Building and establishing a credit profile as a foreigner is possible in the DR.
This is what you would need to do:
1. Set up a bank account at a local Dominican bank. You can open an account without residency status using your US passport (home country).
2. Start making regular deposits to your bank account to generate activity in your account.
3. Sign up for a local phone service plan (about $30 per month) like Claro, Altice or Viva. Use your bank account to make monthly payments.
4. Apply for a secured credit card from your bank. After opening your bank account, you can get a secured credit card within three months. Additionally, within six (6) months, if you pay on time and have a good payment history, they will release the secured status and convert it to a regular credit card.
These four things will help you build a credit profile in the Dominican Republic.
That means that if you are buying a home in the Dominican Republic and want to apply for a mortgage with a local bank, your Dominican credit profile will be used in the process, rather than the bank pulling credit reports from your home country.
At the upcoming Retire & Invest DR conference, which will take place May 3-4 in Santo Domingo, bankers will be present and present their products, including mortgages and CDs. Additionally, conference participants will be able to open a Dominican bank account and personally consult with bankers about how to apply for a mortgage.
For more information about the conference or to register, visit https://www.retireandinvestdrconference.com/
By signing up today, you’ll only pay $147.50 for one person and $197.50 for two using coupon code RIDR50.
As an added bonus, you’ll get $500 off all legal services with Abreu Immigration and immediate access to the Retire & Invest DR conference package ($59 value). The package includes 24 recordings and 21 downloadable presentations from our latest InvestDR Mastermind and previous Retire & Invest DR events.
If you have questions about the event, please contact the Retire & Invest DR team at info@retireandinvestdr.com.
María Abreu is the CEO and Managing Attorney of Abreu & Associates, a law firm that practices exclusively in Dominican Republic immigration and nationality law. She is also the founder of Retire and Invest DR. This organization organizes conferences for foreigners interested in living, retiring and investing in the Dominican Republic. You can contact María at: mabreu@abreuimmigration.com.