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i obtained a report from my local p.d. which states no criminal record. however, a fingerprinted query to my state database shows a marijuana felony as well as misdemeanor. those are recorded on the f.b.i database as well. these “crimes” have been administratively pardoned, but not erased. these “crimes” affect me regarding applications for jobs that require state licensing. it appears that these records are only available to govt. agencies. in all other ways i qualify for residency. will crimes committed 40 years ago affect me? if they do, it appears foolish to waste my money and time qualifying for residency, only to be rejected. unique situation i know, but… details,i know, but one thing follows another. just like, do i deposit the money (60,000) first, risking rejection and problems repatriating it, or do the application first and upon acceptance go on? thank you for any insight that you folks can give me.
crayzrj…
I had that question some time back, as I had the same marajuana charge from the ’60s… I had the same results…
I had asked and this is the response:
“Dear All,
As a lawyer in Costa Rica with Lang & Asociados, http://www.langcr.com, I am able to sketch an answer for you:One important condition to obtain residency in Costa Rica is file a certain number of documents, among which a certified criminal record.
A clean police record certificate is always the best option to join to the application. Thus, if you are able to obtain such a certificate, which will be sufficient for the immigration authorities in Costa Rica, then that should be your first choice.
However, an “unclean” record is not, per se, an obstacle to obtaining residenceship in Costa Rica and it all depends on the kind of felony and the time elapsed.
In cases when the record only shows minor charges -“contravenciones”- from a long time ago, when you where a “kid” for instance, it is very unlikely that the immigration authorities will take this into account, unless the kind of misdemeanor refers to -for instance- a sexual matter, etc.
Instead, and although CR is indeed a conservative country on narcotic issues, drug consumption or holding -as a misdemeanor- while being a teenager or youngman is generally not an issue for obtaining your residency, all the more if this happened many years ago.
However, no sure advice may be given without reviewing the certificate itself, since, as stated before, it will depend on the kind of charges and the time when they took place.
If you wish for us to have a closer look at your situation and assist you with your residency, you may contact me at this e-mail address or visit http://www.langcr.com for more info on residency status.
Best Luck, Carlos D. AnguloLang & Asociadoscdangulo@langcr.com”
Und So… I had my answer…
Bill MaesI was told that such crimes and misdemeanors committed more than 10 years ago had no effect on residency, unless it was a sex crimes.
thank you for your thoughts. it all seems reasonable to me and i suspect economic considerations would trump any ancient transgressions, but…..all in all, it seems a reasonable risk to apply. hey, they let in robert vesco (maybe before your time?).mahalo, ya’ll.
You’ve not said in what state(s) these convictions took place, but one approach might be to petition the courts to have them expunged from your record before you apply for your criminal background report. It’s not unusual for courts to expunge convictions that occurred a long time ago, if you have behaved yourself since and if you have a good reason for requesting it. You’d need an attorney in that state to handle the request for you.
I have a friend who had the exact same convictions on his record from 30 years ago and he got his residency. Unless you’ve been moving tons of dopes and are a threat to society, these petty crimes are not taken into account — what they do take into account is what’s happened since and if your record is clean, you won’t be penalized for your past transgressions. If the conviction had been in the last ten years, thta’s a different story.
When I applied for residency (long ago) all they asked for was a certified report from the police department in the community where I lived. This seemed rather silly, since it didn’t include any record outside that particular suburb (speeding tickets only, haven’t been caught for anything else yet…). Still, even a state-wide report is only limited to that state, and is just as silly considering our very mobile culture. Furthermore, if you rob a bank, it still doesn’t show up on the state record, as that’s a federal crime and will only appear on a federal report.
Hope I’m not giving migración any ideas…
As far as the $60,000 deposit – we had to make the deposit in order to get the letter from the bank. This was submitted with our application, then our residency was approved. I don’t think you can get your residency approved without making the deposit first (unless you have a bank in your country of origin that is willing to certify your funds – our credit union would not do this).
Jessica
thank you all for your insights. it happened in calif. it has been expunged, but there’s more to it.an inquiry to my local p.d. shows nothing. my concern is with the fingerprints. having tried it, the state will respond with all records and that may be true with the f.b.i. and interpol. short of a pardon, which gov. browns admin. was unwilling to give all convictions remain, but access is limited to (well that’s unclear)at least myself and any govt. agencies to which i may apply for licensure or jobs (security, police, medical, casinos etc.)so, like most things it’s not so simple. govts. don’t necessarily agree with our ideas of what’s reasonable.i should know by the end of this year (i’ll start the process then when my i.r.a. is acessible) and i’ll share what i’ve learned.i’m in a credit union but i can always go to hsbc with the deposit and try to get certified.or the brokerage account that the funds are in.thanks again.
“expunged” records.
Legally when this is done the records are removed or if in mixed court records the names and crimes are whited out. Expunged is supposed to mean it NEVER HAPPENED and that all traces of a record are gone.
The problem is that in our information society things get put into other records including computer databases and their backups. The rules covering expunged records were written long before computer records and thus the problem. . IF there was a court order expunging the records then that order needs to be forwarded to other record keepers. I do not know what the legalities are but to do it right I suspect that you are going to need a lawyer to pursue it if you want.
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