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and getting a license after that 90 period expires is not what you want to do. you have to take a 5 day driving class and that is $35, then you have to take the written test in Spanish and that costs extra too, then there is the actual driving test, which is also an extra charge. i doubt most gringos would pass any of those exams.
I don’t know how else to say how easy it is…..we went there at 7:30 in the morning with a taxi driver, walked about 50 meters to get the blood test and “doctors exam”, then went to cosevi and found our way through to the second floor, got the paperwork, went to the BNCR next door & paid fees (that was the longest line, about 20 minutes) back to cosevi for the pictures and issuance of licences. That’s it – of course both licences have our name misspelled, but what is to worry. Total tip to driver, $20 and actually we could have done it without him.
Please do not pay an attorney for this service, and do it before the 90 day expiration of your tourist visa, even if you are “en tramite”!We have been told that you now have to have a police report that says you have no criminal record. Anybody know anything about this?
Bob
San Ramonyou need the hoja de delinquencia when you renew your cedula, not your driver’s license (unless they changed something while i was sleeping!)
[quote=”bobr”]We have been told that you now have to have a police report that says you have no criminal record. Anybody know anything about this?[/quote]
No this is false
all you need is to have done before your 90 days, American driver licenses and pass port.
Then all of your medical requirements that is done here.
I have been finding out that some of these gringos are going threw some organization or web site that has a lawyer and that is where they are over paying.I think I might put up a web page of the location and information that might be helpful. Maybe costaricadriverslicenses or something. That will point people right to the biz and the full process. My brother in-law has the full service one stop and they take you to the front of the line for English speakers. The MOPT will accommodated with English speakers.
I don’t think this will stop all of the rip offs but maybe it will make them ask questions. I just hate to see so many people get ripped off. Lately I have been meeting a lot of people that have come down here with blind eyes and now they are stuck.So, am I understanding this correctly? Driver’s license process seems easy enough to accomplish logistically speaking. But, do you have to be a “legal resident” to get a CR driver’s license? If my (N. American) family lived in CR as “perpetual tourists,” theoretically, and left every 90 days only to return to our Montezuma home, could my husband and I still get CR licenses, even without being considered “legal” permanent residents?
[b]Claudia[/b], yes, you can both get Costa Rica licenses, if your passport is ‘up to date’.
Take into consideration that immigration is getting much tougher in allowing people continually doing the [i]tourist renewal trip[/i] and you could be stopped from entering the country for an extended period of time, whether or not you have a house here. They have recently began issuing 30 day visa, and then you must show them you have applied for residency.Thanks. I had heard that they’re becoming “tighter” about the leaving/re-entering process… I know the different types of residency and the rules/regulations for each one; however, would you happen to know if there is any type of special exception or allowance for teachers? I am an early childhood teacher, and may have an opportunity to work in a bilingual school on the Nicoya Peninsula. Wonder if that would be “legal” work if I’m not a CR resident? And would it be possible to apply for residency then, without $150K in the bank, etc. etc.?
I was a Pre-school teacher, in my previous life. 😆 And, no, you cannot work legally here unless the school applies for a work visa on your behalf, which must be renewed an an annual basis.
Your salary would be low and since they are many pre-school teachers that are Costa Rica, they may not issue a work visa.
[url=http://www.costaricalaw.com/can-i-legally-work-in-costa-rica.html]Read this info carefully[/url] but I don’t think it covers a spouse an/or family.Thanks, Costaricafinca — you have been helpful. 🙂 I’ve been teaching 1st Grade and Kindergarten in NY state for 11 years now, and had hoped to fulfill my dream of moving to the southern part of the Nicoya Peninsula with my husband and three small kids. After extensive research, it’s difficult to feel encouraged that it could be a possibility, because it just seems so difficult to live there legally, with residency, unless you have mucho dinero stashed in the bank. I had hoped that there might be some “loophole” into gaining residency and working in CR, but apparently I’m being idealistic. Hopefully I’ll win the lottery some day. Guess I should actually play sometime. But thanks again!
By a very wide margin, the easiest way to begin a new life in Costa Rica is to come fully funded by either your own accumulated wealth or the solid promise of a pension or annuity that you cannot outlive. To expect to come here and find a job that will sustain you, or to buy or found a business that will support you, is the ultimate optimistic pipedream. Yes, a few have succeeded, but their numbers are small indeed. And despite all one’s hopes, there are few workarounds and still fewer miracles.
[quote=”bobr”]Sorry, I should have said, when you re-new your drivers license.
Bob
San ramon[/quote]Do you know anything about the renewal process? I’m told this can be done somewhere in San Ramon, but I don’t know where, how, etc.
i don’t know if you can go to BCR in san ramon — someone told me you could, otherwise, MOPT is at the end of the road going west past the hospital, and down the hill. you can’t miss it.
Thanks for the info. I’ve been told the MOPT is at the end of the road and that I can’t miss it, but I’ve been lost in CR for almost 3 years now. I’ll be lost again, guaranteed. BCR in San Ramon is listed as one of the banks where licenses can be renewed, but an appointment is apparently needed. Appointments are given for a month later. Forgive my North American impatience, but I don’t want to make an appointment and wait a month. I’ll try to find MOPT. Thanks for your input/advise!
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