Work permit in Dominican Republic

• The work route is built on an employer in the Dominican Republic. MIREX describes the NM1 business visa for employment as given to people whose occupation keeps them in the country for a year, generally on fixed-term contracts with public or private companies there. DGM's labour temporary residence (RT-3) is for a foreigner who enters for work under an employment contract.
• MIREX lists variants of the NM1: staff of multinational companies (a contract or agreement with the parent company and a transfer letter saying pay comes from the parent), free-zone employers (a certification from the free-zone council under Law 8-90) and experts hired by public bodies or international organisations (a contract and a request letter or a note verbale).
• The checklists we found are for employer-sponsored work only. We found no NM1 or RT-3 checklist for self-employment or for working for a foreign employer from inside the country, so whether those are possible on this route is unknown. DGII says the tourist card's right of entry is lost if the holder takes up gainful activity, so paid work cannot start on a visitor entry.
• The employer has its own test. Labour Code article 135 says 80% of a company's workers must be Dominican, and MIREX's private-company checklist asks for a Ministry of Labour certification that the company is on its labour register (SIRLA) and complies with article 135. A 2014 ministry statement says article 138 sets the exceptions for foreign staff but does not list them, so which roles qualify is unknown.

Sources: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (MIREX), Dirección General de Migración (DGM), Dirección General de Impuestos Internos (DGII). Checked 17 October 2026.

• MIREX's NM1 checklist and DGM's RT-3 page publish no minimum salary. The job proposal registered with the Ministry of Labour must state the position, the base salary and any extra benefits.
• The money test falls on the employer, not on you: the private-company checklist asks for documents showing the company's financial solvency and a copy of its commercial register. A guarantor in the Dominican Republic is required, which for a private employer is the company, through a guarantee letter notarised and legalised by the Attorney General's Office and valid for six months; MIREX can summon the guarantor to an interview.

Sources: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (MIREX), Dirección General de Migración (DGM). Checked 17 October 2026.

• For the NM1 from a private employer, MIREX asks for the visa form, a 2-by-2 inch photo on a white background, the original passport valid for at least six months, any current or expired Dominican or foreign visas, and a birth certificate legalised or apostilled with a sworn translation if it is not in Spanish. It also asks for a criminal record from the federal authority of each country where you lived in the last five years, apostilled or legalised and valid for one year.
• Job documents for the NM1: the work proposal registered with the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Labour certification about the employer, your CV and university diplomas, the company's guarantee letter, its solvency documents and commercial register.
• DGM's RT-3 list adds the multiple-entry NM1 visa, the stamp of your last entry, four recent photos, an employment contract for one year or indefinite, notarised and sealed by the Ministry of Labour, a marriage certificate, declaration of single status or proof of cohabitation, a guarantee policy and medical examinations at a DGM-authorised institution. If you have lived in the country for six months, it also asks for a Dominican criminal record from the Attorney General's Office.

Sources: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (MIREX), Dirección General de Migración (DGM). Checked 17 October 2026.

• You ask for the NM1 at a Dominican consulate. The consular officer cannot decide: the application goes to MIREX, which gives the final answer, and a complete file is not an approval. MIREX's visa page gives 10 to 20 working days as its general response time and advises against buying non-refundable tickets. Once in the country, you have 30 days to appear at DGM.
• DGM takes the RT-3 application online, but filing the documents, collecting the card and paying are done in person. DGM gives 90 calendar days of processing, and an online application left without action for 90 calendar days expires and must be started again.

Sources: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (MIREX), Dirección General de Migración (DGM). Checked 17 October 2026.

• MIREX's consular fee for the NM1 business visa for employment is US$200.
• DGM's RT-3 file deposit fee is RD$14,000. The medical exam fee is RD$6,300 for an adult (over 10 years old), and the fee for a child's exam (under 13) is RD$4,200. The stay payment and any overdue-visa penalty follow DGM's tables. The guarantee policy premium and the RT-3 renewal fee are not on the pages we opened, so they are unknown.
• DGM's tables, as printed on its RT-9 information sheet (January 2025 capture), put the stay payment at RD$2,500 for 30 days to 90 days, RD$4,000 for 3 to 9 months and RD$5,000 for 9 to 12 months. The overdue-visa penalty runs from RD$5,000 for 1 to 4 months to RD$13,000 for 11 to 12 months.

Sources: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (MIREX), Dirección General de Migración (DGM). Checked 17 October 2026.

• The NM1 gives one year with multiple entries, and MIREX says it can be renewed for the same period for as long as the contract is in force. The RT-3 permit is also valid for one year, and DGM issues no personal identity card with it.
• The RT-3 page does not set out the renewal checklist or what happens to the permit when a job ends, so both are unknown. A law firm reports a Supreme Court ruling of 21 April 2022 saying employers are presumed to know the law and must register foreign workers with social security.

Sources: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (MIREX), Dirección General de Migración (DGM). Checked 17 October 2026.

• DGM's permanent residence page (RP-1) describes a five-year permit for a foreigner who has renewed ordinary temporary residence (RT-9) every year for five years. It names RT-9, not RT-3, and does not say whether years on labour residence count, so that is unknown.
• For the RP-1, DGM asks for a passport valid for 18 months, the current temporary residence card, a criminal record from the Attorney General's Office, documents showing your own financial solvency and medical exams. The fee is RD$16,800 and DGM gives 90 working days.

Sources: Dirección General de Migración (DGM). Checked 17 October 2026.

• You are a tax resident if you spend more than 182 days in the Dominican Republic in a year. DGII's notice 22-25 says Dominican-source income is taxed, and the Tax Code lists income from personal work among it, so pay from a Dominican employer is in the system. We found no DGII text on pay from a foreign employer for work done while living there, so that is unknown.
• For 2026 the DGII scale for individuals is 0% up to RD$416,220 a year, 15% up to RD$624,329, 20% up to RD$867,123 and 25% above that. A new scale under Ley 30-26 applies from fiscal year 2027.
• The social security system takes 3.04% of pay for family health and 2.87% for pensions from the worker, and the employer pays 7.09% and 7.10%. We did not find an official page on whether a certificate from your home country's social security avoids paying pension contributions twice, so that is unknown.

Sources: Dirección General de Impuestos Internos (DGII), Tesorería de la Seguridad Social (TSS). Checked 17 October 2026.

• Retirement visa in Dominican Republic
• Family visa in Dominican Republic
• Investor residence in Dominican Republic

• Visas in Dominican Republic
• Dominican Republic

1. Identity History Summary Checks: frequently asked questions, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Checked 17 October 2026.
2. Criminal records checks, US Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs. Checked 17 October 2026.
3. Visas: types, requirements and fees for tourist, business and residence visas (Spanish), Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (MIREX), Servicios360. Checked 17 October 2026. Official page opened on 17 October 2026: the NM1 (employment), RS (family reunification) and DPM (dependency) checklists.
4. United States income tax treaties, A to Z, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 15 October 2026.
5. US international Social Security agreements, US Social Security Administration, Internet Archive copy. Checked 15 October 2026.
6. US citizens and residents abroad: filing requirements, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 15 October 2026.
7. Figuring the foreign earned income exclusion, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 15 October 2026.
8. Foreign earned income exclusion: physical presence test, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 15 October 2026.
9. Dominican consulates and embassy in Canada (Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa), Embajada de la República Dominicana en Canadá (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores). Checked 15 October 2026. Official page opened on 15 October 2026: consulates general in Montreal and Toronto, and the embassy in Ottawa (consular enquiries by email). Neither consulate's own pages carry a residence-visa checklist, so MIREX's visa page is the checklist.
10. Criminal record checks: where to go, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Checked 15 October 2026. Certified (fingerprint-based) criminal record checks, through a local police service or an RCMP-accredited fingerprinting company, from inside or outside Canada; no date shown on the page.
11. Authentication of documents: frequently asked questions, Global Affairs Canada. Checked 15 October 2026. Date modified 27 August 2026: the Apostille Convention entered into force in Canada on 11 January 2024; no fee is charged for authentication.
12. Convention between Canada and the Dominican Republic for the avoidance of double taxation (CTS 1977 No. 4), full text, Global Affairs Canada, Treaty Information (treaty-accord.gc.ca). Checked 15 October 2026.
13. General Norm 11-2022: granting the benefits of conventions to avoid double taxation, Dirección General de Impuestos Internos (DGII). Checked 15 October 2026.
14. Social security agreements, Government of Canada. Checked 15 October 2026.
15. Dominican Republic country brief (archived copy), Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Internet Archive copy. Checked 15 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 16 November 2025; the live page was not opened. Says the Dominican Republic's ambassador in Tokyo holds non-resident accreditation for Australia, and that Australia's ambassador in Mexico City is accredited to the Dominican Republic.
16. Apply for a National Police Certificate, Australian Federal Police (AFP). Checked 15 October 2026. No date shown. A$57 for an application; A$114 if fingerprints are needed; fingerprint checks take at least 15 working days.
17. Notarial services and fees (fee schedule from 1 January 2026; archived copy), Australian Government, DFAT (Smartraveller), Internet Archive copy. Checked 15 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 7 October 2026 (page updated 30 September 2026): apostille A$105 per document; payment in Australia by card only.
18. Income tax treaties in force, Australian Treasury. Checked 15 October 2026.
19. International social security agreements (archived copy), Australian Government, Department of Social Services (Internet Archive copy). Checked 15 October 2026.
20. Use your NZ documents overseas: apostille and authentication countries, New Zealand Government (govt.nz), Department of Internal Affairs. Checked 15 October 2026. Page last updated 15 September 2026; the Dominican Republic is listed as 'Apostille'. NZ$37 per apostille, 15 working days; an urgent service is listed at NZ$120 and 5 working days; form BDM460; a New Zealand notary public where notarisation is needed. (Opened at the govt.nz address it now redirects to.).
21. Vetting process for visas, New Zealand Police. Checked 15 October 2026. No update date shown. Says 'police clearance certificate' has no official meaning in New Zealand and the closest equivalent is a Ministry of Justice Criminal Record Check; Police can send a visa vetting result to the Department of Internal Affairs for an apostille, at a cost paid to DIA, but results go only to the authority issuing the visa.
22. Tax treaties: double tax agreements and tax information exchange agreements, Inland Revenue (New Zealand), Tax Policy. Checked 15 October 2026.
23. Social security agreements, Work and Income (Ministry of Social Development, New Zealand). Checked 15 October 2026.
24. Labor temporary residence (RT-3) (English page), Dirección General de Migración (DGM), Internet Archive copy. Checked 17 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 7 August 2026, opened on 17 October 2026.
25. About the tourist card (Tarjeta de Turista), Dirección General de Impuestos Internos (DGII). Checked 15 October 2026.
26. Consular fees, including residence visas, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (MIREX), Servicios360. Checked 17 October 2026. Official fee table opened on 17 October 2026; fees in US dollars.
27. Ordinary temporary residence (RT-9): information sheet with the stay and expired-visa payment tables (English PDF), Dirección General de Migración (DGM), Internet Archive copy. Checked 17 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 10 January 2025, opened on 17 October 2026.
28. Permanent residence application (RP-1) (English page), Dirección General de Migración (DGM), Internet Archive copy. Checked 17 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 23 March 2025, opened on 17 October 2026.
29. DGII notice 22-25: territoriality of income tax for resident individuals, Dirección General de Impuestos Internos (DGII). Checked 15 October 2026.
30. Tax Code (Law 11-92), title II on income tax: articles 269, 271 and 272, Dirección General de Impuestos Internos (DGII), official code text. Checked 15 October 2026.
31. Technical consultation 3 (25 January 2022): income tax of a foreign resident, Dirección General de Impuestos Internos (DGII). Checked 15 October 2026.
32. DGII help centre: 2026 ISR salary scale for individuals, Dirección General de Impuestos Internos (DGII), República Dominicana. Checked 17 October 2026. Annual scale for 2026; says the Ley 30-26 changes apply from fiscal year 2027.
33. Social security contribution rates (frequently asked questions), Tesorería de la Seguridad Social (TSS), República Dominicana. Checked 17 October 2026. Worker: health 3.04%, pension 2.87%; employer 7.09% and 7.10%.