The Association of Residents of Costa Rica or ARCR is an organization that has been in existence for 20 years - assisting foreign residents living in and considering moving to Costa Rica with residency and other related matters.

The ARCR has an informative web site located at www.ARCR.net. I found the forum to be especially enlightening being as forum participants can sometimes be a pessimistic group.  The way I look at it, if you're still interested in something after weighing everybody else's complaints ... your decision is at least an informed one that you should be able to live with ;o)

Ready to make the move to Costa Rica, I joined the ARCR by applying online and paying the $100.00 membership fee for myself and the $10.00 dependent fee for my son.  It took about 2 weeks to process my application/payment and mail my membership cards.  For reference only - being as you don't physically need a card to begin using your membership - it took about 3 weeks before my membership cards arrived in the U.S.

Prior to my cards arriving in the regular mail, the ARCR e-mailed some 25 documents containing detailed information such as: Recommended Reading, Moving Checklists, Moving Recommendations, Importing Households/Pets/Vehicles, Residency Types, Medical System Overview, Medical Insurances, Schools, Spanish Language Instruction, Real Estate Assistance, etc.

Although the prepared information was good ... I still wanted to discuss my exact situation with an ARCR representative and will admit that I was less than impressed at first.  While still in the U.S. I figured e-mail would be the best way to correspond; it's in writing, free and instant.  However, my emails to the ARCR became a source of frustration being as it took the ARCR several days to a full week to respond.  And when they did respond, they never provided complete answers to my detailed requests for information (ie: a Permanent Residency application document checklist -or- direct contact to an attorney for necessary legal document preparations).

However, a single phone call to General Manager Ryan Piercy allowed me to see that the ARCR was indispensable.  Mr. Piercy is extremely knowledgeable and reassuring.  As a proponent of flat-fee legal work by attorneys that are accountable for their services - I'm very happy to know that Mr. Piercy and the ARCR will be working with attorneys that provide regular residency services for the organization's membership.

If you are considering spending considerable time in or moving to Costa Rica, joining the Association of Residents of Costa Rica is a must ... because they deal exclusively with the issues you may face.  Don't reinvent the wheel - especially in a foreign country!  In Costa Rica, all you have to do is join the ARCR