have various United States car plates tacked up on the wall or behind the bar in the bathroom, right? That's kind of like old-school passé TGIFs, right? Well, that's the gringo advantage again

[25:26] You know everything and anything first world they love that's been going on a long time down here But the latest fad seems to be placing one just one California plate on a vehicle You'd think that would be illegal because you can't drive in Latin America with another country's plates for more than 30 60 or 90 days depending on the country But you see as it turns out in most Latin countries, especially the ones off the gringo tourist trail Cops don't seem to bother you if you have just one legitimate country plate on your car So as it turns out on the back plate, they have the country Nicaragua Guatemala Salvador Bolivia, whatever and on the front plate, they have a California one Obviously supposed to mean that the driver is cooler with it, you know hip with the trip and all that But when I scream go see that stuff police and it's the same thing when we see Disney decals and stickers on the back windows

[26:17] And trunks of cars like the driver is bragging. He's actually been there. Hey when I see a Mickey sticker I'm duly impressed aren't you now? The thing I don't get is why California plates? They don't have Illinois or Ohio or Washington plates not even New York plates Which kind of baffles me because everyone it seems has I love New York t-shirt or some kind of coffee cup or trashy Knick-knack with I love New York stenciled on it. Although you do see the occasional. I love my jammie stuff I love New York kitsch out numbers the other crap a hundred and one so the Latin definition of cool right now is an I love New York anything and California plate on your car. Oh and just lately new t-shirts are popping up. They say I love Nueva Jork So yep, they're cranking those things out in Spanish now, man, if that doesn't say at all

[27:07] So anyway, we're getting towards the end of the show I'd like to remind you once again if you haven't made it down to one of my expat insider seminars And if you haven't got any boots on the ground in Latin America yet One of the best fastest and most efficient ways to get started on your own plan B is to check out Www.xpatplanb.com. That's where you'll find my expat essentials course expatplanb.com south of the border This is the expat files living in Latin America If you want me to help you out with your own plan B Just schedule a one-on-one consult send me an email the expat files at gmail.com And if you want to learn how to move forward with your own plan B from right up there in the states go to www.xpatplanb.com and check out my three videos. See ya nos vemos