Dominican Republic Removes 56,140 Travel Restrictions

The Dominican Republic has removed 56,140 travel restrictions and migration alerts after a comprehensive review found that thousands of records lacked a valid judicial basis or remained active after their original purpose had been fulfilled.

The initiative was led by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) in coordination with the General Directorate of Migration (DGM). Authorities said the measure is intended to protect citizens’ fundamental rights, particularly freedom of movement, while ensuring that restrictions on leaving the country remain in place only when supported by a judicial basis.

Review Uncovers Decades of Outdated Migration Records

The review examined records dating from 1990 through 2026, covering more than three decades of accumulated data that had not undergone a comprehensive administrative update. According to the authorities, the process identified restrictions linked to completed judicial proceedings, records without the required legal justification and administrative errors involving judicial orders that did not clearly identify the individuals concerned.

The removal of the 56,140 records followed more than six months of work by a joint technical team involving the Public Prosecutor’s Office and Migration officials. The team examined historical information to determine which restrictions still had a valid legal basis and which should be lifted.

Authorities emphasized that the measure does not amount to a blanket suspension of legally justified travel restrictions. Instead, the objective is to keep active only those restrictions and migration alerts that have the required judicial support.

Attorney General Orders Removal of Unsupported Restrictions

Attorney General Yeni Berenice Reynoso formally requested that Vice Admiral Luis Rafael Lee Ballester, director of the General Directorate of Migration, prioritize the removal of three categories of records, regardless of which institution originally entered them into the system.

These categories include individualized records without a legal basis, historical records that failed to identify the affected individuals properly, and individualized restrictions whose intended purpose had already been fulfilled.

The authorities said the review is designed to correct situations in which citizens continued to face travel limitations despite the conclusion of the relevant proceedings or the absence of the legal requirements necessary to maintain the restrictions.

Measure Aims to Protect Freedom of Movement

The Attorney General’s Office and the Migration Directorate said the initiative reinforces their constitutional responsibilities and the protection of fundamental rights. They cited Article 169 of the Dominican Constitution, which establishes the role of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, as well as Articles 40 and 46, which address personal liberty and freedom of movement.

The process is also grounded in Law No. 200 governing restrictions on departure from the country and the Organic Law of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Under the approach described by the authorities, travel restrictions must have the appropriate legal foundation rather than remain in place indefinitely because of outdated administrative records.

For affected citizens, the removal of an unsupported restriction can eliminate an administrative obstacle to international travel. The broader objective is to ensure that migration controls are applied in accordance with the law while preserving valid judicial measures.

New Migration System Expected in December 2026

The joint technical team will continue working to complete the review of historical records and develop a new system for exchanging information between the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Migration Directorate.

The planned interoperability system is expected to enter into operation in December 2026. According to the authorities, it is intended to improve coordination between the institutions responsible for issuing, maintaining and lifting travel restrictions, reducing the risk that outdated or completed cases remain active in migration databases.

The removal of 56,140 records marks a significant step in the effort to update the Dominican Republic’s migration controls. The effectiveness of the reform will depend in part on completing the data cleanup and ensuring that the new system keeps records accurate, legally supported and updated when judicial circumstances change.