Any foreigner aspiring to reside in the Dominican Republic, whether to work, study, invest or retire, is kindly greeted by the Dominican legislation since it provides many incentives that motivate foreigners to extend their stay in our country. It is very important and strongly recommended for those foreigners planning to stay in the Dominican Republic for more than 3 months to apply for Dominican residence. Each type of residence permit in particular offers a wide variety of incentives depending upon their nature, but just for the simple fact of becoming a Dominican resident, foreigners are permitted to work legally in any company and immediately complete the first phase of the Dominican Citizenship requirements. In addition, foreigners will be exempt of paying a tourist card every time they enter the county and if they shall inherit assets or property in the Dominican Republic, they will be exempt of paying 50% inheritance taxes.

Ordinary Residence
The first type of residence is the Ordinary Residence which is divided in two phases:

1- Provisional Residence, which is valid for one year and

2- Permanent Residence, which is valid for two years and is granted once the Provisional Residence has expired.

Having the Ordinary Residence will allow foreigners to bring a vehicle into the country with tax and custom deductions with the condition that another vehicle has not been imported 5 years prior to the date. Every foreigner is also given the benefit of bringing all his/her belongings and household goods or used professional equipment with tax and customs exemptions. In order to be exempted from paying these taxes the belongings must have belonged to the foreigner for more than a year. In addition, they will have the right to import all household goods, including furniture, appliances and other items purchased abroad, free of customs duties and taxes. These exemptions only apply once per family. All these benefits are exposed in Law No.168 of May 27, 1967, on Partial Tax Exemption of Motor Vehicles, amended by Law No.146-00, on Tariff Reform and Fiscal Equalization.

Residence for Retirees and Passive Investors
The second type of residence is the residence for retirees and passive investors. The same is described in Law 171-07 on Special Incentives for Retirees and Passive Investors and applies for foreigners who have retired or who have permanent income generated abroad. The purpose of creating this law was to grant foreign investors the same rights and obligations as Dominican investors. It is important to mention that this law not only benefits the retiree or passive investor, but also applies for his/her spouse and minor children, adults with disabilities or adults who are studying and are financially dependants of the applicant, who will benefit from the same incentives.

Among the benefits retirees and passive investors enjoy are the exemptions of customs fees when importing personal and house belongings as well as office and used professional equipment. As for the resident with the Ordinary Residence permit, retirees and passive investors will also benefit from deductions when importing his/her vehicle. The additional incentives the Residence for Retirees and Passive Investors offer are tax exemptions on real estate transactions for the first property acquired, a 50% exemption from tax documents and property tax, a 50% tax exemption on mortgages, as well as an additional 50% tax exemption on the income when buying or selling a property in the Dominican Republic.

These incentives and benefits when obtaining a residence permit in the Dominican Republic provide an additional pile of reasons to motivate foreigners to accomplish their project in mind, work, rest or study in our country.


Bibliography:
Ley No.168 del 27 de Mayo del 1967, sobre Exoneración Parcial de Impuestos de Vehículos de Motor, modificada por la Ley No.146-00, sobre Reforma Arancelaria y Compensación Fiscal.

Ley 171-07 sobre Incentivos Especiales a los Pensionados y Rentistas de fuente extranjera.

Ley No. 285-04 General de Migración.

www.dga.gov.do

www.dgii.gov.do

www.cei-rd.gov.do