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Hi all
I am a British/Australian citizen (currently living in Australia) looking and hoping to move to Costa Rica. However I am coming up at dead ends on how I can do this. I’m 31 and will be doing this alone. Has anyone got any leads and could point me in the directions on where I can obtain information on being able to live in Costa Rica please?
Thank you so much in advance.
S
The requirements and limitations you’ll face are the same as those every other aspiring expat faces when considering relocating to Costa Rica. There’s a wealth of information on this Forum. Just be careful to take into account the dates of entries. Things change from time to time, so the latest entries are likely the best.
You’ll face two fundamental issues in relocating here. The first is that, to remain here long-term, you will have to become a legal [u]temporary[/u] resident. For most people, that means that you must either have a pension of $1,000US that’s [u]guaranteed for life[/u] or you must deposit $60,000US in a Costa Rican bank (which you’ll withdraw at a rate of $2,500US per month for two years) and then, at the end of two years you’ll have to deposit [u]another[/u] $60,000US. After three years in the status of a temporary legal resident, you can apply for permanent legal residency status but that approval can take a year or longer.
Once you become a [u]permanent[/u] legal resident, which can easily take five years or longer, you can legally work in the Costa Rican economy. Temporary residents are prohibited from working in any job in competition with a Costa Rican worker. So the second issue you must face is that of how you will support yourself for those five years. If you have the means to deposit the $60,000US twice, you, as a single person, can expect to live on the $2,500 monthly withdrawal. For a couple, it would be a little tight but that depends on the lifestyle you pursue.
You should also be aware that wages in Costa Rica are laughably low, so maintaining anything like your current lifestyle may be very difficult once you are a permanent resident. Most people here work for the minimum wage in their occupation and it’s not a lot.
You will also face the costs of becoming a legal resident. Those costs vary from one attorney to another, but you should probably budget about $2,500US for that expense alone. And then there are the matters of traveling here from Australia, setting up a household, etc. It all adds up . . .
OH NO! Not another BRIT!
Oops!
What to do? Keep reading this forum and use the search engine to check topics. Go to ARCR.com for more great info. Oh, and listen to David. He knows stuff!
Why would someone from Australia want to move to Costa Rica ? I have been in Australia many years ago, spent almost 2 months there and drove half way around the country (east coast and outback). There are so many beautiful spots in Australia, plus you have the same advantages (at least those that I apreciate) like in Costa Rica: beautiful nature, exotic animals, and no real winter (no house heating expenses). Aussies are kind of funny and so are the Ticos. Men are machos and so are the Ticos. Typical food is not very great in either country. If you look for an exotic woman, Asia is close by. If Australias imigration laws had not been that tough, maybe today I would live in Australia.
Or maybe it has changed a lot ? I was there in Winter 1987/1988, has been a while…….
Well, Elisabeth, one could argue that the heat, the wildfires, the floods, the difficulty and expense of obtaining and maintaining legal residency, the jackrabbits, the funny way they talk, the salt water crocodiles, the dingos that’ll steal your baby, and Australia’s record [i]vis a vis[/i] its indigenous population, among other things, might make Australia less than totally attractive.
That said, we looked into Australia as a retirement destination in 2005 but there was no way on earth they’d have granted us residency as retirees. So here we are in far less discriminating Costa Rica.
I am considering that the person posting is already an Australian Citizen, therefore he doen not have to go through the immigration-pain-in-the-butt.
And as I said before, back in 1988 there were beautiful areas in Australia (I think they are still there), it is a huge country and not all of it matches your description.
We could create a long list comparing both countries,
Saltwater crocs vs. Costa Rican drivers…8)
Heat = Guanacaste etc. etc.I’m sure you’re right, Elisabeth. There is plenty to recommend Australia. I was being facetious.
You make a good point about the salt water crocs and Costa Rican drivers, but have you ever driven in Honduras? It’s been reported to me by a native Honduran who’d recently spent some time there that the drivers there make Costa Ricans look like good drivers. And have you ever driven in Boston, or the “ditches” around Detroit?
Costa Rican drivers? Piffle!
When we immigrated to Canada from Britain, many years ago it required the country’s need for a specific trade and a family member taking/accepting responsibility for us… which may have be required in immigrating /relocating to Australia. Not having to put out $60K+ …and then they can’t work for 4-5 years.
The are beautiful places all over the world, promising the possibility of greener pastures…[quote=”costaricafinca”]When we immigrated to Canada from Britain, many years ago it required the country’s need for a specific trade and a family member taking/accepting responsibility for us… which may have be required in immigrating /relocating to Australia. Not having to put out $60K+ …and then they can’t work for 4-5 years.
The are beautiful places all over the world, promising the possibility of greener pastures…[/quote]My Ex-Husband had an uncle in Australia, so the family part would have been taken care of (it was not in the requirements), but still, they wanted people with special careers and ours were not on the list. Or they wanted you to invest a huge amount of money, don´t remember how much that was but it was more then Costa Rica is asking for.
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