Dominican Republic Residence by Investment

The investor route is residence through capital you keep: the US$200,000 stays invested in your own Dominican company or financial holding, and the Dominican Republic grants permanent residence from the first card. It is a residence programme, not citizenship by investment.

How does Dominican Republic residency by investment work in 2026?

Dominican Republic residency by investment works in four steps in 2026: you invest at least US$200,000 in a Dominican company or qualifying financial instruments, register it as foreign investment with ProDominicana (the Centro de Exportación e Inversión, CEI-RD), obtain a residence (RS) visa at a Dominican consulate, then file with the Dirección General de Migración (DGM), which issues a permanent residence card within 45 working days.

The legal basis is the General Migration Law (Ley 285-04, art. 33) and its Reglamento, Decree 631-11, arts. 54 to 58, read with the Foreign Investment Law (Ley 16-95). Article 54 calls investment residence "un privilegio legal" that exempts the investor from the usual temporary-residence stage. The current requirements are on the DGM investor service page, read on 10 October 2026.

Dominican Republic or Dominica: which one do you mean?

The Dominican Republic and Dominica are two different countries. The Dominican Republic, with its capital Santo Domingo, shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti and offers residence by investment, described on this page. Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is a separate English-speaking island state in the Eastern Caribbean that runs a citizenship by investment programme from a US$200,000 contribution. If you were looking for a second passport through investment, see Dominica citizenship by investment and our Dominica citizenship application guide.

What counts as a qualifying investment of US$200,000?

A qualifying investment for Dominican investor residence is a contribution of at least US$200,000, or its equivalent in pesos or another currency accepted by the Banco Central, made in one of the forms set out in the Foreign Investment Law or as capital in an existing Dominican company (Reglamento 631-11 art. 55).

• Capital in a Dominican company: a new or existing company, funded in freely convertible currency, in kind (plant, machinery, equipment) or in technology, under Ley 16-95 art. 2 and the Companies Law, Ley 479-08.
• Financial instruments: instruments the Junta Monetaria classes as foreign investment, evidenced by a certificate from the depositary bank (Reglamento art. 57.8).
• Designated investment projects: where the capital goes into a project designated by the Executive, the minimum is set by the Executive and certified by ProDominicana, or by the National Free Zones Council for free-zone companies.

The investment must be registered as foreign investment, and the DGM asks for the certified registration. If registration is still in progress, the DGM accepts the filing receipt as evidence (Reglamento art. 57.7).

Can a personal property purchase alone qualify? The Foreign Investment Law lists Dominican real estate among the destinations of foreign investment, but the DGM investor page asks for company documents, and no official page yet confirms that a personal home purchase on its own is enough. We confirm the structure with the authorities before you commit any capital.

Is it permanent residence from day one?

Yes. Investors are admitted directly into the permanent-residence category, with no temporary stage first (Reglamento 631-11 art. 54; Ley 285-04 art. 33.2). The DGM issues a permanent residence card valid for one year, then a card valid for four years, renewable for similar periods. You file each renewal 45 days before the card expires.

Do you have to keep the investment, and what is checked at renewal?

Yes. The investment must be maintained for as long as you hold the residence, and it is evidenced at every renewal. Each renewal needs an updated foreign-investment registration; from the renewal after the first four years, you also show a certificate from the receiving company of the capital contributed, or bank evidence that the required deposit is maintained. Under article 58 Párrafo II, failing these conditions "dará lugar a la revocación de la Residencia".

Renewals take 10 working days, or 5 with the VIP service. The DGM charges RD$25,000 plus RD$1,500 for ProDominicana, RD$15,000 more for VIP and RD$1,700 for a late filing (DGM renewal page).

How much are the government fees, and how long does it take?

The DGM issues the investor residence card within 45 working days. The government fees published on its service page are:

• Single file payment: RD$42,000 per applicant, adults and children under 13 alike.
• DGM medical examinations: RD$6,300 per adult, RD$4,200 per child under 13.
• ProDominicana investment file deposit: RD$3,500.

The consular visa fee, the ProDominicana registration itself and professional fees are separate, and we confirm them for your case. The medical examination is taken at a DGM-authorised institution within three days of payment, and an online application left idle for 90 calendar days lapses automatically.

Which documents do you need?

• A passport valid for at least six months (the Reglamento asks for one year, so we work with a passport valid for at least a year), and the residence (RS) visa.
• The letter of incorporation into the Foreign Investment Programme and the certified foreign-investment registration.
• An apostilled long-form birth certificate, translated into Spanish.
• A criminal record certificate from your country of origin or every country where you lived in the last five years.
• A marriage certificate, declaration of single status or proof of cohabitation, apostilled or legalised.
• A guarantee policy with an insurer authorised by the DGM, and the DGM medical examination.
• The company's commercial register, minutes and statutes.

Every document filed must be an original, notarised, legalised or apostilled as required.

Can your family be included?

Yes. One investment covers the family: your spouse and children under 18 can be included in the same application, and children over 18 only when they depend on you financially for study or disability. Direct relatives benefit from the same preferential regime without the waiting periods of other categories (Reglamento art. 56), and the application adds a repatriation policy for dependants (art. 57.16). Each family member pays the per-applicant DGM fees above.

Do you have to live in the Dominican Republic?

No. There is no minimum stay to keep permanent residence: permanent residents "tendrán derecho a residir indefinidamente" (Ley 285-04 art. 39). Two points matter in practice. A permanent resident who stays abroad beyond the validity of the card needs a re-entry permit of up to six months (Ley 285-04 art. 79), and naturalisation counts continuous residence. For other routes with no presence test, see our guide to residency without relocating.

Does it lead to Dominican citizenship?

Investor residence can lead to citizenship through ordinary naturalisation, not through the investment itself. A permanent resident may apply after 2 years of continuous residence following the grant of permanent residence (Reglamento 631-11 art. 52), and the DGM certificate for ordinary naturalisation requires at least two years as a permanent resident (DGM).

Since Resolution MIP-RR-0005-2026 of the Ministerio de Interior y Policía, investment-residence holders follow the ordinary procedure and add proof of their investment. Every adult applicant sits a citizenship exam in Spanish on Dominican culture, geography and history, an interview may be held, solvency is shown by sworn declaration or, failing that, through a Dominican guarantor, and the naturalisation fee is RD$29,200. Approval is a decision of the State, never guaranteed. Our residency versus citizenship guide explains the difference.

How is your income taxed?

The Dominican Republic taxes on a territorial basis: Dominican-source income is taxed, and foreign-source income is generally not. How foreign financial income is treated after the first years of residence, and the current rate bands, are not yet officially confirmed by our data team. Tax follows tax residence, not the permit, so your home country may still tax you while you remain resident there. This is general information, not tax advice. Our guide to countries that don't tax foreign pensions sets the territorial systems side by side.

Standing and stability

As of June 2026 the Dominican Republic is not listed on the FATF lists, the EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions or the OECD list of residence schemes considered high-risk for Common Reporting Standard avoidance.

How it compares

If you live on a pension or passive income rather than investing, the Dominican Republic Pensionado and Rentista route gives permanent residence on proof of income, with a yearly card. Among investor routes in the region, the Panama Qualified Investor visa is the closest comparison. For every option side by side, see our residency by investment programmes, our retirement and passive-income residency guide and the overview of countries offering residency by investment.

What is not yet officially confirmed

• Whether a personal property purchase, registered as foreign investment, qualifies on its own, and how CONFOTUR tourism property is treated.
• The consular residence visa fee and the ProDominicana registration fee.
• How foreign financial income is taxed after the first years of residence.

Ask Mira, by Mirabello

For a first answer at any hour, ask Mira, by Mirabello, the AI advisor of Mirabello Immigration Intelligence. Mira reads the same verified programme data as this page and can compare this route with the other options. A specialist then checks the details that decide your case.

How Mirabello Consultancy helps investors

Mirabello Consultancy structures the US$200,000 investment so that it qualifies and stays compliant at every renewal, coordinates the ProDominicana registration and the DGM filing through licensed local counsel in Santo Domingo, and prepares the apostilled and translated file for you and your family. If you are weighing the Dominican Republic against other residence or citizenship routes for your capital, our private client team gives you a written recommendation. Book a free, confidential consultation.