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• 9/4/2009 8:04 AM Sherry Schneider wrote:
  thanks for all your work Bill
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  1. 9/4/2009 10:01 AM Bill Clanton wrote:
     Thanks Sherry,
     
     Please let me know of anything I got wrong, needs changing or if something important is missing ... now or in the future.
     
     Definitely want to make sure this is up-to-date as much as humanly possible so readers are getting good information :o)
     Reply to this
• 9/4/2009 12:30 PM Elaine wrote:
  Thank you for your blog, it is very helpful.
  Reply to this
• 9/4/2009 5:03 PM Luis Garcia wrote:
  I love your blog and regularly visit to see what is new in CR. As I intend to retire there its interesting to see some of the reactions of the folks who are facing Latin American society for the first time. If you think CR is bad for government you should try Ecuador or maybe even Brasil. Keep up the good work and live "La Pura Vida", from Luis in the Great White North (Canada, burrr)
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• 9/5/2009 3:22 PM Mia Eckerling wrote:
  Bill, You are a GODSEND! This website and all of your helpful hints have been lifesavers many times over! Please count me as one of your loyal fans/friends and, if there is ever ANY way that I can help YOU, it would be my honor and pleasure to do so. I hope that you are happy healthy and well, Mia
  Reply to this
• 9/7/2009 7:33 AM Victor Hugo Alvarado wrote:
  I am a Tico and away from Tiquicia, so it's always good to read your reports/comments, etc. Keep up the good work.
  Reply to this
• 9/12/2009 8:51 AM KEckerle wrote:
  Very interesting. I spent a number of months in Costa Rica during 1984 and found an extraordinary number of U.S. retired military moving to Costa Rica. At that time the country depended on U.S. aid for a large portion of its general budget. Much as I loved the country I felt it was becoming over-Americanized as Costa Ricans were so anxious to mimic the lifestyle of U.S. citizens.
  
  Not sure how these changes will affect those already living there. I considered moving there a few years back, but decided against it.
  
  Very informative article --- clearly written on an important topic.
  Reply to this
• 9/13/2009 7:37 AM Stewart wrote:
  Morning all..
  
  Need some advise and direction and I'm confident that some here has already faced and solved this "problem"..
  
  I am currently in the states getting the required "paperwork" for my residency application.
  
  Yesterday I went to both my local town police department then the County Sheriff's office to get the required Police Report to Migracion.
  
  Well.. in both offices I was looked at like I was from Mars (well close to Costa Rica I guess!) and they had "No Idea" what I was looking for and they had " never" done anything like that before...
  
  Let me add.. that the Sheriffs office sent me to tjhe County Clerk, who sent me to the Clerk of Courts who "suggested" I way want to go to the Illinois State Police.... finally I had all the Government I could take for one day so... guit.
  
  HELP.... EXATLTY What "Form" do I ask for and Where did you gat yours???
  
  Thanks in advance for any help or moral support... I think I will regain enough strenght to start my quest again on Monday...
  
  PIDD
  Reply to this
  1. 9/13/2009 7:44 AM Bill Clanton wrote:
     Stewart,
     
     Every state, county, city government is different. Your experiences will more than likely differ from others in some respect.
     
     In Illinois the required background documentation will come from the Illinois State Police, Bureau of Identification (260 N. Chicago St., Joliet, IL 60432-4075). Their phone number is (815) 740-5216.
     
     You will need to complete their application, be finger-printed (can be done at your local police/sheriff's office), submit the documents to the ISP BOI and then wait for their process time being as they will be matching your finger prints against the UCIA fingerprint data base.
     
     The ISP will mail you the required inquiry application and finger-print cards if you call the phone number provided above. Otherwise you can order off the ISP web site (http://www.isp.state.il.us/crimhistory/crimhistoryhome.cfm) and I assume you can also pick them up in person at the Joliet facility (possibly even any local ISP barracks).
     
     IMPORTANT: Ensure the returned criminal background check is notarized by a person in the ISP's office. Without notarization, you will not be able to proceed with the next requirements of having them apostilled/authenticated by the Illinois Secretary of State -and- consularized by the Costa Rica consulate.
     
     
     More info:
     • Costa Rica Residency paperwork: http://costaricablogger.com/2007/11/29/residency-paperwork--check-your-homework.asp
     • Chicago document authenTICAtions: http://costaricablogger.com/2007/12/05/a-trip-to-chicago-for-document-authentications.aspx

     Hope this helps! Be patient :o)

     
     Reply to this
• 9/18/2009 6:29 AM Greg wrote:
  Greetings, My wife and I are weighing out options if we were to establish a small manufacturing & export company (CAFTA)in one of Costa Ricas duty free zones. Would some of you fellow bloggers assist me with some known and trusted legal counsel recommendations? Thank you in advance!
  E&G
  Reply to this
• 9/24/2009 8:04 PM Nikki wrote:
  I live in Costa Rica and I went to innigration last week and they new nothing about this and said there are no new laws coming out- could you please give me the link maybe of where you got this info? I went to La Gaceta website and found nothing.
  Reply to this
  1. 9/25/2009 5:58 AM Bill Clanton wrote:
     Nikki,
     
     The new laws are coming ... I'm glad you didn't take a Costa Rica Immigracion employees word that they knew nothing of this as 'fact'.
     
     As outlined in the post above, the law was published in La Gaceta on September 1, 2009 (La Gaceta Nº 170 del 01 de Setiembre del 2009).  The live link above takes you to the exact La Gaceta page, you simply need to click the "PODER LEGISLATIVO" or "LEYES" links after going to the main page in order to read the entire entry.
     
     Here is the full URL for The NEW Costa Rica Immigration Law: http://historico.gaceta.go.cr/pub/2009/09/01/COMP_01_09_2009.html#_Toc239487152
     
     Keep in mind the La Gaceta offical publication may not answer all your questions being as the law is an overview subject to upcoming regulations and process changes by the new authority of Costa Rica's immigration management and commissions along with any court reviews and decisions. Please consult with a reputable Costa Rica attorney specializing in immigration law for all legal questions.
     
     Reply to this
• 11/19/2009 12:52 PM Ashleigh wrote:
  **HELP** After being married with my husband who is Tico and compiling ALL the documents needed in Canada, now on my way to make a appointment in the imagration, I am hearing that there is a new law requiring us as forgierns to register with our country...Does this make any sence, does anyone know what Im talking about, or is this completley wrong information I have been given?
  
  Canadian in Distress.
  Reply to this
  1. 11/19/2009 3:13 PM Bill Clanton wrote:
     Ashleigh,
     
     Unfortunately, your comment makes no sense to me.
     
     Are you wondering if you have to register with Canada to apply for an immigration status with Costa Rica?  This as stated would not be true to my knowledge.
     
     You are required to provide Costa Rica immigration a certified police background check from your home country ... if this requires some sort of Canadian 'registration' that might be what you are talking about.  Otherwise, I personally don't know.
     
     I would have your husband visit the Costa Rica Immigration (Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería de Costa Rica) web site for a list of required documents.
     
     However, you will never know what is completely required until you go through the actual process being as rules, requirements and procedures are constantly being adjusted and the web site is never up-to-date. 
     
     If possible I would definitely try to get everything submitted prior to the implementation of the new Costa Rica Immigration Law that takes effect March, 2010 ... NOBODY knows what new and interesting obstacles will be implemented then!
     
     -Bill
     
     Reply to this
     1. 2/10/2010 4:04 AM Ashleigh wrote:
        Hi Bill, after speaking with the Canadian Embassy here in CR and submitting my paper work to the Immigration office, I'm now aware that you DO (as a Canadian, not sure about US)
        need to register online with your embassy that you are in fact in CR, your arrival date etc..then to print that page and submit it with the rest of your paper work.
        After I had submitted all my documents(including the print out) I received a document detailing the requisites for the application and the exact paper they requested is called "Consular Inscription"
        Hope that helps any one else about to apply.
        Reply to this
• 11/19/2009 4:35 PM Teresa wrote:
  Hi, Bill:
  Under the new emigration law a pensionado can claim spouse and children under 25 years old. Do they need to prove additional income? Or will it fall under the $1000.00 required for the pensionado.
  Thank you.
  Reply to this
  1. 11/19/2009 5:21 PM Bill Clanton wrote:
     Teresa,
     
     The New Costa Rica Immigration Law as written and published stated that a qualifying Pensionado with $1,000 USD or its equivalent per month income from permanent, stable foreign pension or retirement fund (previously $600) can include their spouse and children under 25 or older children with disabilities in their application.
     
     There was no mention that additional family members required additional income requirements (ie: $1,000/mo. for a single person = a family of 5+)
     
     However, as stated in the Costa Rica’s New Immigration Laws Quick Overview English Guide, many aspects of this new law are subject to change via regulations by the new authority of Costa Rica‟s immigration management and commissions along with any court reviews and decisions.
     
     I will try to update the information as more details emerge & always recommend that any qualified information on this matter come from a reputable Costa Rica attorney specializing in immigration law.
     
     Reply to this
• 12/3/2009 10:27 PM Ann N wrote:
  THANKS!
  Reply to this
• 3/3/2010 5:00 PM Kathy Santeiro wrote:
  I have turned in all of my paperwork for residency to Immigration in San Jose, and all of the documents have been accepted. I received a piece of paper with the case number, and showing all required paperwork has been done. I am now just waiting for the cedula to be issued. This can take months, and I need to know if I can finally stay here in Costa Rica while awaiting the actual card, or do I still need to leave after 90 days,or risk being fined.
  Reply to this
  1. 3/3/2010 10:25 PM Bill Clanton wrote:
     Kathy,
     
     I really hesitate to give advice on such important issues being as Costa Rica Migracion seems to sometimes make things up as they go ... depending on who you talk to which day (and at what time of the day).
     
     The supposed official opinion is that you do not have to leave the country once all documents are accepted toward an expected issuance of residency.
     
     But personally, unless I could get something in writing stating this was specifically the case, I wouldn't jeopardize my application by not making one last run for the border.
     
     Wish I had a better answer for you ... and please let me know if you find out anything to the contrary or more concrete (after all, such issues are fluid and I like to keep up to date for the benefit of others going through the sames processes).
     
     Congrats on your pending residency!
     
     -Bill
     
     Reply to this
• 3/6/2010 7:53 PM Casey wrote:
  

  I've been a resident here in CR for going on 2 years now and I have to laugh at how CR is trying to "modernize" their immigration rules. First of all, the largest number of people, by far, who are violating the old laws (and will continue to under the new laws) are all the Panamanian and Nicaraguan illegals, hundreds of thousands. CR looks the other way on this, because the average Tico will not (just like their US counterparts) do the "dirty work" required of agriculture.

  OK, next, they want to "crack down" on the so-called perpetual tourists. Why? Not a clue. These people, by far, bring nothing but economic benefit to CR, just as the legal residents do. They typically have more money than the average Tico, provide jobs (albeit mostly under the table) for locals, pay lots of fees and taxes, improve infrastructure locally, and draw very little on the resources of the country. The real reason, IMHO, that they are revising the rules is that CR wants a piece of that revenue that before went to the bus companies and Panama from these tourists who were crossing the border every 90 days. Now they get $100 a pop. For a small family of, say, three, that's an extra $100/month going into the pocket of Migracion (for what?).

  Same with the CAJA requirement. They say it's so that they can get a better pool of uninsured, but in actuality it's another thinly veiled tax on foreigners. No one can use the CAJA unless they are a member, period, end of story. Few foreigners use it as there is a very good, inexpensive, private medical sector here. As soon as our cedulas are in our mitts we will sign up for CAJA (was always our plan), but it's only for backup not our first line of medical access. Foreigners don't use CAJA, therefore they are not a drain on it, therefore the new requirement is simply yet another way to extract more dollars from a captive sector of the population.

  What CR misses in all this is that they are quickly and surely losing their competitive edge for the soon to be booming market of ex-pat retirees who are not stupid and will find the many other desirable places they can live at much lower cost economically (Uruguay, Panama, just to name a couple). But, then one would be hard-pressed to find many areas of the government here that really care about the state of the country as opposed to their revenue stream.

  - Casey

  
  Reply to this
• 3/14/2010 9:22 AM Gringa en Costa Rica wrote:
  Just because the rules have changed, doesn’t mean the incompetency of Costa Rica’s immigration system has been fixed.
  
  Last week I received a necessary document from CR Migracion that was supposed to accurately detail my personal history of entries and exits to/from Costa Rica.
  
  In short, I have entered Costa Rica 11 times in 8 years and lived full-time here as a legal resident for the last 3+ years. All entries/exits were through the immigration lines at Juan Santamaria International Airport with their modern computers and serious looking agents.
  
  However, my official Costa Rica migracion history shows 1 entry in 2004 and 3 exits – the last exit or “salida” being back in 2007.
  
  This would mean officially I had snuck into Costa Rica illegally 2 times and left in full sight through the airport. It also means CR migracion did not know I entered the country 8 other times through their main airport.
  
  This also means I am not here in Costa Rica – that I have been living here without their knowledge. Even though I am a member of the Caja national health system making monthly payments and receiving monthly medications + have a CR drivers license/car/active bank accounts at state owned banks/monthly bills through state owned utilities, etc., etc., etc., etc.
  
  CR migracion will not take my passport with their own immigration stamps and substantial supporting documents on-hand as proof that I am here or for proof of my previous entries/exits.
  
  Migracion requires I petition their legal department with a letter in Spanish that includes official travel itineraries from the airlines (4 different airlines in 8 years at a cost of $90 per history) for review … meaning foreign airline databases are the official records of Costa Rica immigration.
  
  Perpetual Tourists shouldn’t worry too much about those border stamps every 90 days … Costa Rica has no clue as to whether your here, when or if you entered, when or if you left!
  
  Unfortunately this is another Costa Rica example that only the law abiding are required to pay by the rules.
  
  Gringa en CR
  somewhere in Costa Rica, I think
  Reply to this
• 3/26/2010 8:22 AM Tim wrote:
  Dear Mr. Clanton,
  
  Great blog.
  
  My wife and I began thinking about CR about 10 years ago, but obviously nothing came out of it.
  
  We’re coming down this summer for vacation and scouting mission. Your blog entry generated a question or two, but here is the main one I’d appreciate if you could address:
  
  Hypothetically: we'd apply for the Pensionado status. The new law requires that we cannot be absent from CR more than 2 consecutive years. To speed up the process to be able to apply the Permanent resident status (3 years), would it be theoretically possible establish the Pensionado status, live there for a few weeks/months (fulfilling all the other requirements (CCSS, $1000/m, etc. for the three-year duration), and return to US for 2 years to work?
  
  How does one, exactly, establish that one lives in CR? How long would we need to stay in CR to satisfy the to be present and accounted for, traveling between the States and Costa Rica until we'll retire for good?
  
  Cheers,
  
  Tim
  Reply to this
  1. 3/26/2010 8:29 AM Bill Clanton wrote:
     Tim,
     
     Since the beginning of Costa Rica’s Ministry of Immigration (Ministerio de Migración) it has been a complete mess. 
     
     Like "Gringa en CR" above, I have visited Costa Rica for many years, lived here full-time for 2+ years as a Permanent Resident, yet CR immigration only shows I’ve been in-country on 3 separate occasions and that I am not currently here … apparently I left sometime in 2008 and never returned, which would be news to my son who goes to school daily expecting that I’ll be at the house when he walks home!
     
     My advice: Visit at least annually being as you should have a good idea of where you want to live, if you will really like it here, etc., etc. 
     
     Make sure you get your passports stamped when entering and exiting.  KEEP YOUR AIRLINE TICKETS, BOARDING PASSESS & LUGGAGE TAGS for all visits – being as these documents are the only currently acceptable proof to CR immigration that you were in Costa Rica if their computers say otherwise (they will not accept their own passport stamps as proof due to widespread stamp fraud – so they rely on papers produced from foreign airlines for their immigration records).
     
     Good luck … we all need it (you should see what I’m having to go though just to prove I’m really here!)
     
     -Bill
     Reply to this
     1. 3/26/2010 10:14 AM Tim wrote:
        Dear Mr. Clanton,
        
        I appreciate you response. Having lived for years in Asia (in addition to other continents) I'm pretty certain I can relate to your experiences in Costa Rica - makes life interesting.
        
        I thank you for all your advice, and I wish you a colorful life in health and happiness.
        
        I keep on following your blog.
        
        Sincerely,
        
        Tim
        Reply to this
• 5/20/2010 10:00 PM RAMA wrote:
  If bring 1000 usd will i get work visa in costa rica ?
  Reply to this

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