Foreign Investment in the Dominican Republic: What Law 16-95 Guarantees, and Why Registration Still Matters

Foreign direct investment in the Dominican Republic crossed the five-billion-dollar mark in 2025, a record, driven largely by tourism and real estate. Behind that flow of capital sits a statute that has barely changed since 1995: Foreign Investment Law 16-95.

The law’s core promise is national treatment. A foreign investor, individual or company, may invest under the same conditions, and with the same rights, as a Dominican national. Nearly every sector is open. The exceptions are narrow: the disposal of toxic or radioactive waste produced abroad is prohibited outright, and activities touching public health, the environment or the manufacture of defense-related materials require special authorization from the Executive Branch.

Law 16-95 also defines what counts as foreign investment, and the definition is generous. Freely convertible currency exchanged through the banking system qualifies. So do contributions in kind, machinery, equipment, raw materials, and intangible technology. Technology-transfer, technical-assistance and engineering agreements with foreign parties count as well, and the royalties they generate may be repatriated in hard currency once the underlying agreement has been duly registered. The capital can flow into new or existing companies, branches, real estate or financial assets under Monetary Board rules.

Then comes the step investors most often skip: registration. The investment must be registered after it is made, a process handled today by ProDominicana (the CEI-RD), the country’s export and investment agency, rather than by the Central Bank as the original text of the law provided. The agency issues a Certificate of Registration of Foreign Investment.

Here is the nuance the statute does not spell out. Registration is declarative, not a condition of legality: an unregistered investment is still lawful. But the certificate is the paper trail that matters at exit. A registered investor may repatriate after-tax profits, and, on sale or liquidation, the full invested capital plus registered capital gains, in freely convertible currency, without prior government authorization. The certificate also anchors residency-by-investment applications and simplifies conversations with banks and the tax authority. Investors who skipped the formality routinely discover the cost years later, when a buyer’s counsel asks for it.

One recent development raises the stakes on structuring. The June 2026 fiscal reform, Law 30-26, bars taxpayers from stacking more than one special incentive regime on the same activity or investment. How capital enters the country, and under which regime, is now a decision with lasting tax consequences, best made before the funds move.

If you are planning an investment in the Dominican Republic, our foreign investment lawyers can structure the entry, complete the registration and preserve your repatriation rights from day one.

Foreign direct investment in the Dominican Republic crossed the five-billion-dollar mark in 2025, a record, driven largely by tourism and real estate. Behind that flow of capital sits a statute that has barely changed since 1995: Foreign Investment Law 16-95.

The law’s core promise is national treatment. A foreign investor, individual or company, may invest under the same conditions, and with the same rights, as a Dominican national. Nearly every sector is open. The exceptions are narrow: the disposal of toxic or radioactive waste produced abroad is prohibited outright, and activities touching public health, the environment or the manufacture of defense-related materials require special authorization from the Executive Branch.

Law 16-95 also defines what counts as foreign investment, and the definition is generous. Freely convertible currency exchanged through the banking system qualifies. So do contributions in kind, machinery, equipment, raw materials, and intangible technology. Technology-transfer, technical-assistance and engineering agreements with foreign parties count as well, and the royalties they generate may be repatriated in hard currency once the underlying agreement has been duly registered. The capital can flow into new or existing companies, branches, real estate or financial assets under Monetary Board rules.

Then comes the step investors most often skip: registration. The investment must be registered after it is made, a process handled today by ProDominicana (the CEI-RD), the country’s export and investment agency, rather than by the Central Bank as the original text of the law provided. The agency issues a Certificate of Registration of Foreign Investment.

Here is the nuance the statute does not spell out. Registration is declarative, not a condition of legality: an unregistered investment is still lawful. But the certificate is the paper trail that matters at exit. A registered investor may repatriate after-tax profits, and, on sale or liquidation, the full invested capital plus registered capital gains, in freely convertible currency, without prior government authorization. The certificate also anchors residency-by-investment applications and simplifies conversations with banks and the tax authority. Investors who skipped the formality routinely discover the cost years later, when a buyer’s counsel asks for it.

One recent development raises the stakes on structuring. The June 2026 fiscal reform, Law 30-26, bars taxpayers from stacking more than one special incentive regime on the same activity or investment. How capital enters the country, and under which regime, is now a decision with lasting tax consequences, best made before the funds move.

If you are planning an investment in the Dominican Republic, our foreign investment lawyers can structure the entry, complete the registration and preserve your repatriation rights from day one.

Do you want more information about our Foreign Investment Services in Dominican Republic? Contact Us.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Felipe Castillo is a Partner leading the Foreign Investment, Real Estate & Tourism areas at Arthur & Castillo Advisers and Consultants in the Dominican Republic. He specializes in foreign investment, real estate and international business (Master in International Business, Entrepreneurship and Finance Studies from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. & Masters in International E- Business in Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona) with more than 20 years of experience in Foreign Investment, Free Trade Zones, International Business and Cross Border Real Estate practice. He is a Certified Business Bankruptcy Expert and English and Spanish Interpreter.

Email: fcastillo@aclaw.com

Disclaimer: This publication is not intended to provide advice or suggest a guaranteed outcome as individual situations will differ and the situation may have changed since publication. For specific advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.

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