IGLESIA EPISCOPAL DOMINICANA

EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Mission Teams

Team Tips

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Coordinator of

Mission Teams

Ellen Snow

Diocesan Office

(809) 686-7493

Cel: (809) 323-9379

E-Mail

bobsnow_2000@yahoo.com

The most confusing part of your trip will probably be your arrival at airport.  If you don't speak Spanish, it can be even more intimidating.  Though many airport employees don’t speak English, airline customer service representatives do.  Some customs officials also speak very good English.  

You will need a passport or a certified copy of your birth certificate to enter the country.  A photocopy of a birth certificate will not be accepted.  Children who are 15 years of age or under and who are not accompanied by both parents will need a notarized letter signed by both parents indicating that they have given permission for the youth to leave the USA.  The letter must also stipulate who will be responsible for the young person.

Before getting into the line where your passport or birth certificate will be checked by customs, you will need to buy a tourist visa for $10 US.   The airlines normally give you a customs form in-flight.  This form contains the information you will need when you purchase your tourist visa.  The form will ask for the street address of your destination in the DR.  Teams often move from place to place, and the diocese is your host.  So if you don’t know the address of the place where you are staying, you can use the address of the Diocesan Office which if #114 Calle Santiago, Santo Domingo. 

After completing your tourist visa form, get into the immigration line.  The customs agent will check your passport (birth certificate) and stamp it along with your tourist visa.  Before entering into the baggage area, a customs agent will take a copy of your visa, and you will retain the other part.  Your tourist visa is your ticket out of the country.  Keep it in your passport or another safe place.  If you lose it, you’ll be spending additional time and money in the airport on the day of your departure.

You will now proceed to the baggage claim area.  When you leave the baggage area you baggage claim tickets will be checked.   Have them ready.  Your next stop will be the customs area where you may have to open one or more of your bags.  

We suggest that your group exit the baggage claim area as a group.   Smokers, especially, want to get outside as soon as possible, and that is understandable.  However, if you exit as a group, the amount of time in this customs area will be reduced, because normally fewer bags are checked. 

If you are flying into Santo Domingo, either Bob or Ellen Snow will be waiting in the reception area to greet you.  Look for the Episcopal Church symbol or a sign saying “The Episcopal Church Welcomes You.”  If you are landing at one of the other airports in the country, a representative of the church will greet you.  If you don’t see an Episcopal sign, don’t panic.  Traffic in the DR is very congested, and your hosts may have been delayed. The diocese provided telephone numbers to your group leader.  Please call us.

TRAVEL TIP:  You can save time in pulling luggage off the carousel, if you mark team luggage with the same colorful yearn, ribbons, or baggage tags.  Some teams make numbered baggage tags.  They then list the contents or owners of each numbered bags.  Teams often bring several bags with just supplies.  By numbering bags, they can tell immediately what is missing.

TIP:   If you encounter problems in customs, send a representative into the reception area to get your diocesan host.  We’re here to help you, as well as greet you. 

Departure

"You Are My Witnesses"

St. Luke 28: 48

Telephone #: (809) 686-7493; (809) 688-6016  FAX: (809) 686-6364