Entrance Requirements
Discussions on Clearing in Procedures
To enter the Dominican Republic you must arrive at a “Puerto Habilitado”. This is a port that has Immigration, Coast Guard, Customs and other officials available. On the North Shore this includes: Manzanillo, Luperon and Puerto Plata. If you arrive at Monticristi, they will send to Manzanillo for Immigration for you.
On the East Coast you can clear in or out at Santa Barbara de Samana, as well as Cap Cana and Punta Cana.
On the south Coast you can clear in or out at Las Salinas, Santo Domingo, Boca Chica and Casa de Campo.
Remember to fly your yellow Quarantine flag. You will be met by: Marina Guerra (Coast Guard), M-2 (Intelligence), Dept. of Drugs, and Immigration. In Samana you will also meet Dept. of Ports.
The Coast Guard will want to see your boat registration and your passports. When they are finished with them, M-2 and Dept. of Drugs may want to search the boat. This is usually cursory. Then Immigration will want to stamp your passports and issue you Visas which are good for 30 days. The entrance of your boat costs a one time charge of $43.00 US. Each Visa costs $10.00 US and can be renewed easily for another 30 days. ASIDE from paying Immigration there is no charge for any of the other services and you are NOT REQUIRED TO TIP unless you so desire.
Some of the clearence facilities are located at Marinas such as CapCana, Ocean World, Casa de Campo and Marina ZarPar. These marinas may charge fees to offset the cost of the resident immigration and coast guard office. These facilities and their cost are not paid for by the government. The average cost of the charges can be in the range of $100.00 US.
In Samana and sometimes in Luperon, Dept. of Ports will try to assess a charge of $.70 US per foot for anchoring. This is not an appropriate charge. Ports has jurisdiction only over Federal Docks in the country (Law 519-5), and if you are not at a Federal Dock, POLITELY refuse to pay the charge. They cannot enforce it, as the Coast Guard has harbor jurisdiction and not the dept. of Ports.
This site has a link to “Marina Guerra”. Use it to let the Coast Guard know how your experience in the country was regarding their services. In addition, keep in mind that when you leave a harbor, whether it is to go to another harbor or to go to another country, you must get a DESPACHO from the Coast Guard (It is free; however a tip of 500 pesos is considered normal and appropriate for this service). The DESPACHO is usually requested the day prior to your departure. If you are traveling to another port in the DR, the DESPACHO will be to the next port that has clearance facilities (puerto habilitado). If you choose to stop between “Puertos Habilitado”, you must have a simple reason, such as you are taking a rest from the wind etc. Show your papers when approached and remain polite. It is unlikely you will have a problem, although you may be asked for a tip. If such is the case, pay the tip after speaking for a while and only when the discussion is concluded. If you choose not to tip, remain gracious and courteous; such comportment is highly valued in the DR by all Dominicans at all levels. It is inbred into the culture not to be rude or rushed!
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Just this week (5 march 2010) I am completely ripped of in Luperon bay. I went on anchor and soon two guys come on board. This went well, they asked “for a donation for the country”, which was only a tip for themselfs. In refusing this, they became rather persistent. Not nice.
On the shore it became worse. Custom and immigration was ok; 43 us + 10 a person was 83 in total. In the next office a had to pay for an entry ticket; 10 us each. 40 us extra. For anchoring ??? 10 us. Agriculture 10 us. In total 143 us. Trying not to pay led to very angry behaviour.
When leaving, I HAD to pay 20 us to the Marina Guerra. Otherwise no clearing would be given. The captain was not willing in giving a receipt of this.
It’s ashame for this very nice country that these officials rip you off. Only one advice: stay away!
Tom,
I am sorry to hear of what transpired in LUPERON. I shall report it to the Secretary of Tourism of the country. We have been documenting such complaints for the past year. All through the DR website as well as the guide, I indicate that Luperon is one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult, harbor in which to deal with the authorities. They believe that they have a license to steal from the cruising boats. As more and more boats come to avoid Luperon, we will drive the point home that such practices are unacceptable. In addition most harbors today in the DR can be entered straightforward with just the payment of the entrance fee for the boat and the fee for the visas. Luperon is one of the exceptions, with Samana being a close second. It is worth visiting Samana but I have never understood what the attraction to Luperon is. It is crowded and the water is bad quality.
We just arrived in DR from Bonaire and chose to clear in at Marina ZarPar. The process did indeed cost US$160… but the entire clearing in procedure was more organized… took less time and went far smoother than in any country we have visited to date. Within 20 minutes of tying up at the dock we had a group of 6 officials sitting in our cockpit… and 20 minutes later… all was complete. No pain… no fuss… and quite frankly… after a 2+ day crossing… we were not really in the mood for any lengthy or challenging officialdom… no matter how colorful the experience.
The Marina certainly adds a fee for this service… but in our opinion the fee is fair for the service offered. We completely understand that some cruisers might find this fee high. There are many other places in the DR for them to clear into.
This is our second day here and we have to say that we find the country and people incredible. The marina is one of the finest we have ever stayed in…
- everything is new and perfectly maintained…
- the WiFi is free and is the best connection we have ever had…
- water is free…
- the laundry machines are industrial units and reasonably priced…
- the food at the Marina restaurant is delicious and costs about US$10 for a mid-day feast…
- the people are as helpful and pleasant as they can be… and our mooring costs are US$18/day.
- the marina is walking distance from two very interesting (and completely different) towns…
- if you want a ride to the airport or anywhere nearby… you just have to ask… and it’s free (tips of course are appreciated).
We are really happy to be here and are very much looking forward to exploring and discovering.
James and Chantal
S/V “Q”
Well, that´s interesting to read that it should be only 63USD for immigration. Don´t go to Boca Chica for clearing in!!!!!
We arrived in Boca Chica on the 22nd of Jan. and went on anchor, had the Q flag up and waited for the officials.
They came and told us that we have to move the boat to the marina pier because we need to get a drug-dog on board. At the dock we did not need a dog anymore but pay the marina, at least a mooring for 18USD.
At immigration we had to pay the 63USD but then they wanted more for all the other guys.
And we actually talked to Frank who did this update on the 14th.
So within one week it went up to 160USD, to pay to the marina or you can´t clear in here. Additional marina fees.
And it is supposed to be only this 63USD for a piece of paper that is a tourist card for flight arrivals.
And you just get a marina receipt for the whole payment, so it would be very interesting where the money goes to!
Be prepared to get really ripped off here!
So we advise all cruisers, also on SSB and other homepages to skip the Dominican Republic or try at least a different port of entry!
But everybody we talked to, had some kind of troubles with the entry procedure. But nobody payed this much!
Happy sailing! Christine
The ONLY harbor in the DR that was not collecting for Immigration was Boca Chica. Last week, Immigration notified the marina that they would collect the standard charge of $43.00 US for the boat and $10.00 US for each visa. This added $63.00 to the charge.
The marina, as well as other marinas in the DR, had a separate charge for use of their facilities. Marina ZarPar was charging $75.00 US to pay for duplicating the paperwork as well as for the resident immigration office and personnell in the marina as it is not paid for by the government.
They explained that they have now added $22.00 US to that charge for the Despacho when the boat leaves the marina ($15.00 US customary) and $7.00 US for the motorbike person that goes to get the Despacho. This comes to a total of $160.00.
I did check into this and ALL PORTS in the DR were collecting for Immigration except for Boca Chica, which is now collecting. Furthermore, Immigration will give you numbered receipts for all of your payments on government offical paperwork.