Some Facts About Dominican Republic Residency and Dominican Passport
Regularly I’m met with questions about second residencies and passports. These questions often include countries other than the DR. While I’m no immigration expert and therefore not offering advice I’d like to share some of the facts learned since 1986. I hope you find them to be useful.
You may want to view a second passport similar to a get out of jail free card in the game of Monopoly. One hopes to never need it however, should the latter be a different story it’s a great thing to possess. I do feel every person would benefit by having at least two passports.
Obtaining a Dominican residency or passport is similar to almost any other country. The DR has several immigration programs and almost everyone will qualify for at least one of them. Depending on such things as current wealth status, monthly residual income, being an investor and of course those who just want to relocate, will determine which program fits best for the individual. The costs and timeframes will be different for each case.
It has been my experience, that no matter what country you’re referring to, when it comes to involving Governments or consulates, things don’t always run as planned so be forewarned. In the area of immigration a bit of patience goes a long way. Barring any obstacles such as outstanding warrants, failed background checks and of course you have to pass the medical tests, the end result is always a successful one.
Below are a few reasons why second residencies and passports are something you should strongly consider owning. First they are an extremely effective tool when it comes to preserving assets. Second they provide the best safe haven for yourself and your family. Should you ever have to vacate in a hurry it may be used as that get out of jail free card I mentioned earlier.
Currency controls, confiscated passports and offshore banking are a few more reasons owning a second residency or passport makes sense and let’s not forget the ever eroding right to privacy. I’m confident that large percentages who are reading these pages are already questioning the invasion of people’s privacy “Something Feels Wrong” or you wouldn’t be here.
Those are a few valid reasons for owning a second passport. For now let’s shift gears and talk specifically about the Dominican passport. First worthy note I’d like to mention. Without even realizing it, most people would only use their Dominican passport while exiting their home nation in an emergency. For the vast majority of people That’s It! Other than an emergency exit of their home nation would never normally use their Dominican passport for travel. In fact the Dominican passport is actually one of the weakest passports in the world.
I know this last paragraph must have shocked a fair percentage of readers, so let me elaborate and provide some facts as to why I’ve mentioned this. Currently there are 223 passports in the world. Out of the 223 passports 33 of them offer no entry without visas, so in reality are considered useless. Currently there are 190 passports in the world that allow entry to various other countries without requiring a visa. There are 80 power ranks. A power rank is determined by the amount of countries that will allow you to enter without the need of a visa.
As of 2016 the Dominican Republic passport is placed in the 73rd power rank out of 80 and is only accepted in 44 countries most of which are countries you would never want to visit. The other passports ranking equal in power to the Dominican passport are North Korea, Lebanon, Gabon and Cambodia.
Some of the countries outranking the Dominican passport in power might surprise you. A short list consists of Pakistan, Laos, Libya, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Kuwait, Kenya, South Africa, Nicaragua and Ukraine. Some are outranking the 73rd placed power ranked passport by a large margin. I hope this clarifies why I mentioned for the vast majority of people other than an emergency exit of their home nation would never use their Dominican passport for travel. For further information mouse over and click on www.passportindex.org
History will prove the added safety and security of owning multiple passports, so it’s probably best not to take these points lightly. What you’re currently witnessing is nothing more than a repeat performance of broke Governments turning on their own citizens and hunting down assets and taxes. Hope this bit of information was found to be useful and if you have any questions or may be interested in obtaining residency or a 2nd passport click on the button at the bottom of this page.
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Barry in DR
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