We are starting this post as the questions get asked constantly. How do I get a work visa?
In order to work legally here you must have citizenship, residencia and Cedula (Dominican ID card ) OR a work visa.
Many do not qualify for residency and are not citizens, so, how do I get a work visa?
To backtrack just a bit, it used to be so easy. Just come to the DR, setup house and get a job, go to work and ta dah..... You are good. Yup, sorry, those days are pretty much gone.
Some years ago the gov't started upholding the laws, made employers who had illegal employees fully accountable. NOW, almost no one will hire you if you are illegal.
Again a few years ago the gov't ran a special residencia registration program to help get various people legal documents, this benefited primarily Haitian immigrants. Why? well because of a few things, one being outside pressure to help the Haitians (valid) and also due to internal pressure from special employer groups, like the construction industry that rely on inexpensive Haitian labor. As a result it was fairly straightforward to become legal. (Not easy for many Haitians but that is another thread)
Since then the gov't has cracked down heavily on illegal employees. The bottom line for many is, its no longer easy to show up and get a job. Almost no one wants the risk.
You must go through the process of getting a work visa. As all our other programs, the legal part starts at home.
BUT FIRST find a sponsor, find a job. Not just any job. A job that qualifies to sponsor a non resident. That means the job cannot be easily filled here in the DR with a Dominican or current resident! So, in order to qualify you better have some skills. For example: a few years ago Russian tourism surged! So what did we need? Customer service, sales, management etc who spoke Russian. Pretty sure that was not readily available here. In fact, I helped two individuals who spoke Russian get work visas and good jobs.
Now, lets assume you found that job! Yayyyyy. The employer must right an application package to the Ministry of Labor explaining why they need to sponsor YOU ,or whowever you is, for this position. It is not automatic (unless your brother in law is the ministers cousin once removed) And it is not necessarily fast. Schools trying to sponsor teachers are often left waiting and hoping for approvals in time for school start up.
Once that is granted, the applicant can now get their work visa started in their home country. The documentation needs to be gathered ahead of time:
- Visa Form filled and completed in type or clearly printed.
- One (1) frontal picture size 2 x 2 inches, with a white background.
- Original passport valid for at least the duration of the requested visa or longer, at least 6 months past the term.
- Resolution of the Ministry of Labor of the Dominican Republic. (letter referred to above)
- Medical Certificate This document must be notarized, translated into Spanish and both the original and the translation Apostilled.
- Criminal Record Certificate issued by the appropriate authorities of the country in which the person resides at the time of application. This document must be notarized, translated into Spanish and both the original and the translation Apostilled.
- Legible photocopy of former Dominican visas or residence card (if renewal).
Visa application letter from the beneficiary or from the company or institution for which the applicant will work. Really a sponsor letter.
All this plus your "fee" goes to the nearest Dominican consulate.
According to "sources" this will then take 10 to 15 working days to process. (ok I stopped laughing at that idea ) You would then be issued your work visa for 1 year, which is renewable.
Again its never guaranteed! Its not easy and its not inexpensive to get this all done. There are some specific rules, like, the medical certificate cannot exceed 30 days before deposit for the visa. Americans need an FBI background check, not just a police background check.
I believe the most difficult part is getting a company to agree to sponsor you, to apply for the work visa approval in the first place. Commonly accepted: teachers for international schools, high level management in the resort industry, high end sales people in the time share industry (was, but, not sure if still is easy) technically qualified like engineers, QA - manufacturing, mining etc.
Not happening anymore - time share, resort workers, sales people, restaurant workers, administrative staff.
In fact right now with what is going on with Covid 19, you can expect things to get even harder!
I hope this is helpful!