Entry Requirements

The short version

For a normal vacation, a US citizen needs three things: a valid US passport book, a completed e-Ticket for the flight in, and a completed e-Ticket for the flight home. There is no visa, no fee to pay on arrival and nothing to buy at the airport. The old US$10 tourist card still exists on paper, but for air travelers it has been built into the price of your ticket since 2018.

The things that catch Americans out are small and avoidable: a passport that is damaged or about to expire, a lookalike website that charges for the free e-Ticket, forgetting the return e-Ticket, staying past 30 days without realizing there is a fee, and children traveling with one parent when the child also holds Dominican nationality.

• US passport book valid for your whole trip, with at least one blank page
• Arrival e-Ticket completed, QR code saved on your phone and printed
• Departure e-Ticket completed before you check in for your flight home
• Return or onward ticket (airlines and immigration can ask)
• Address of your first night's hotel, resort or host family
• Notarized parental consent letter if a child is traveling without both parents
• Travel insurance details, since US health plans and Medicare generally do not cover you abroad (see Health)

Passports and ID

The US State Department lists the Dominican Republic's rule as a passport valid at the time of entry, with one blank page for the entry stamp. In practice you want it valid for every day you will be in the country, and airlines sometimes apply a stricter reading at check-in. If your passport expires within six months of your return date, renew it before you book rather than arguing at a counter in Newark or Miami.

You need the passport book. The US passport card is valid only for land and sea crossings into the US from nearby countries, so it will not get you on a flight to Punta Cana or Santo Domingo. A driver's license, REAL ID or birth certificate is not enough for air travel. Cruise passengers on round-trip sailings from US ports have different document rules set by their cruise line; see Cruises.

Dominican Americans and dual nationals

If you hold Dominican nationality, you can enter on your Dominican passport, and the 30-day tourist limit and the overstay fees are aimed at foreigners, so they generally do not apply to you as a Dominican. If you enter on your US passport, immigration treats you as a foreign visitor, with the same stay limit and departure fees as any other American. Carry your cédula (Dominican national ID card) if you have one. The Ancestry page covers civil records and citizenship.

The e-Ticket: free, online, both directions

The e-Ticket is a single online form that combines the immigration card, the customs declaration and the health questionnaire. The Dominican government's official site is eticket.migracion.gob.do. It is free. Each completed form produces a QR code that airline staff, immigration officers and customs officers scan.

You need one for your arrival and another for your departure. You can fill in the departure form at the same time as the arrival form, or later from your hotel, but have it done before you check in for your flight home. There is no longer a strict 72-hour window; you can complete it as soon as your flight and lodging details are settled, though doing it in the week before travel means fewer details change.

How to fill it in

1. Go to eticket.migracion.gob.do, choose English, and start a new application. Pick arrival (entering the country) or departure (leaving).
2. Enter your flight details: airline, flight number, date and arrival airport (PUJ for Punta Cana, SDQ for Santo Domingo's Las Américas, POP for Puerto Plata, STI for Santiago, LRM for La Romana, AZS for Samaná El Catey).
3. Add every traveler. One person can list a whole family or group on the same flight under one application, and children go under a parent or guardian.
4. Give each traveler's passport details exactly as printed, including middle names. Mismatches with your airline booking are the most common reason officers send people back to redo the form.
5. Give your address in the country: the resort or hotel name and town is enough. If you are staying with family, give their street, sector and city.
6. Answer the customs questions honestly: cash or monetary instruments of US$10,000 or more, goods for sale, animals, plants or food.
7. Answer the health questions and submit. Download the PDF with the QR code, screenshot it and print a copy. If your flight or other details change after you submit, fill in a fresh form; the newest one under your passport number is the valid one.

Tourist card and taxes inside your airfare

The Dominican Republic's tourist card, a US$10 entry fee for visitors who do not need a visa, used to be bought in cash at a booth before immigration. Since April 2018, the fee is collected through airline tickets, so air travelers do not pay anything at the airport. The departure tax is also included in your ticket price. Look at the tax breakdown on your booking and you will see these lines among the fees.

The exceptions are travelers who arrive without an airline ticket that includes the charge, such as some private aviation and yacht arrivals, who handle the tourist card with migration on arrival. If anyone at a commercial airport asks you for a cash "tourist card fee," decline politely and walk to the immigration line.

How long you can stay

US citizens are admitted as tourists for 30 days. That covers nearly every vacation. If you want to stay longer, you have two legal routes:

• Request an extension through the Dirección General de Migración's online portal, servicios.migracion.gob.do. Extensions run up to 120 days in total. The request itself is free; you pay the rate for the extra time (RD$3,500 for 30 to 90 days, RD$5,600 for 90 to 120 days). Migration asks for a copy of your passport photo page, your last entry stamp, your return boarding pass, proof that you can support yourself, and a medical certificate. Processing takes about 3 working days.
• Pay the stay fee when you leave. Many long-stay visitors simply pay the fee at departure. The system is designed for it, and paying is how you regularize the stay. You can calculate and pay online in advance or at the airport.

Staying beyond a few months on repeated tourist entries is a different matter. If you plan to winter in the DR, retire there or work remotely for long periods, read Long stays on residency options.

Overstay fees paid at departure

If you leave after more than 30 days, you pay a stay fee to migration before you go through departure passport control. The current official table from the Dirección General de Migración is below, with US dollar equivalents at US$1 = RD$61.

How to pay

1. Online before your flight: the migration stay-fee calculator at stayfee.migracion.gob.do asks for your passport number, issuing country, date of birth and departure date. You can pay by Visa or Mastercard through the government's payment gateway. The amount quoted is valid only for the date range shown, so do it close to your departure date.
2. At a Banco de Reservas branch: generate a payment code online and pay it at Banreservas, the state bank, or through its payment channels.
3. At the airport: migration has an administrative counter at departure points, including airports, seaports and land borders. Go there before the departure passport line, with your passport, and allow an extra 30 minutes in high season.

Children and minors

For US-citizen children with no Dominican nationality, the Dominican Republic does not publish a special exit form when they travel with one parent, grandparents or a school group. Airlines and officers can still ask questions, especially when surnames differ, so carry a letter of consent signed by any parent who is not traveling, with a copy of that parent's passport or ID, the child's birth certificate, and contact numbers. Have the letter notarized; it costs little at a US bank or UPS store and settles most conversations quickly.

The strict rules apply to minors under 18 who are Dominican citizens, including dual US-Dominican citizens, or legal residents of the DR. When they leave the country without both parents or a legal guardian, Dominican law requires the IDs of both parents and a notarized consent in Spanish from the absent parent or parents. According to the State Department, that consent must be notarized at a Dominican consulate in the US, or, if it is signed in the DR, notarized and then certified by the Procuraduría General de la República (the Attorney General's office). Dominican migration also handles formal departure permits for minors; check the current process on migracion.gob.do before you travel.

Children need their own passport books and their own entries on the e-Ticket, though they sit under a parent's application and share the family's QR code.

Customs: what you can bring

Customs is run by the Dirección General de Aduanas (DGA). Clothing, toiletries and the usual electronics you travel with (phone, laptop, camera, tablet) come in duty-free as personal effects. Reasonable amounts of alcohol and tobacco for your own use are allowed, and the DGA's Manual del Viajero lists the current limits on alcohol, tobacco, gifts and duty-free purchases. New goods beyond your allowance, and anything that looks like it is for sale, are taxed.

• Cash: declare US$10,000 or more (or the equivalent in other currencies and instruments) in the e-Ticket's customs section. Carrying more is legal; failing to declare it is the problem.
• Food and plants: fresh fruit, plants and many meat products are restricted. Leave the apples from the plane on the plane.
• Medicines: bring prescription drugs in their original pharmacy containers, with a copy of the prescription, in quantities that match your trip.
• Drones: drones are regulated by the civil aviation authority, IDAC, and some require registration or permits. Check the current rules before you pack one; customs can hold a drone until the paperwork is in order.
• Firearms and ammunition: do not bring them without a Dominican permit arranged in advance. This includes stray rounds in a range bag.
• Pets: see Pets for the health certificate and the rules for coming back to the US.
• Gifts for family: suitcases packed with clothes, electronics and appliances for relatives are a long tradition. Large quantities of new items can be taxed; keep receipts and expect bags to be opened.

For the full and current allowances, check the traveler section of aduanas.gob.do. For what you can take home to the US (rum, cigars, larimar, food), see Shopping and US customs.

Arriving: step by step at the airport

Most Americans land at Punta Cana International (PUJ), the country's busiest airport, or at Las Américas International (SDQ) outside Santo Domingo. The process is the same at both and at the smaller airports in Puerto Plata, Santiago, La Romana and Samaná El Catey.

1. Before landing: have your passport and e-Ticket QR code ready. There is no form to fill in on the plane.
2. Immigration: follow signs for Migración (immigration) and join the line for foreigners (extranjeros). The officer scans your QR code and passport, may take your photo and fingerprints, and may ask where you are staying and when you leave. Families go up together.
3. Baggage claim: porters in uniform will offer to take your bags. They are official and expect a tip, typically $1 to $2 a bag; you are free to wave them off.
4. Customs: all bags go through an X-ray machine. Officers may scan your QR code again and open a bag. If you have something to declare, say so.
5. Arrivals hall: this is where the noise starts. Tour company desks, transfer reps, taxi dispatchers and people offering excursions or timeshare presentations line the exit. Find the sign with your name or your transfer company and keep walking past the rest.
6. Transport: use the transfer you booked, your resort's shuttle, or the official taxi stand, where fares to each zone are fixed and posted. Agree on the price and currency before you get in. Rental car desks are in or near the terminal. The Flights page has transfer times and current fare guidance for PUJ and SDQ.

Leaving the country

• Complete your departure e-Ticket before you leave for the airport, and have the QR code ready for check-in and migration.
• Arrive 3 hours before an international flight from Punta Cana in high season, and 2 to 3 hours from the other airports. Resort transfers often schedule pickups even earlier; ask the front desk the day before.
• If you stayed more than 30 days, pay the stay fee online beforehand or at the migration counter before passport control.
• There is no departure tax to pay at the airport; it is in your airfare.
• Bags are screened again, and US-bound flights may have an extra security check at the gate. Do not pack liquids over 3.4 oz (100 ml) in your carry-on, including that bottle of mamajuana (a rum, wine and herb infusion) you bought at the beach.
• Back in the US you clear CBP at your arrival airport as usual. Global Entry and Mobile Passport Control work there, not in the DR. See Flights for the status of US preclearance at Punta Cana.

Before you go: related pages

Read When to go for hurricanes and sargassum, Flights for nonstops and transfers, Money for pesos, cards and tipping, Staying connected so your phone works on arrival, and Safety for the State Department advisory, which stands at Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution. The Plan page has sample routes and a booking timeline.