Countries › Dominican Republic › Guide › 8. Immigration › Foreign managers and technical staff: residence through the investment program

Foreign managers and technical staff: residence through the investment program

Last verified: 2026-10-30 · Status: Stable

Key managers and technical staff of a foreign invested company can use the DGM's investment window, not the ordinary RT-3 line. The company must show the person is essential and the skill is not available locally. Total DGM cost is RD$51,800 for an adult, with a 90 working day quote.

USD figures use the Banco Central de la República Dominicana reference selling rate of RD$60.9007 per US dollar for 29 October 2026, as shown on its home page on the verification date, rounded to the cent.

Key facts

DGM cost, management or technical staff, adult	51800 DOPDGM service sheet, as of 2025 · in force
DGM time quoted	90 working daysDGM service sheet, as of 2025 · in force
Reference rate used for USD conversions	60.9007 DOP per USDBanco Central reference selling rate, as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. Multinational or foreign company managers and technical staff who are indispensable to the business get the same treatment as investors. An ordinary technical worker does not.Decreto 631-11, Reglamento de la Ley General de Migración, art. 81 literal d numeral 6, 2011-10-19 official text · verified 2026-10-30

2. Immigrants with skills the country needs or that are not met locally are a permanent resident class.Ley 285-04, General de Migración, art. 33 numeral 1, 2004-08-15 official text · verified 2026-10-30

3. For those immigrants the hiring company proves the skill is not met by local technicians, files the employment contract, and guarantees the person by notarial act with a promise to pay return costs.Decreto 631-11, Reglamento de la Ley General de Migración, art. 57 numerals 13 and 14, 2011-10-19 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. The DGM sheet gives one year residence on a gray temporary card to management or technical staff of a foreign company.DGM service sheet, management or technical staff, Description, 2025 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. The company files a notarized letter of guarantee giving position, salary and start date, and justifying that the person is essential, that the skill is not met locally, or that the post secures the investment. Managerial posts means senior posts only.DGM service sheet, management or technical staff, Requirement 2, 2025 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. It also files the original contract registered with the Ministry of Labor, notarized and stamped at the Procuraduría. Transferred staff add the foreign contract and designation letter, apostilled and translated.DGM service sheet, management or technical staff, Requirements 3 and 3.1, 2025 official text · verified 2026-10-30

7. The applicant needs proof of the investment regime, a passport valid one year, an NM1 visa, DGM medical exams and an apostilled birth certificate.DGM service sheet, management or technical staff, Requirements 4 to 8, 2025 official text · verified 2026-10-30

8. The sheet quotes 90 working days and the costs shown.
Cost to do it: Single file payment RD$42,000 (US$689.65); medical exams RD$6,300 (US$103.45); CEI-RD file deposit RD$3,500 (US$57.47).
Example: Adult total RD$51,800; under 10 RD$49,700. / Adult US$850.56; under 10 US$816.08.DGM service sheet, management or technical staff, Fees, 2025 official text · verified 2026-10-30

9. Managers are outside the 80% headcount when their work is purely managerial, and pay for direction work is outside the payroll test.Ley 16-92, Código de Trabajo, art. 136 and art. 138, 1992-05-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

10. Dependants of the investor track may join without serving the temporary terms that apply elsewhere.Decreto 631-11, Reglamento de la Ley General de Migración, art. 56, 2011-10-19 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Worked example

A plant manager, spouse and a child aged eight: RD$51,800 + RD$51,800 + RD$49,700 = RD$153,300 (US$2,517.21), assuming the spouse pays the adult rate. Add NM1 visa fees at US$200 each and the guarantee policy.

Step by step

Confirm the company's foreign investment certificate is current.
Draft the essential staff justification.
Register and legalize the contract.
Obtain the NM1 visa.
File with the DGM Foreign Investment Division.
Complete exams and collect the card.

Common traps

The sheet refers to CEI-RD, whose registry role is now with ProDominicana. Name the current agency in filings.
An unsupported claim that no Dominican can do the job is the weak point. Keep evidence of the local search.
The sheet says a temporary card while Ley 285-04 art. 33 treats needed skills as permanent. The card is what you get first.
Sheet detail for this route comes from an English version that may lag the Spanish one.

Sources

← Work visas in the Dominican Republic: the NM1 visa and RT-3 labor residenceTemporary workers in the Dominican Republic: TT-1 permits, contingents and bonds →

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