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Hi
As a newcomer to this board, I am probably going to ask a question that has been asked many times over – I did nose around the archives, but didn’t find anything that specifically answered this set of questions.
We bumped into a couple living in Costa Rica while at a recent ‘Place in the Sun’ show here in the UK. I have to admit that Costa Rica was not on our radar as a country to which we could emigrate, but it caught our attention, and a few ‘spooky’ seemingly random references to Costa Rica in conversation/reading/listening since has made us pay a bit more attention to it as a possibility.
So far we have discovered that is beautiful, relatively cheap to live and probably a good option. So far we have also discovered that getting in as an immigrant to live and work is next to impossible.
So…
Is it possible to emigrate from the UK to Costa Rica, hold down a job, buy a place to live, send your kids to school etc etc – in reality, what is the situation? Is there a school system that works, or would you home school? A a chartered accountant myself, and a wife who is a teaching assistant, what chance would we have of being eligible to work? If we were eligible, would we be likely to be able to get jobs?
I know that these are probably impossible questions to answer with any certainty, but even ‘gut-feel’ and ‘best-guess’ would be something for us to go on at this stage – at least we’d know whether to splash some cash on Rosetta Stone Spanish!
Thanks
Andy
A recently posted article on this website addresses the basics of legal residency in Costa Rica. In words of one syllable or less, it is close to impossible to obtain legal residency here AND to work legally. That’s not to suggest that there aren’t folks who come here as “perpetual tourists” (who must leave the country every ninety days) and who work illegally and who have yet to have any problem.
On the other hand, enforcement of the existing law could become stricter at any moment. You could come here, buy a house and car, start some sort of income producing endeavor, leave for your three-day journey out of the country, and be barred readmission when you attempt to return. It does happen. Enforcement doesn’t have to be widespread to make your life miserable; they only need to catch you.
In general, foreigners are prohibited from competing with Costa Ricans for jobs. So working as an accountant or as a teacher’s assistant probably would never qualify you for a legal work permit. We already have plenty of both.
What’s more, you need to understand that, while the cost of living here is low relative to the northern hemisphere generally, wages are likewise low. There is a national minimum wage scale by occupation and the vast majority of workers do, in fact, work for the minimum wage. Professionals are not bound by that wage scale but still work for much, much less than you might imagine. A typical half-hour or longer consultation with our attorney/notary costs about c10,000 (about $18US). An hour-long physical exam with ECG by our U.S. board certified internist is c30,000.
Should you decide to come here and play the perpetual tourist game, you need to know, too, that you will not be eligible to enroll in the national health system and you may not be able to enroll your children in school.
Andy, you’ve undoubtedly learned, the most common methods of legally residing in Costa Rica are as Pensionado (retiree w/pension of $600/mo or more) and Rentista (w/funds equivalent to $1000/mo per adult, $500 per child for a period of five years). With either of these you are not allowed to work, which doesn’t seem to match your question. Processing on these, assuming no problems, takes a year or more.
There is a vanishingly small possibility of getting a work permit. Small because your work expectations are in fields that Ticos can and do work. You would be taking a Tico’s opportunity.
If you are able to start a business, you can hire Ticos to work it, but you cannot perform any function other than manage it. The return on businesses is low, just as the living costs are low.
There is no restriction on being a Rentista and working online for a company outside C.R., as long as it doesn’t include doing business in C.R. That also doesn’t seem to fit your criteria.
So this long reply was to give you more insight rather than just tell you it didn’t look promising based upon the expectations in your original post.
CDSimple answer —-> Job… NO! Instead own a business and provide yourself an income… YES!
That’s the law in a nutshell! Besides… one of the things that makes the cost of living here so affordable is the labor market and rates. We hear this same question over and over from folks thinking about the move. To think you’d be able to relocate here, compete with the local labor for work (at local scale) and be able to support a family ANYWHERE near the style you’re use to is NOT going to happen.
But don’t let the idea die!
Keep the dream alive… do your homework (as you’ve done here)… research the possiblity of finding something (business) new and creative here, you’ll never be a millionaire but you can live a simple life, enjoy a beautiful country, raise children that are SO unlike the kids back home, and be the envy of everyone that knows you!
Edited on Oct 19, 2008 15:35
You asked “Is it possible to emigrate from the UK to Costa Rica, hold down a job, buy a place to live, send your kids to school etc etc – in reality, what is the situation? Is there a school system that works, or would you home school? A a chartered accountant myself, and a wife who is a teaching assistant, what chance would we have of being eligible to work? If we were eligible, would we be likely to be able to get jobs?
I know that these are probably impossible questions to answer with any certainty, but even ‘gut-feel’ and ‘best-guess’ would be something for us to go on at this stage – at least we’d know whether to splash some cash on Rosetta Stone Spanish!”
I think the first thing you need to do is find out what the country is like. Come on down and visit. Make it at least a 2 week visit, longer if possible, to evaluate whether Costa Rica is a place you could live. Check out different areas on the web and make an action plan for what you want to see when you get here. Check out houses, amenities you’d need, schools etc. There are lots of things you need to answer before you even come for a holiday.
Life works at a different pace in Costa Rica, everything takes time, don’t expect things to happen overnight… it’s just not the Tico way.
Another idea for your trip would be to come up with some business ideas and evaluate them when you are down here.
Relocating to another country is a very big step for anyone, make sure as much as possible that it is one you want to take and the country is the right choice.
I’ve relocated once (from the UK to Canada) and am working on my plan to make another move to Costa Rica. Do lots of reading here on this web site and check out the Association of residents of Costa Rica web site too for lots of informative insight. Good luck and “splash the cash” for the rosetta stone Spanish… speaking the local language will make it A LOT easier.Brian
@Everyone
Thanks so much for responding so quickly, and with so much great advice. I think I am going to explore the business start-up, and then look to visit if that seems like a realistic way forward. It’d be great to come over sooner, but without some degree of hope that it’s a realistic possibility for the long-term we don’t have the resources to throw at plane tickets. The business start-up is pretty exciting actually, as I was on the verge of what I thought was an exciting opportunity 18 moths ago, but the UK’s anti-entrepreneurial apathy squashed it before it got off the ground, so who knows!
Again, thanks so much for taking the time to give us some insight.
Andy
Hi Andy
Im a Brit stuck waiting for house to sell -great!
reply to me by Email if you want to chat about CR I’d be happy to help!
Rich (Cornwall)
Andy, if the cost of a plane ticket to Costa Rica to begin to explore the feasibility of moving here would be a financial strain for you then you do not have the resources to pursue this dream.
Moving to Costa Rica will be much more expensive and time consuming than you can imagine. The likelihood of generating any meaningful income early in your presence here (legally or otherwise) is remote. In short, you’ll need substantial start-up cash to make the move and get settled, and if a plane ticket alone isn’t within your comfortable reach, none of the rest of it will be either.
If you’re serious about this, plan at least a two-week visit here and take George Lundquist’s four-day tour of the Central Valley (where 75% of the population resides) which is intended for aspiring emigres. If then you are still interested, buy Rosetta Stone (it can’t hurt you) and start running some numbers.
We were “lured” here, in significant,part, by a local real estate agent who grossly misrepresented the costs of building, getting settled, and living here. Long before our project was completed, our money was spent. It has only been thanks to the fact of our excellent credit history and steady (pension) income that we have been able to borrow the money we have needed to finish what we started and stay. We pay a substantial penalty for this shortsightedness monthly.
You appear not to have that income base, you have no solid plan for generating the income you’ll need, and you have children to support and educate. Think hard about the feasibility of what you aspire to.
Thanks for the info.
It’s not so much a case of not having the money for a plane ticket, it’s more a case of not having, nor being willing I if I had, the money to waste if this is not an idea that can go anywhere. I am trying to find out if there is any mileage in this at all; if there is, then throwing time and financial resource at it is worth while, but purely speculative expense of either time or resource is not part of my general approach. The ultimate aim is to leave the UK, and the destination is up for grabs; Costa Rica caught my eye, rather than being something to which I aspire, so if it can’t work, c’est la vie.
The general feel that I am getting is that the odds are stacked against it being feasible to start a new life in Costa Rica if you need to work, unless you are very very motivated to make Costa Rica your home, which is the feeling I had before posing the question here, but I wanted to kick it about a bit more before discounting it altogether.
Still, maybe one day I will take up your holiday suggestion – sounds nice!
An an couple of Brits who left the country many years to go to Canada and stayed there for nearly 30 years, we then moved here nearly 9 years ago.
On most of the forums about Costa Rica and those who actually live here will usually advise…rent first!! Get to know an area then decide where you think your ‘niche’ will be.
This is why a vacation or two before hand is very important. Travel around the country and you will save money in the long run.Hey POTOO,
I am in Cornwall and awaiting a trip to CR (three weeks); If you want to chat then please e mail me although without leaving an address here, I am not sure how this can work yet!
AndyTo email each other forward it to Scott and he’ll act as go between initially and forward it on.
I agree with costaricafinca… take a couple of trips down there for at least 2 weeks before jumping in… then rent first in an area you “think” will work. That way you’ll find out what the area is like without major investment. If you find you don’t like the area or Costa Rica isn’t for you… well write it down to experience and move on and with your money in the bank… I’m on my way down for my fourth visit at the end of Nov for 2 weeks… some much needed R&R and hook up with friends (read drink a lot:))
We’ve found an area we like… but are going to explore more… you never know what’s around the next corner.Brian
Thanks to everyone for the continuing advice, and the offers to e-mail/chat on the phone. I am going to take those of you who made those kind offers up on them, but I am flat out at work and away a lot at the moment, so I want to wait until I am clearer both in time and in my mind, so that I can do those offers justice – ddn’t want anyone to think I was just being rude and ignoring them!
So far the holiday option sounds like the best one, but we have a tightish timetable, which may mean that we have to back out of this route – but we will keep exploring it until there is nothing to explore – so thanks again to everyone who has taken the time to offer advice – it is much appreciated.
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