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With having my temporary residence do I have to leave the country for 72 hours to maintain my drivers license or can I just go to border and go through and come right back.
You do not have to go out of the country for 72 hours to revalidate your US or Canadian driver’s license. You could go out and come right back in. Why don’t you get a Costa Rican driver’s license since you have residency? It is so easy if your current driver’s license is valid. You have to go to Uruca the first time but after that you can renew it in your local area. The cost to get the license has got to be less expensive and so much less hassle than going out of the country every 3 months. Since you have a valid driver’s license from another country, you do not need to take a written or driving test. Make sure your US or Canadian license does not expire though. The procedure to get a Costa Rican license when your license is expired is way more complicated and expensive.:) The first time that I got it, it was for 3 years. When I renewed in 2014, they gave me 6 years.
Gracias, I was told I couldn’t get a costa rican drivers license until I have obtained my Rentista status. Is this not the case either
As a temporary resident with a cedula, you can get your Costa Rican driver’s license now. Somewhere in these forums, you should find just what you need and how to make the appointment.
So you don’t actually have your Temporary [i]’Rentista'[/i] Status yet? Only the [i]comprobante[/i] saying your application is ‘under consideration’.
If so, you do have leave the country until you have a [i]cedula[/i] in hand… if you wish to continue to drive… and your visa in your passport, is no longer valid, [b]then[/b] you can apply for a CR DL.Different border crossing insist on a different length of time you must stay out, so you must check.
Panama has more ‘rules’, and the other border crossing points into Nicaragua seems to have instigated [i]at least[/i] a three hour period before you can return.[quote=”hotfyre60″]With having my temporary residence do I have to leave the country for 72 hours to maintain my drivers license or can I just go to border and go through and come right back.[/quote]
Why don’t you ask your lawyer handling the application what you need to do? When I came in on my “residenete pensionado” approval-letter September 11, 2013, the immigration officer gave me a 90-day tourists visa and told even though my actual Cédula appointment for it to be issued 45 days after the tourist visa would expired, I had no requirement to leave the country in order to obtain another 90-day tourist visa. If you have been issued an acceptance letter for your pending application I would think that would be enough your driver’s license issue. But again, you need to be asking the Tico or Tica making your particular application. I will keep my fingers crossed that your are using a Costa Rica professional to help you!
Driving in the country is a whole different issue, and requires a valid license, and if you have not yet received a cedula, you must keep your visa/passport valid. If you don’t intend to drive, you don’t have to exit the country [u]if[/u] you have received your [i]comprobante expediente[/i]
This whole issue of drivers license and waiting for Cedula has been discussed on several forums.
We chose to drive with a legal CDN drivers license during the waiting period (18 mos) and on principle did not leave the country every 3 months. It’s ridiculous that one is obligated to leave merely to keep your foreign license active for 90 days. Once you apply for residency and the paperwork is accepted we felt there should be an automatic exemption from any 90 rule which was first given as a visa requirement which allowed you to use your foreign license. One govt department is not communicating with the other.
We were stopped twice for spot checks and just showed our CDN license, we did not carry our passports with us. When we finally went to Uruca, we showed our CR entry date of two years previous and were granted our license. Nothing was said about leaving the country every 90 days.
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