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I was supposed to pick up my cedula on September 29 but now I’ve learned that there are no appointments given out at immigration to do this until February although I was approved for residency in May. Without a cedula, it’s not possible to get a cell phone, is it? And because the clock has started ticking on my residency and I must meet those financial guidelines of exchanging X amount of dollars into colones, what receipt does immigration accept for this purpose? If I bring down large sums of cash and exchange it at the bank for colones and get that stamped receipt from the teller, does that suffice?
Maravilla, how were you able to apply for residency without proving your income (whether it’s 60k for rentista or $600 usd per month for pensionado). I applied for residency back in June and we had to have all documents, including proof of 60k before we sent in our application with our attorney or it would have been considered incomplete). I doubt, though I’m not an expert, that having a ‘receipt’ marked saying you exchanged so much money at the bank will suffice. I am going out on a limb thinking that perhaps the reason that the Costa Rican government wants to see our income over time is to make sure we won’t spend it all at once? We had set up a special CD account at Banco Nacional and $1,000 USD plus interest gets changed into colones every month and deposited into a seperate B.N account. As for cell phones, my cousin set up mine for me in her name temporarily and will transfer it to me once I have my residency in October. You CAN get a cell phone if you have a corporation in C.R (which we do). That may be the easier thing to do. Good luck!
Edited on Aug 31, 2006 19:55
Yes, I applied for pensionado status and was approved last May. My husband’s hearing was in July and he was approved also (of course we had to prove our income, which was not a problem), but it’s getting our cedulas that’s the problem as immigration is booking those appointments 5 months out. Someone told me that the money first has to be deposited into an account and then withdrawn and converted. The only account I have is for my SA; I can’t get a personal account without my cedula. So my question still is: Can I go into my bank with $600 in greenbacks and exchange them for colones and will this be proof enough for immigration? As for cell phones, I guess I could get one in my corporation’s name then? that would be great. And does the phone have to be purchased in CR or can I buy one here and take it to ICE to have the chip installed? What does a cell phone cost in CR? (still clueless after all these years. lol)
You CAN get a personal bank account without a cedula. I just did it with Banco Nacional back in June. You need a copy of your passport, two letters of recommendation (which came from my attorney and his partner) and a utility bill (ICE, cable, etc). That’s it. You need to open this account with a minimum of $30.000 USD.
As for the cell phone, I bought mine in Florida (Samsung model) and had it connected with ICE. It’s much cheaper to buy your phone NOT in Costa Rica. One thing that’s important, make sure you have a receipt for the phone that you are having connected. They would not connect my phone the first trip that was made to ICE on my behalf because my cousin did not have a receipt. Apparently cell phone theft is a problem there… Basic service is around $10.00 plus tax (plus additional minutes used). Your phone has to be GSM compatible and your current provider can tell you whether your phone is or not. Hope this helps! Buena suerte.
Is that a savings or a checking account?? AND is that a minimum of $30,000.00 USD??? If that is the case I would assume you are talking a savings account.
Sorry. I meant 30 dollars not 30000 dollars, big difference:its a savings account/CD account for purposes of immigration.
Thanks, MT, but maybe I don’t need a personal account at all if I could pay my bills out of my Banex SA account. I would like to have a savings account though, so maybe I’ll have to go to BN on my next trip and set that up. And thanks for the heads up about a cell phone — who knows when we will get landlines in my neighborhood so I’d like to get the phone on my next trip also. I don’t have a cell here in the States so I’ll just get one that is GSM compatible and stash the receipt.
Thanks for the info, Deb. I think I will ask around the hood and see what kind of phone everyone has and whether it’s GSM or TDMA. Most everyone gets reception up on the hill but what I know about cell phones could fit on a pinhead.
Yes, Andrew told me you’d be there, so that should be fun. Don’t know if hubby is coming with me now that we can’t go to immigration, but I’ll be down there finishing up the casa so we can spend the winter. Can’t wait to meet you, too. And J and J will be back from Europe and they are talking about having one of their famous fiestas when we’re all down there together.
Maravilla,
I heard that currently there is a waiting list of 40,000 for cell phone lines from ICE. If true, that’s down from 210,000 in December. If I were you I’d wait on the phone, sign up when you’re down there, make arrangements with someone to acquire it when it comes through if you’re not there (this may entail giving them a copy of your passport and a “Poder Especial” – specific power of attorney, as well as money, to whoever does it for you), get the list from ICE of the approved phones, and then buy it when you get back to the U.S.
The alternative is to buy the phone and line there from a private party. They advertise in La Nación. More expensive, yes, but considering the above, it may be well worth it.
Hey, GT, I’d forgotten about the horrendously long waiting list for cell phone numbers. Who knew getting a cell phone could be so complicated? My neighbor just down the hill from me recently got a landline — that means I could probably get phone service to my house if they ran the lines through the whole compound. I don’t even WANT the damn cell phone but it’s hubby who insists we have contact with the outside world. I have some friends with “connections” at ICE so I’ll see how it all pans out when I get down there. How much DOES a cell phone cost in CR? I don’t want one that has all the bells and whistles — don’t care if it’s a camera phone — I just want to make in and out calls, nothing more.
The wait for land lines is worse, even if there are connections.
La Nación, August 25, 2006:
“Aunque cuenta con suficientes conexiones, el Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) tiene 84.000 solicitudes de telefonía fija en lista de espera. Algunas fueron tramitadas hace más de seis años, según expresaron a La Nación algunos lectores.”
I’m unfamiliar with the current cost of the phone and service in CR.
Maravilla, I’m shocked. To think that you would try to get around the waiting list that everyone else has to abide by through tapping your connections in ICE. How very Tica of you! You’ll do well there (lol).
Ooops. I suppose that makes me some kind of criminal, eh? Maybe I should be in prison for that too! jejeje Isn’t it always about WHO you know? Especially in a Latin country? Somehow I’ve managed to make the right contacts and connections for a lot of things, and because of that my transition from this gringo culture to a Latin culture has been very easy (but then I’ve lived in third World countries before). I didn’t go looking for these connections, they presented themselves to me in the form of “we can help you get blah blah if you need something, so please don’t hesitate to call us.” Now, should I NOT take up those offers? I’d be a fool if I didn’t call on the people who have offered their assistance. And most often I get extremely good treatment because of how I treat those who are in authority and somehow they just want to make my life easier. Maybe there is nothing ICE can do to expedite my request for a phone connection but I’m sure going to try. I know they put in phone lines where previously there had been none, so if I can get it, great, if not, I don’t really care. I don’t even want a damn phone (or TV, or Internet, etc.)
Sounds like it is going to be one big party at Angel Valley Farm B&B/Rancho Lobo…and Trisha’s going to make homemade pizza..right!? 🙂
Andrew
I’m going to try . . . I want to see if that massive fireplace the Swiss architect built actually works — and with all those fire bricks he used, it should be the perfect place to do pizza (I hope we don’t burn down the neighborhood!!)
As to bank accounts I’m not sure why everyone seems to have so much trouble. Perhaps we have just been lucky to get cooperative tellers when we have gone to the bank. We opened our first savings account with $100 while on vacation several years ago. No letters of recommendation. When we moved here a year and a half ago we walked right into BCR and opened a personal savings account. No problems.
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