Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Santo Domingo (Agenzia Fides) – The ordeal for the descendants of migrants, mostly Haitians living in the Dominican Republic, who need to regularize their position otherwise risk losing their citizenship continues. Despite numerous appeals of international organizations, there have not been significant responses from the governments of the two countries in the same island to simplify the procedures.
In the Dominican Republic there is the "Plan Nacional para la Regularización de Extranjeros" which asks a series of documents to foreigners (birth certificate, identity card and passport) to continue to live in that state, on the other hand, the Haitian authorities fail to activate an effective procedure to respond to those who ask for documents (see Fides 16/06/2014).
According to information by Adital agency, the Haitian government in fact issues the birth certificate to its own people without papers, but the release must be on Haitian soil. So many emigrants have returned to Haiti, but since before getting the document more than three months go by, the emigrants do not have the possibility of returning abroad especially to the Dominican Republic, where they have a job, home and family.
The note sent to Fides reports that the Minister of the Interior and the Police of the Dominican Republic in the last week of June, received 31,000 applications for registration in the "Plan Nacional para la Regularización de Extranjeros", 97% were Haitians. According to the first "Encuesta Nacional de Inmigrantes", carried out in 2012 and published last year, 458 233 are Haitians living in the Dominican Republic. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 01/07/2014)
