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Good afternoon all.

I am sitting in my Air BnB in Santo Domingo as I type this message.

Disclaimer: this is not legal advice nor a recommendation on what you should do; rather this is merely an explanation and update on my experiences.

As many folks know, part of the residency process is opening a bank account.

Here is what I experienced on 15 April (Tuesday) 2025.

I tried to open an account with BanReservas on Avenida Maximo Gomez in Santo Domingo.  The documents required to open the account were minimal: 1) passport, 2) driver's license, 3) approved visa from country of origin (the one I received from the Dominican consulate in the US), 4) Social Security Card, and 5) proof of my retirement income. 

I also had to fill out a W9 and sign it.

The process did not take that long; HOWEVER, I was told the approval for the account would take 10-12 days.  I said "okay" and walked a half a block up to Banco Popular on Avenida Maixmo Gomez and started the process there AFTER I spoke to Laris (one of the customer service reps.), to find out how long the approval would take (same day approval IF you have all the documents).

Here is what I had to provide to Banco Popular to open an account: 1) passport, 2) approved visa from Dominican Consulate in country of origin, 3) driver's license, 4) Social Security Card, 5) proof of my retirement income, and 6) recommendation from a member of Banco Popular.

Once I had all those documents, i was able to open an account and make a deposit.

My immigration attorney also told me to get a letter from Banco Popular certifying that I had an account and that the letter should  be addressed to the Direccion General de Migracion.  Make sure the bank puts a blue stamp (cello azul) with the office number as Migracion will not take the letter with the barcode.  Banco Popular moved from stamping to putting a barcode, so I had to go and get them to use the old blue stamp.

The reps. at Banco Popular who were most helpful to me were Laris (woman), and Fernando (who was the one who actually did all of my paperwork to open the account).

As an over planner and preparer, I also had my US tax returns from 2024 (hard copy) just in case; however, I was not ever asked for those items.

Please feel free to send me a direct message if you have other questions.

I hope this helps.