DOMINICAN ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

To enter the Dominican Republic one has to clear Immigration and Customs and in some harbors there may be other formalities. The following is a list of the agencies, most of whom you will come in contact with during your visit.

Immigration:   $10.00 per visa good for 30 days and easily renewable.  $43.00 to clear your boat in.  Both of the above fees are ONLY PAID ONCE on arrival.

Customs:

On arrival you may be asked to make a customs declaration

Agriculture:

In some harbors is an inspector who will ask to check your

Produce.  There is a small charge for this; usually $10 US.

Drug Enforcement:

When you clear in you will be visited by Drug Enforcement and they may request to inspect your boat including below decks. It is unlikely that they will remove their shoes.  It is likely that their check will be very cursory. It is appropriate to have someone stay with them while they do their inspection.

M-2 This is the Dominican Intelligence agency.  They generally will accompany Drug Enforcement.

Marina Guerra This is the Dominican Coast Guard. 

At every harbor in the Dominican Republic there is a ‘Commandancia’. After you anchor the coast guard may come out to visit you. You must submit to them your papers from your last port of call. When you are ready to leave the harbor for your next port of call you will need a ‘despacho’, which is written permission to go to your next destination.   Despachos are only given to go to official ports of entry (Puertos Habilitado) and to leave the country; they are not given for “punto intermedios  (intermediate stops).  To stop along the way, see section on Cruising Dominican Republic.

PORTUARIO  (Ports)

You will not deal with Ports unless you tie to a government dock.  If you do the current rate is .70 US per foot per day.  As of this writing, Ports also imposes this charge in Santa Barbara de Samana.  Their assessment of this charge for anchoring is completely outside the scope of the law and one should not feel bound to pay the charge.  I refused to pay the last time I anchored there in January of 2010, and as a result I was told I had to go to the office in town and speak with the supervisor.  I met with him and explained calmly and politely that the law provides for this charge for the use of a government dock or wharf and not for anchoring.  He did not agree or disagree with me, but did allow me to leave without paying.

PROCEDURES FOR ENTRY ON ARRIVAL

PRIVATE MARINAS:

If you use a private marina to clear in, the marina will probably assess you a “facilities charge”.  This can be $50.00 to $100.00 and these funds are used to pay for the facilities and the people who staff them to expedite your clearing in.  Immigration and Coast guard facilities located at private marinas are not paid for by the Dominican government and all costs of running the facility and staffing is paid by the marina.  You can avoid these costs by clearing in on your own.  However, you will generally find that a long and time consuming process, albeit that some ports have no marinas and are “habilitado” which means that all the officials you will need to see are there.

In most ports, the Coast Guard, Drug enforcement and M-2 will be the first people who will board your boat.  Be polite and cooperate.  THERE IS NO CHARGE FOR THEIR SERVICE AND IF A TIP OR CHARGE IS REQUESTED, be very polite and indicate that you may provide a tip for good service, later when you are ready to leave.  DO NOT BE RUDE in any way, simply refuse politely and consistently.  Once they get the message they will leave.  IMMIGRATION will probably show up next, and will ask for your passports.  You will be required to purchase a visa for each crewmember and pay an entry fee for the boat. They will give you a receipt for your payments.  Check the receipt to be sure it is correct.

Some harbors have other charges which are not related to entry procedures.  They can be for rubbish disposal, or for anchoring.  Check any request for such charges before paying with other cruisers in the area, and if you must pay, be SURE TO GET A RECEIPT indicating what the payment was for.

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