Obstacles persist for Dominicans to travel to Europe without a Schengen visa

Santo Domingo.– Despite the economic dynamism of the Dominican Republic, its citizens still need a Schengen visa to enter European countries such as Spain, Italy, and France. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Roberto Álvarez, explained that this restriction primarily responds to the low confidence that Dominican documents generate before European authorities. He indicated that the European Union establishes a maximum limit of 10% of fraudulent documents, a threshold that the country has exceeded in previous years.

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The chancellor pointed out that the Government has adopted measures to improve documentary credibility. Among them, he highlighted the implementation of QR codes by the “Superintendencia de Bancos” to validate financial documents presented in consulates. He also stated that the nation has strengthened international cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking and extradition processes, indicators that also influence the easing of visas. Álvarez acknowledged that, although the electronic passport represents a technological advance, previous versions of the document presented quality problems, physical deterioration, and questions about the chain of custody, which affected its credibility. As a background, he cited the case of Kim Jong-nam, a relative of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, detained in Japan in 2001 with a false Dominican diplomatic passport. In Latin America, the Dominican Republic remains alongside Cuba, Haiti, and Ecuador among the countries whose citizens still require a Schengen visa to travel to the European Union.