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We are permanent residents. My wife recently went to renew her Carne card for CAJA, and they told her that she would now have to be set up with a new one on her own merits and will no longer be able to be with me on my CAJA program. They say that this is a very recent change to their policies. In addition, I was told that this may only apply to expats. Can anyone verify this and let me know exactly what the new policy is?? Thanks
Hi Pete, this is important and would like to make sure we clear this up…
When you say you are ‘permanent residents’ you mean as pensionados?
Scott
This is a HOT topic on another forum, with a few people experiencing the same ‘problem’. One recent resident who was given Permanent status, has been married to a [i]Tico [/i]for many years and lived with him in the USA but not long ago moved here, has also been told the same thing. Seemingly ARCR is now involved and it going to ‘take on CAJA’
[quote=”Scott”]Hi Pete, this is important and would like to make sure we clear this up…
When you say you are ‘permanent residents’ you mean as pensionados?
Scott
[/quote]We were Pensionados as temporary residents for the first 3 years and then applied for permanent status, which is what we are now.
[quote=”costaricafinca”]This is a HOT topic on another forum, with a few people experiencing the same ‘problem’. One recent resident who was given Permanent status, has been married to a [i]Tico [/i]for many years and lived with him in the USA but not long ago moved here, has also been told the same thing. Seemingly ARCR is now involved and it going to ‘take on CAJA'[/quote]
So instead of one CAJA payment for the couple they are now requiring that both pay individually, which means that it is doubling the monthly cost for the couple, is that correct?
[quote=”Scott”][quote=”costaricafinca”]This is a HOT topic on another forum, with a few people experiencing the same ‘problem’. One recent resident who was given Permanent status, has been married to a [i]Tico [/i]for many years and lived with him in the USA but not long ago moved here, has also been told the same thing. Seemingly ARCR is now involved and it going to ‘take on CAJA'[/quote]
So instead of one CAJA payment for the couple they are now requiring that both pay individually, which means that it is doubling the monthly cost for the couple, is that correct?[/quote]
That is exactly what they are telling us. We pay for our CAJA through the ARCR, and they say the current payment will double because of this. The wife went to the local CAJA office here and told them she does not have an income and asked what their rate would be – They responded by saying 20,000 colones.
As most know, the CR Government has a very difficult time collecting taxes due. They take money from the CAJA as a loan, but it hurts them also. I am starting to see a couple of instances where they are pegging the expats for more money in different ways to help get a part of the needed income. The first instance was through property tax increases and now this. – Things like this are becoming a concern to me as well as some others. – This is just my opinion and nothing else.
Thank you ….
As far as I know, expats in Costa Rica pay the exact same property taxes as everybody else but I will ask about this CAJA change and report back. …
Scott
We, My husband and I, also have our residency together with combined income. So is there a change that will separate us on an income basis? If so, I wont qualify on my own. I would like to know the answer to that as well
We, My husband and I, also have our residency together with combined income. So is there a change that will separate us on an income basis? If so, I wont qualify on my own. I would like to know the answer to that as well
Barbara ann, I think it was mentioned before, but it is not ‘usual’ for immigration to accept an application taking ‘joint funds’ into consideration for [i]Pensionado[/i] status. So, under these new rules, it [i]seems[/i] you will have to apply for your own account … although it doesn’t specify any specific amount, as the OP has no income and it was determined that 20,000 col per month, was her premium.
[quote=”Scott”]Thank you ….
As far as I know, expats in Costa Rica pay the exact same property taxes as everybody else but I will ask about this CAJA change and report back. …
Scott
[/quote]Scott,
As an example – earlier this year, the local government increased our property taxes by triple of what we were paying. Fortunately, my wife went in and negotiated an immediate 25% reduction. We later found out that this increase only applied to 3 area communities that mostly consisted of expat residents. – If you could find out something different, I would sincerely appreciate it! ThanksI spoke to Costa Rica Tax Expert Randall Zamora this morning who confirmed that this change in CAJA payments – where both husband and wife must pay the for the CAJA individually instead of as a couple – is NOT specifically for foreigners, in fact it affects Ticos in the exact same way as expats.
The one very puzzling exception is that this does not affect gay ‘married’ couples who can still pay for the CAJA as a couple….
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My good friend and Attorney Roger Petersen also wrote to me saying:
“Yes. I already had to deal with that in two of my residency cases and had to challenge the Caja office in San Rafael de Heredia.
In the past I would get the family (Main applicant, spouse and Children) all on one Caja account. The Main applicant who generally is the main income earner gets interviewed and then the income basis is established for the calculation of the monthly Caja payment. The other dependents spouse and children fall under one account.
On November 10th the Caja published in the Gazette modification to the regulations. As a result. They are now taking the family (allowing the dependent and the children) but excluding the spouse. In both the cases we handled we then had to take out a separate policy for the spouse which cost us 11,000 Colones per month.
We did this by indicating she had no income – guess why? Because she is a dependent on the primary applicant. So by saying you have no independent income they still hit you for 11,000 Colones.
So from my first hand experience it is not doubling the Caja contributions (at least not yet) but it is resulting in the requirement to open a new account and resulting in 11,000 extra Colones per month to cover the spouse. We just went through it this week.”
Saludos
Roger
[quote=”Scott”]I spoke to Costa Rica Tax Expert Randall Zamora this morning who confirmed that this change in CAJA payments – where both husband and wife must pay the for the CAJA individually instead of as a couple – is NOT specifically for foreigners, in fact it affects Ticos in the exact same way as expats.
The one very puzzling exception is that this does not affect gay ‘married’ couples who can still pay for the CAJA as a couple….
—————————————
My good friend and Attorney Roger Petersen also wrote to me saying:
“Yes. I already had to deal with that in two of my residency cases and had to challenge the Caja office in San Rafael de Heredia.
In the past I would get the family (Main applicant, spouse and Children) all on one Caja account. The Main applicant who generally is the main income earner gets interviewed and then the income basis is established for the calculation of the monthly Caja payment. The other dependents spouse and children fall under one account.
On November 10th the Caja published in the Gazette modification to the regulations. As a result. They are now taking the family (allowing the dependent and the children) but excluding the spouse. In both the cases we handled we then had to take out a separate policy for the spouse which cost us 11,000 Colones per month.
We did this by indicating she had no income – guess why? Because she is a dependent on the primary applicant. So by saying you have no independent income they still hit you for 11,000 Colones.
So from my first hand experience it is not doubling the Caja contributions (at least not yet) but it is resulting in the requirement to open a new account and resulting in 11,000 extra Colones per month to cover the spouse. We just went through it this week.”
Saludos
Roger
[/quote]Scott, Roger,
Thank you very much for that information. It makes me feel much better about our particular situation, but you have no idea about how good it makes me feel that we are being treated equally in this case. Again, thank youJust wait until they (CAJA) start requesting tax returns to see your total income when determining your payment…. Not just what you “declare” with your residency application…. Then the real panic starts.
This new president and his 19% budget increase should be a good indication of where things are going. And it’s not pretty!
Being a tourist these days really has its advantages!
Not to muddy the waters, but . . .
I just went to my local clinic for an appointment that was made a month ago. However, I didn’t get past the receptionist. She said I now have to have my own account with Caja, that I can no longer be my wife’s dependent. But here’s the interesting thing. I asked her if this new rule applied to Ticos and she said no! She said according to the instructions that they’ve been given, only foreigners have to have separate accounts and can no longer have one spouse as a dependent of the other. So, while I respect Roger Peterson, our local clinic clearly believes that they only have to force us foreigners to get separate accounts. Ticos still only have to pay one monthly fee for the family, not two.
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