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Hello,
Could someone tell me please if it’s possible to open a personal bank account in CS while on a tourist visa? If yes, what banks would you suggest?
If I stay in CS for three months having a bank account could come in handy.
Thank you.
You should be able to open an account at most of the banks here. If you’re a member of ARCR, they can help with Banco Nacional which is a perfectly acceptable option.
Otherwise, bring your passport (original plus a copy of the photo page and the Immigration stamp from when you entered the country), a couple of recent bank statements from your U.S. financial institution, and maybe a copy of last year’s U.S. income tax return.
You’ll also need a local, Costa Rican, address and proof of it. Depending on where you’re staying, you can use that. If it’s a rented house, a B and B, etc, ask for a copy of the water or electricity bill to “prove” your residence. Believe me, it works.
It will, of course, be most helpful if you speak “bank” Spanish or have a translator to help.
[quote=”JUMI”] If I stay in CS for three months having a bank account could come in handy.
Thank you.[/quote]
I have been here for more than 2 1/2 years and don’t have a CR bank account yet.I am able to draw up to $1,000 per day from our account in the States. Unless you need massive amounts of cash an account here shouldn’t be necessary.
Even the purchase of our home did not require an account here. We had the contract written up to stipulate that the bulk of the payment would be made through escrow when we returned to the States and the balance when we returned to CR with ur “stuff” and closed.
There are some things that will require an account here if you produce an income here but all in all keeping our account in the States has worked well.
[quote=”JUMI”]Hello,
Could someone tell me please if it’s possible to open a personal bank account in CS while on a tourist visa? If yes, what banks would you suggest?
If I stay in CS for three months having a bank account could come in handy.
Thank you.[/quote]
I would think it’s more trouble than it’s worth. On top of the points raised above, if you’re an American citizen or resident, you’ll have IRS reporting requirements to meet on your foreign account, which is an annoyance. I haven’t opened a CR bank account yet, but some foreign banks I’ve used in other countries actually charge fees to close an account, which *could* be a consideration – any locals have an idea about this?
[quote=”JUMI”]Hello,
If I stay in CS for three months having a bank account could come in handy.
Thank you.[/quote]
Gotta agree with Waggoner41. We are just about to go home to Texas after having been here three months and did not have a local bank account and did not miss one. We bought a house, built a swimming pool, rented a car and paid all of our expenses either by using an ATM or by transferring money from the states to our lawyer’s account.
In the states we have a Schwab account and they reimbursed us for all of the ATM fees that we incurred.
Everything worked slick as could be.
A bank account really is needed if you have a house or a permanent place to live (versus just coming as a tourist for 3 months or less)in Costa Rica. You will need to keep utilities such as electric, phone, water or a local worker paid even when you are gone. Otherwise you will have to have a friend pay these expenses for you while you are gone and you will have to wire transfer money periodically to your friend’s account. You don’t have to report foreign bank accounts to the IRS if there is less than 10,000 in the account or total of all accounts.
The documents needed to open a bank account have been mentioned above and for most banks these are enough. BCR, in addition, required two letters of recommendation in Spanish from current customers. It is so funny that the banks will accept someone else’s utility bill as proof of your living status. It was a good thing, though, because it took 3 years for us to get our electric bill in our corporate name because the previous owner did not do that when we bought the property. Also, if you rent (or even if you buy property), you cannot get utility bills in your name unless you are a resident or own a corporation. We found it beneficial to open two accounts – one in colones and one in dollars. I can manage both accounts online, transfer money back and forth between them, pay utilities automatically even if the utility account is in someone else’s name (sign up for this)and pay a farm worker.
We manage the rental of a neighbor’s house and pay their bills. When they bought the house, the utilities were in the name of the folks who built it. That’s never been changed and it’s never been a problem for anyone. As long as the bills are paid, no one cares whose name they’re in.
If you don’t believe that, I’d be happy to give you our account numbers and you can try paying our bills.
Two weeks ago, I visited my local BCR office and found that my BCR account which I opened in 2006 with only my passport but had not accessed since 2009, had been closed out by the bank and the remaining $600 balance confiscated by the bank for payment of “fees”. I asked to open a new account but was unable to do so with only a passport. Only a utility bill associated with a residence is being accepted now by that bank for new accounts.
But, except for residency purposes, I don’t see the need for a Costa Rican bank account. We are able to withdraw $1000 per day in Costa Rica from our U.S. account at most ATM’s. (In Miami, the limit is only $400).
[quote=”sprite”]Two weeks ago, I visited my local BCR office and found that my BCR account which I opened in 2006 with only my passport but had not accessed since 2009, had been closed out by the bank and the remaining $600 balance confiscated by the bank for payment of “fees”. I asked to open a new account but was unable to do so with only a passport. Only a utility bill associated with a residence is being accepted now by that bank for new accounts.
But, except for residency purposes, I don’t see the need for a Costa Rican bank account. We are able to withdraw $1000 per day in Costa Rica from our U.S. account at most ATM’s. (In Miami, the limit is only $400).[/quote]
[quote=”tonto”][quote=”sprite”]Two weeks ago, I visited my local BCR office and found that my BCR account which I opened in 2006 with only my passport but had not accessed since 2009, had been closed out by the bank and the remaining $600 balance confiscated by the bank for payment of “fees”. I asked to open a new account but was unable to do so with only a passport. Only a utility bill associated with a residence is being accepted now by that bank for new accounts.
But, except for residency purposes, I don’t see the need for a Costa Rican bank account. We are able to withdraw $1000 per day in Costa Rica from our U.S. account at most ATM’s. (In Miami, the limit is only $400).[/quote][/quote]
I found my account “locked” because I had not used it in just over 1 year….there was a 10 dollar charge to open it again….as long as you access your account once every calendar year…this should not be a problem.
At BN you must show account activity every 90 days or the account will become inactive. I only learned this when I could not use by ATM card. On the next visit in-country I went to the Escazu branch and reactivated the account without any fees. Since then, I have developed a personal relationship with a banker at the branch in Cobano where the account was opened. Now if there is a problem, an e-mail usually takes care of it. Personal realtionships + fluent Spanish go a long way in CR.
The easiest bank to open your account in is Banco Nacional. Pls note: BCR will NOT open you an account unless you are a resident/citizen. This is a new rule introduced several months ago. It’s not even a rule, more like the bank’s internal memo (their interpretation). Don’t waste your time trying to argue with them.
HSBC will open an account, but it’s much harder than BN.
For BN you’ll need a certified copy of your passport and your water or electricity bill (can be on someone else’s name, but it’s better if your name is on the bill). You can have a referral letter from your US/Canadian bank, but the most helpful is to take with you someone who already has a bank account in that specfic branch for some time (having a significant sum on that account helps a LOT). They will print the “reference letter” for you at the bank. Good luck!BNCR can be easy, or it can be a real hassle. The experiences we have had in SJO have been much more frustrating than with our local bank in Samara.
Also, if you are opening an account in the name of a corporation, in addition to the items mentioned above, you must have your corporate documents with you including a cedula juridica that is les than 90 days old.
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