The Dominican Republic has no nomad visa. Retirees have two clear routes.

Remote work comes first, and here it stops short

The Foreign Ministry lists residence visas for several purposes, including pensioners and people with independent income. It lists no category for remote workers.

If you plan to keep a US job, ask the Foreign Ministry and the Migration Directorate in writing which category covers your work. Do not treat a tourist stay as permission to relocate with your job.

Source: Dominican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visa categories

Working here

Local jobs are hard to get in the Dominican Republic. The US State Department reports that the Labor Code requires 80 percent of a company’s non-management workers to be Dominican nationals, though enforcement varies.

Law 171-07 is built around income from abroad. Income earned inside the country is not what these categories measure. Before you take local clients or open a business, get written advice from a Dominican immigration lawyer.

Source: US State Department, 2025 Investment Climate Statement: Dominican RepublicDominican Consulate General in New York, residence visas under Law 171-07

Retirement: pensioner or rentista

The Dominican consulate in New York lists residence visas by pension and by rentista status under Law 171-07. The pension route needs at least US$1,500 a month. The rentista route needs at least US$2,000 a month.

Each residence visa costs US$200 at the New York consulate. It is only the first step. The visa is valid for 60 days and one entry. After you arrive, you go to the Migration Directorate to complete temporary residence.

These minimums prove income to the consulate. They are not a budget for rent, power, insurance and flights home.

Source: Dominican Consulate General in New York, residence visas under Law 171-07Dominican Consulate, residence visa for pensioners

What counts as proof

For the pension route, a consulate checklist asks for a certificate from the government office or company that pays your pension. It must state your years of service, your job and your pension amount, with an apostille. It also asks for two recent bank statements showing the pension arriving each month.

Order the certificate early. Apostilles and translations take time, and the visa clock starts once it is issued.

Source: Dominican Consulate, residence visa for pensioners

Health insurance before Medicare

Buy international health cover before you move. Ask the insurer how it pays hospitals in the Dominican Republic.

Medicare usually does not cover care outside the United States, and Medicare drug plans do not pay for prescriptions bought abroad. Decide whether to keep Part B for visits home.

Source: Medicare, travel outside the U.S.

US tax filing still applies

US citizens file a US return every year, wherever they live. Dominican residence does not change that.

Ask a tax adviser who knows both countries how your pension, Social Security and investment income are treated before you move.

Source: IRS, US citizens and resident aliens abroad