Programmes · Caribbean
Residence by investment, then naturalisation
Invest at least 200,000 USD in the Dominican Republic, property included, and you hold permanent residence as an investor from day one. If you own real estate in the country, the naturalisation law lets you apply for citizenship after just six months of residence.
Residence open, naturalisation at discretion
The Dominican Republic does not grant citizenship in return for a payment into a fund. What it offers is a route laid down in law on which your capital stays yours and still brings you, after a few months in the country, to the point of applying for the passport. The route has two stages, and both are written into statute.
The first stage is residence as an investor. Migration Law No. 285-04 counts investors among permanent residents, and Decree No. 631-11 sets the threshold at 200,000 USD. The forms of investment allowed are those of the Foreign Investment Law, and real estate in the country is expressly among them. You receive permanent residence from the outset, without spending years on a temporary permit first.
The second stage is naturalisation. Law No. 1683 normally requires two years of residence. If you own property in the country, or have founded and run your own business there, you can apply after just six months.
Legal basis: Ley General de Migración No. 285-04 (General Migration Law), Art. 33(2); Decree No. 631-11 (implementing regulations), Arts. 54, 55 and 58; Law No. 16-95 on Foreign Investment, Art. 3; Naturalisation Law No. 1683, Arts. 1, 4 and 12; Ministry of the Interior Resolution MIP-RR-0005-2026 of 17 July 2026; Constitution of 27 October 2024, Art. 20
Competent authority: Ministerio de Interior y Policía, Dirección de Naturalización (naturalisation); Dirección General de Migración (residence)
| Legal basis for residence | under Art. 33(2) of Migration Law No. 285-04, investors count as permanent residents (Residentes Permanentes); Art. 55 of Decree No. 631-11 requires an investment of at least 200,000 USD or the equivalent in pesos or another currency accepted by the Central Bank Source |
|---|---|
| What counts as an investment | a contribution in one of the forms set out in Law No. 16-95 on Foreign Investment, or into the capital of an existing company; Law 16-95 lists real estate in the Dominican Republic (Art. 3 b), company holdings (Art. 3 a) and financial investments (Art. 3 c) Source |
| Type of residence | Residencia Permanente from the start, with no prior stage on temporary residence (Residencia Temporal) Source |
| Time to residence | Law No. 171-07 refers to the Programa de Residencia por Inversión, which grants investors permanent residence in 45 days Source |
| Residence card | the first card is valid for one year and is then renewed for four years at a time; from the renewal after four years you show that you still hold the investment, otherwise the residence can be revoked Source |
| Entry | Visa de Residencia (RS) por Inversión from a Dominican consulate, valid for 60 days and a single entry; the consulate asks for, among other things, the investor certificate from ProDominicana, police certificates from every country of the last five years and a medical certificate; you then register with the Dirección General de Migración Source |
| Documents for residence | passport valid for at least one more year, apostilled birth certificate, registration of the foreign investment, apostilled police certificate, medical certificate from an approved provider and a guarantee bond (póliza de garantía) Source |
| Family in the residence | spouse, unmarried children under 18 and adult children with a disability; children under 18 need no police certificate Source |
| Residence period for naturalisation | if you own real estate in the Republic or run a business you founded there, at least six months of uninterrupted residence (Art. 1 c, Law No. 1683); without such a tie, two years (Art. 1 b) Source |
| Travel during the period | trips abroad of up to one year, with the intention of returning, count as residence in the country Source |
| Proof of investment | holders of investor residence meet the requirements of ordinary naturalisation and also document their investment: company records from the Chamber of Commerce or, for a personal investment, contracts, tax certificates and other evidence Source |
| Documents for naturalisation | CV with supporting documents, apostilled birth certificate (no more than five years old), copies of all passports, cédula and a valid residence card, apostilled police certificate from your home country if you have lived in the country for less than five years, notarised declaration of residence and assets, fingerprints and photo; a Dominican court interpreter translates every document Source |
| Examination | citizenship test in Spanish for every adult applicant, on general knowledge, geography and the country's history; the ministry may also invite you to a personal interview Source |
| Naturalisation fee | RD$29,200 in a single payment when you apply, through the Ministry of the Interior's portal, covering review of the file, the application, the examination fee and the swearing-in Source |
| Processing | 4 to 6 months according to the Ministry of the Interior, counted from submission of the originals, fingerprints and photo; then a presidential decree, publication in the Official Gazette and your oath Source |
| Decision | at the discretion of the executive, even when every requirement is met; there is no annual quota for ordinary naturalisation Source |
| Children | unmarried minor children become Dominican by operation of law when their parent is naturalised, and can renounce it within one year of coming of age (Art. 4, Law No. 1683) Source |
| After naturalisation | the executive can revoke naturalisation if you move your residence abroad within one year, or if you leave and do not return for ten years (Art. 12, para. II d and e, Law No. 1683) Source |
| Dual citizenship | allowed: the Constitution recognises the right to hold another nationality (Art. 20); neither Law No. 1683 nor the Ministry of the Interior requires renunciation Source |
You invest and have the investment registered. With the certificate from ProDominicana, police certificates covering the last five years and a medical certificate, you apply at the consulate for the residence visa, which is valid for 60 days and a single entry. Once in the country, you register with the migration authority and receive your first residence card, valid for one year.
From then on, what counts is the six months of uninterrupted residence. Trips abroad of up to a year, with the intention of returning, still count as residence. You then apply to the Ministry of the Interior, document your investment, pay RD$29,200 and sit the test in Spanish. The ministry quotes 4 to 6 months of processing, followed by the presidential decree, publication in the Official Gazette and your oath.
This route suits you if you want a home in the Caribbean anyway and are ready to spend half a year actually living there. Your money sits in an asset you use yourself or rent out, and it remains your wealth. Your family joins you in the residence, and your minor children become Dominican when you are naturalised.
Naturalisation remains a discretionary decision of the government. If you invest properly, spend the required time in the country and arrive at the test well prepared, you put before it a file that meets every legal condition. Under Dominican law, you do not have to give up the citizenship you hold today.
Residence, application, examination and oath in detail, with every route to Dominican citizenship.
Which countries naturalise you in months rather than years, and the conditions behind them.
What the tests and the oath involve in the naturalisation countries, and how to prepare.
Minimum amounts, fees and authorities of the open programmes, side by side.
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To naturalise, you live in the country for at least six months. Wohnsitz Ausland explains how the Republic treats foreign income and what the move means for your taxes.
Visit Wohnsitz AuslandWohnsitz Ausland · in German
The property is your investment and your key to the short residence period. Wohnsitz Ausland walks through the purchase, from title to transfer tax.
Visit Wohnsitz AuslandVidaLibrePlan
Residency comes before the passport. VidaLibrePlan sets out the permits the Republic grants and how the application works.
Visit VidaLibrePlanSteueratlas · in German
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Visit SteueratlasFreedomBanking Plus
You need a local account for the investment and for daily life. FreedomBanking Plus describes the documents the banks ask for.
Visit FreedomBanking PlusThe videos are in German.
Yes, in two steps. An investment of at least 200,000 USD gives you permanent residence as an investor, and real estate in the Dominican Republic is one of the forms of investment Law No. 16-95 allows. Once you own property in the country, Art. 1 c of Naturalisation Law No. 1683 lets you apply for naturalisation after just six months of uninterrupted residence.
Six months without interruption if you own property or a business of your own in the country, otherwise two years. Trips abroad of up to one year, with the intention of returning, count as residence. After naturalisation, do not move your residence abroad within a year: the law treats that as grounds for revocation.
Every adult applicant sits a citizenship test in Spanish on general knowledge, geography and the history of the Dominican Republic. The Ministry of the Interior does not ask for a separate language certificate. It may also invite you to a personal interview about your ties to the country.
Your investor residence covers your spouse, unmarried children under 18 and adult children with a disability. When you are naturalised, your unmarried minor children become Dominican with you by operation of law. Adult children file their own application through the ordinary procedure.
Not under Dominican law. The Constitution recognises the right to hold another nationality, and neither the naturalisation law nor the Ministry of the Interior requires renunciation. The ministry only asks for proof of your other nationalities.
The Ministry of the Interior charges RD$29,200 in a single payment when you apply. That covers review of the file, the application, the examination fee and the swearing-in. On top come your investment of at least 200,000 USD, the residence and the translation of your documents by a court interpreter.
You have worked hard to build a life full of possibilities. Now it is about expanding them, for you and for your family. Talk to Daniel Taborek about your budget, your family and the route to your second citizenship. Find out which passport should enrich your future.
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