How to get Married in the Dominican Republic

They will accept whatever you are offering..... in the beginning!!!! After that everything is up for negotiation! 

Counting Daze, good idea about keeping everything confidential you have to be careful because you never know if they try to set you up if they found out you had money, not that they are all like that but some are so take care in that regard. I'm not a lawyer so this is not legal advice however, As to keeping your money in your country I too thought that's all I had to do however I spoke to several lawyers in the country I am from and they stated that getting divorced in another country could indeed but your assets at risk in your home country. Of course you're future ex spouse would have to spend money on a lawyer etc to go after your assets in a divorce decree and it may turn into a costly process for her so the whole thing may be a moot point anyway. However, just to sleep a little better at night one may find the prenup may kill any possibility of that being an issue. The conclusion I came to was as I understand it that Dominican law is getting married under a community property regime. If you are from a state that is not a community property state you may want to google California, NY , and other states to see how bad that can end.   Ergo, the need for a prenuptial agreement may be necessary.  For clarity one would need to seek advice of their own lawyer.

Tinker lost his sight honey.

And yes a prenup is always a good idea.

Thanks Classy Gringo and Planner. That sounds like sage advice.

So are prenups possible? According to what I’ve read the two of you can hammer out your own agreement...I vowed to never remarry without one. She has a good job, house, etc. I want none of this should it not work out so it’s advantageous for each...not sure if I just disappear how she could reach me anyway, or afford to keep up a legal pursuit...

Yes it's absolutely possible and recommended!!!

Consult with your personal attorney on this matter. I'm not an attorney nor is this legal advice. They are possible and indeed a good idea. The process here is much different than US and possibly other countries. One difference here is that it goes through a notarial process and actually states separación de bienes (so it states there is a prenup) on your marriage certificate.

Scorpiana, international divorce law is complex but I can tell you that they can still come after your assets in another country. Rather than think if the worst case scenario hits I'll run or hide  why not just prevent that upfront and get a prenup?

Do you need a prenup in each country if you plan to live in two countries - DR and second country?

Thanks-prenup it is!

I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. One should seek the advice of their own lawyer.  That being said, a US court might recognize a Dominican prenup if certain conditions are met. but the reverse may not be true. The Dominican Republic may not recognize a American prenup.  In The Dominican Republic the prenuptial agreement goes through a notarial process where government offices are notified about your prenup prior to the marriage and it will state separacion de bienes (seaparation of goods or the prenup regime that you chose) on your marriage certificate. There are a several choices of prenups in DR you can go for. I prefer the  separacion de bienes regime.  If someone where to live in both places they could hire a US lawyer to help them draft it up to present to a Dominican lawyer what they want in the prenup in order to hope that the American court will recognize the prenup has validity.  However, you may have heard in the US there are many cases where prenups and postnups are not held up even when drafted by a lawyer and trying to meet certain  conditions both  a prenup and postnup can be invalidated in US courts.    International law is complex but part of it may be  1st establishing residency . Where is the coupled presumed to have residency at the time of the divorce? That may play a role in which country you would need to get divorced. Another choice would be to get a prenuptial agreement in the Dominican Republic and a Postnuptial Agreement  in the United States. Anyone considering a prenuptial agreement, postnupital agreement,  a divorce and any legal advice should seek advice from their own lawyer.  These are serious complex matters that might have devastating consequences if not executed correctly. Seek legal advice from lawyers.

Nothing to do with residency but everything to do with our law here.  Our law is territorial in nature. If you are here, you are covered by our laws.   Laws or agreements elsewhere may not apply here.

If getting married and or having or planning to have  any  assets here,  get the prenup. Get the prenup here. IF worried there, get one there too.

Just say she is your wife/esposa like a lot of dominicans do

Updating your will is also something to consider depending on your cirmstances.  If you should pass, your surviving spouse is entitled to half your assets here in the DR if you have children from a previous relationship. The children are entitled to the other half. I've heard different stories about assets you've aquired prior to the marriage. A marital home aquired prior to the marriage may be looked at different than a investment. Consult a reputable lawyer.

We just got married in a Civil ceremony in Punta Cana (at the JCE office) in January 2021. I am Canadian and Carlos is Dominican.  Although I had to get all my documents prepared at the Dominican Consulate in Toronto, notarized, translated, certified, for a fee of about $420 usd (they only accept USD, even though we are all in Canada), I got them back and ready to go.  Not good enough.  I emailed my fiance copies of the documents, and asked Carlos to go to the JCE (the civil office) to make sure all the documents were complete.  They told him we need to have the documents APOSTILLED or apostilized.  Why does the Dominican Republic consulate in Toronto not do this and why cant they explain this to you?  They refused to talk to me, and explain it.  I suspect, they didn't know the answer, why else would they not tell me?  This is very stressful.   Finally I downloaded and translated the Spanish documents which explained, this is required to make sure the signatures on all my translated/certified documents, from the Dominican Republic consulate in Toronto,  were authentic.   Make sure the signatures are not forgeries.   And now, we need to take a trip to Santo Domingo, we were told.  That is where all the signature are stored, in a library somewhere. Then we discovered we could do this online, and this cost another $4500 pesos.  Thank you, because thats alot easier than a trip to hell driving to Santo Domingo.  Its not hell, but that's what my first trip was like to Santo Domingo.  We arrived after dark, by car, the highways have holes in the road, and  people drive with broken cars, some without lights, on the highway!  Yes  people, its not Canada or USA, where we pay alot of taxes but the roads and highways are kept safe to drive.   So when I finally arrived, we had our two witnesses with us, and we did get married, everything went well.  The official was kind.  We all wore masks.  We were allowed to take them off for one minute to hug and kiss after we were married.  And this office has air conditioning, very comfortable.  The marriage fee was another $10,000 pesos and we were told to wait an hour and then we left with our marriage certificate.   Thank you!   

I am Canadian and my wife is from the DR. We got married in Moca in a civil ceremony. We did this thinking it would help with residency - it did not (another story). But my in-laws and the brother/sister lawyers who first assisted me got it arranged and it sure as heck didn't entail all you had to go through, plus it was no where near the cost - and I paid in pesos. It was more difficult doing the church wedding 5 months later - only because of the interviews etc. But it all worked and being as the RC church is so prominent in the DR, and with my wifes family, I really wanted the validity of the church wedding - it went off great and the party after was a blast - that's when 60 or so of he friends and relatives showed up!!!

Hello dear how you do today please I'm looking for Visa how can I get it can you please help me out

Visa?

What kind of visa are you looking for?  Got to the residency thread and start there please.