Dominican Republic: serving expat and cross-border buyers

More and more buyers in the Dominican Republic do not fit the picture of one passport, one home country and one bank. They live in Poland or another EU country, hold the citizenship of a third, and plan to pay from an account in a fourth. This briefing sets out what an agent should establish about such a buyer before taking instructions, and which of your own duties apply. It is written from law-firm and agency summaries, and the text says where they were unclear.

Who may buy

Agency and law-firm summaries say that foreigners can buy and own real estate in the Dominican Republic on equal terms with Dominican citizens, whether as individuals or through companies, and that no residence permit is needed to buy. Two documents are described as essential for any purchase: a valid passport and a tax number, the RNC, issued by the tax authority, the DGII. The agency guides we read give no processing time for the RNC, so ask your lawyer how long it takes before you promise a closing date.

Foreign buyers are not a restricted category, but the buyer's own status still matters to you. Whether the buyer is a resident of another country, holds a second citizenship or buys through a company decides which documents you collect and which questions the bank and notary will ask later.

Your own duties under the money laundering law

Law 155-17, enacted in June 2017, replaced the earlier money laundering law and widened the list of parties that must apply customer checks. Law-firm articles from 2017 and 2018 say that real estate brokers are among the non-financial parties covered, together with lawyers and notaries. As described there, the duties include knowing the client, knowing who the client does business with, the economic activity and the origin of the funds, and reporting irregular activity.

Two points from those summaries matter in practice:

• Beneficial owners. The 2017 summary says that anyone holding more than 20 percent of a client entity, directly or indirectly, must be identified, and that where that is not possible the person exercising effective control is identified. If your buyer is a company or a trust, ask for the ownership chain at the start.
• Cash. The summaries say that a real estate payment above one million pesos may not be made in cash and that proof of a non-cash payment is required. The same 2017 article says the rule was waiting for sector regulations, and we could not confirm how it is applied today. Treat it as a reason never to take cash and to keep every payment on a bank record.

The sources we read do not name the supervisory body, the reporting channel to the financial intelligence unit, how long records must be kept or the penalties. Do not guess. Ask your lawyer for a one-page statement of your own obligations and keep it with your procedures.

What to collect before you take instructions

Treat the file as something a regulator might read later. For each buyer, collect:

• a valid passport, and the residence permit if the buyer lives outside the country of citizenship
• proof of address no older than a few months
• the RNC, or a note that the lawyer is obtaining it
• a short written statement of the source of the funds, with the bank statement or contract that supports it
• for a company or trust, the registration documents, the ownership chain and the identity of the person who controls it
• the name of the person who will sign, and the power of attorney if it is not the buyer

Documents issued in another country usually need an apostille or a sworn translation before a Dominican notary will accept them. We did not find a rule on translations in the sources, so ask the notary which documents need them.

Status questions that come up with expat buyers

• Buyer lives in the EU, holds another citizenship. The Dominican rules above look at the passport and the funds. The home country matters for tax and for the bank transfer, not for the right to buy.
• Funds sit in a third country. The sending bank will ask where the money came from. Agree with the buyer who the payer is, and avoid a payment from a person who is not the buyer without a written explanation.
• Buyer has no tax number yet. Do not take a reservation until the lawyer confirms the route to the RNC.
• Buyer is buying for a family member. Ask who the real owner will be and who is paying.

Screening, done by the book

Check the buyer, any beneficial owner and any third-party payer against the sanctions lists that apply to your bank and your lawyer. Keep a dated record. If a red flag appears, stop, take legal advice and report as the national rules require. Nationality is not a reason to refuse a file and not a reason to skip a check. Never advise a client on how to avoid a check.

Check the title before you promote the unit

The closing guides we read describe a title search by a licensed notary at the Title Registry, looking for liens, boundary problems and pending disputes, before the sale contract is signed. They add that the buyer does not legally own the property until the registry issues a new certificate in the buyer's name. For you, the practical lesson is simple: never describe a buyer as the owner before that certificate exists.

What to do with this

• keep a one-page sheet of the rules your sales team quotes, with the date and the source of each
• ask your lawyer to write down your duties under Law 155-17, including reporting and record keeping
• collect source-of-funds documents at the first serious offer, not at the notary
• ask for the ownership chain whenever the buyer is not an individual
• tell remote buyers early how long the tax number and the apostille will take

Working with D.H. Realting

D.H. Realting is a trilingual (Russian, English, Polish) overseas-property platform. We introduce buyers, including expats and cross-border buyers, and support the process. Agencies that handle the deal locally and want to be introduced to such buyers can contact us through our partners page.

This briefing is informational only and is not legal, tax or investment advice. Facts were checked on 12 October 2026 from the sources named in the text; rules change, so confirm with a local lawyer before relying on any point.