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I should add this note about enrollment in the CAJA . . .
For many years, the ARCR has had a contract with the CAJA under which ARCR members have been able to enroll for a flat fee. A year or so ago, that fee was raised from $37US to $40US for a couple (or maybe it’s for the entire family). For legal residents of Costa Rica, the annual membership fee for ARCR is $50 plus $10 for each additional family member. For non-residents, it’s $100 plus $10.
Traditionally, enrollment in the CAJA has been restricted to Costa Rican citizens and legal residents, but I have read recently that that enrollment has been opened up to those who are neither citizens nor legal residents. I know of two instances in which American citizens who have been living here and who are not yet legal residents have enrolled in the CAJA. One of them had orthopedic surgery in the CAJA system.
What is not clear, based on what the ARCR staff reports, is whether the CAJA will continue to permit the ARCR to enroll its members for the flat $40 per month fee (or any other flat, reduced rate). If that arrangement remains in force, then it compels us all to belong to the ARCR if for no other reason than the cheapo CAJA enrollment cost.
David… thanks for the great information! I’m hoping we can get some clarification as to how much folks will be paying if they are now forced to enroll as part of their residency. It would seem that the deal that ARCR has (or had) makes a BIG difference for folks with higher pension incomes. And as you point out, there really is no way of limiting your stated income should it be from one source such as a pension. In my situation the difference would be over $700 per month between being able to enroll through ARCR as opposed to paying 13% of income…. and that’s a rather large difference! Going the PT route might be a better option with a private CAJA insurance plan that would no doubt cost MUCH less. And hope that CR (as you’ve pointed out) doesn’t suddenly crackdown on PTs!
It might also make more sense, if the ARCR deal is no longer available, to purchase a life annuity that provides the required $1000/month income (rather than using a pension and/or SS income) and apply using that as your income source for residency. And we don’t yet have an answer as to how folks using the rentista route will be as far as CAJA enrollment and their cost.
While the increase in required income from $600 to $1000 makes good sense… forcing folks into CAJA with possible rates very close to what are charged in the US does not. And folks that currently have residency and are now required to enroll in CAJA and pay 13% of income may very well NOT be able to afford to live in CR even though they are not subject to the new increased monthly income requirements.
Keep us posted… I’m sure there will be some changes and clarifications on this topic.
Well thanks guy’s for all the info. I think it has made me reconsider my choice. As I receive totally free health care and meds through the VA but with Obama trying to ram a bill down our throats that most people do not want who knows how will effect the VA…No one seems to know the answer to this…
I would miss the 1000 dollar threshold by $2 dollars at the moment and I do not think I am willing to pay 13% of my income to healthcare reguardless of my income status. But I would be willing to bet there are lots of americans living there illegally and just laying low and perhaps just renting a room from someone and they will be hard to find I think.
What would the requirements be if you were to marry a citizen there??
The whole thing seems to cost more than it would be worth to meJust an after thought… if this forced enrollment in CAJA as a requirement of residency and a 13% tax are on the level…. there are going to be a LOT of very unhappy folks in CR… both current residents and those considering it! Oscar and the boys have found a nice way of taxing the incomes of expats without calling it a tax. The more I look at it the more I believe there needs to be some clarification as to the new rules.
And if the same 13% CAJA tax is applied to rentista filers… that’s another $325/month ($2500X13%) folks will have to come up with!
Edited on Aug 22, 2009 08:17
“I just have a feeling that Obama is going to ruin america for good, we will never get out of this debt and the Amercia as we know and knew is nit going to exist anymore so that is why I am out here looking.”
That comment above suggests that you’re looking to “escape” from the U.S. and that you’re not necessarily considering movng to C.R. because of C.R. itself given that you’ve never been here and know nothing about it. As stated multiple times, it is IMPERATIVE that when making a decision such as this, that you really come down and visit C.R. for an extended period of time or make multiple visits. If you have never lived in a 3rd world environment it’s even more important that you do your due diligence by spending time in C.R. There have been many great things said about living in C.R. by those that are adapted to the lifestyle. In contrast, I have also read MANY stories about Americans (and others) that made a commitment to move here thinking they had found Paradise only to realize a year or 2 later that they were not able to adapt and decided to move back to their home country.
As for the Obama thing, another option, if you like your country, is to stay and fight for change rather than “escape”. Good Luck
I am ex militairy and was moved to many different enviroments. Plus I have picked up and moved in the US as well. So that aspect really does not scare or intimidate me. I was 18 and sent to Germany with about 4 million troops right across the border from me and living in Europe is much different as well. So I have no problem with being in a foreign environment. I would learn as i go as long as i were around other Americans to show me the ropes. And if I could not adapt I would just pick up and move again so it does not concern me terribly.
But with all of these taxes and expenditures, I was kind of nieve towards a lot of things that have been said here but am thankful I opened this tread and gained some insight.
So thank you all for the input here. Sounds like this might have been a hell of a deal 10 years ago…But now with a weak dollar and the govt. there seeming to want to tax foreigners outrageously it seems to me this will not work out for me.
But I wish you all well and hope you are happy and can handle what the govt there is trying to do to you.Bogino….That “fight” was over many years ago… and the current path is pretty much cut in stone… those calling the shots in Washington are unwilling to make the tough choices needed to turn this ship around…. and those electing them are either too foolish to see the coming disaster or unwilling to suffer the pain that fixing this mess will require! Either way the unknown might be a better choice then what many of us see as the future in the US.
Edited on Aug 22, 2009 08:46
I understand all that. Not interested in turning this discussion topic into a political debate and sounds like Teaser did the right thing by signing on to this site and gaining a lot of valuable information so as far as I’m concerned my discussion on this topic is done. Thx.
Oh I can see this turning into a total nightmare in the USA. But at least the people are raising hell about it. Sad thing is the dollar is getting weaker and weaker so it is not really gonna matter where you are. The idiot has to figure out that just printing more money is not going to solve the problems here. You cant spend your way out of a mess like this and he has to figure this out. We just have to hope that the public pressure stops this in its tracks. If not we are going to end up a large poor country like Russia, and I will not rule out seeing a bloody revolution over the whole deal.
This morning I was chatting with my wife, Marcia, who is always happy to critique my work, about the matter of enrollment in the CAJA and the “thirteen percent of income” cost. Three years ago, we went through the process for the first time and did so directly with the CAJA rather than going through ARCR. Turns out I’ve left out a significant detail in what I’ve written above.
Marcia reminded me that when we applied for enrollment in the CAJA, we had to provide them both a statement of our income and also a monthly budget of expenses. If she recalls correctly (and I think she does), we had to list housing, food, utilities, etc costs on the application form. The folks at the CAJA deducted those expenses from our stated income to come up with a net “taxable” income upon which to base the 13% levy.
So it appears that I’ve overstated the case. If Marcia’s right, whatever permissible expenses you can show will be disregarded when figuring your cost to enroll in the CAJA. That should be good news to a lot of folks.
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