Over 600 migrants receive counselling at the first IOM ’supported Information Center in the Dominican Republic

 
Dominican Republic
10 February, 2020

Santo Domingo - Since its opening in October 2019, the Migration Information Hub located in the offices of the General Directorate of Migration in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, has served over 600 migrants, 90% of them from Haiti, interested in receiving information on renewing or changing their migration status.

The Hub is a result of the cooperation between the General Directorate of Migration (DGM) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to provide free information on the process for changing or renewing migration status, explain the necessary documentation and the steps to obtain it, and assist migrants in creating their user profiles on the DGM website and other electronic procedures necessary for their application.

To assist beneficiaries of the National Plan for the Regularization of Foreign Nationals, the hub uses two modalities. The transactional modality offers support for uploading documents to the platform, creating profiles, writing letters, and following up on cases, while the informational service offers Creole and French translation for those who need it.

“Thank God I came to get accurate information on the process from you and even in my own language, now I’m following the information and I won’t fall in the trap of fraudsters,” said a migrant woman from the province of Barahona who received assistance at the Hub.

“The hub is an example of IOM’s joint work with the Dominican Republic government. In this new phase we are developing networks with civil society organizations so that we can continue helping and informing people throughout the Dominican Republic about migration processes,” explained Santo Miguel Román, border coordinator of IOM’s Mission in the Dominican Republic.

An estimated 200,000 migrants will need to renew their migration status in 2020, so current work is focusing on promoting the migration information hub and creating support and information networks.

IOM supports these efforts thanks to the Regional Migration Program: Mesoamerica-The Caribbean, financed by the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration of the Department of State of the United States.