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My wife, myself and our 2 sons are planning on spending the summer in CR (5-6) weeks and wanted to find out about anything special that we might need to know in advance legal wise.
I’d hate to hear “you had to file this in advance of your arrival,…”
The boys are 5 and 8 and we all have Passports.
Our long range goal is to possibly move down for 5 years or so and this trip is to get a little time under our the belt to see how we like it.
We did get to spend a week in CR last year at this time and truly enjoyed it.
Is there any one link to visit on the web to see all options as far as residency and how this would affect our US citizenship?
I have an ongoing business in the US that I believe would be able to support us and wanted to find out also about taxes in the USA whiel living abroad. I’ve heard that the first 80,000 USD is tax free if you spend no more than 30 days in the USA per year.
Also have been trying to find a listing of airstrips for private aircraft as the shows on TV show people flying all over but have been unable to see much more than the Bigger INTL ones.
Thanks for you input,.
PhilEdited on Mar 25, 2007 06:38
Well chariotdriver I am glad that you have fallen in love with cr, please do a search on the residency reqirments since they have changed a lot from last year. I belive that in your situation you would have to have about 160,000 put into a account to draw from.
If I was you I would call the CR embassy in Washington and they could help you more on the requirments
You won’t have to worry about any specific requirements for the family for this initial extended stay if you are here for only 5 or weeks. If you all have passports then there won’t be any issue. You have to leave the country every 90 days for at least 72 hours.
What area are you considering staying in for your 5 to 6 weeks stay?
Grecia,..
Husband / Wife 2 boys that once we agree that we love CR may want to move there for an really long time, years if not longer.
I have read about certain types of citizenship for CR and wanted to find out how this tied into keeping our US Citizenship.
Assuming that we love it there, we loved it for 1 week last year,Husband Wife & 2 boys would like to move there possibly for years if it works out.
I hear that I will need to deposit money into a CR bank depending on what type of residency I was interested in.
How to get the money back out when needed is the question?
Should I buy a vehicle for the 5-6 weeks or just rent long term?
Do I need a Corporation to buy one now for this trip?
What about land purchases?
Thanks PhilGetting residency does not effect your US citizenship. Until you decide that you want to live in the country for more than a few years, there really is no reason to apply for residency. The catagory you are talking about is depositing a specified amount of monry into a 5 year account. You are required to take out each month a certain amount and convert it to colones. In the case of a family of 4, you would be required to deposit $60,000 per adult and $30,000 per child. So, $180,000 in a 5 year account and withdraw $3000 a month. Buying a car is not a quick process, so renting may be the best option if you are looking at only 5 to 6 weeks. Rentals are expensive. You will be looking at $350 to $450 per week depending on the type of vehicle. You do not need a corporation to buy a vehicle. If you are going to rent a place and stay primarily in the Grecia area it would problaby be cheaper in the long run to use taxi’s. Every minute that rental car is sitting it’s costing you money. You might try renting a car for the first week and then decide after that if you need it full time. You will have to leave the country every 90 days if you do not have residency. A lot of people go to Nicaragua or Panama for short 3 and 4 day trips. That is typically much cheaper than flying back to the states. In any event, if you are traveling back and forth for business or what ever you just have to keep in mind you have to leave again within 90 days of your last entry stamp into Costa Rica
Edited on Mar 26, 2007 13:25
Obtaining legal residency in Costa Rica will have no effect whatsoever on your U.S. citizenship. You will retain your U.S. passport. You will retain your legal and voting rights. And, sadly, you will continue to be subject to the I.R.S. Code (sorry ’bout that). If you decide to become citizens of Costa Rica, the Costa Rican law requires you to give up your U.S. citizenship, but it is my understanding that this requirement is not enforced.
The common advice is that you purchase real estate in the name of a Costa Rican corporation. It’s easy to form a corporation which also gives you a legal status in which you can obtain such things as utility accounts, cell phone accounts, etc. Aliens are legally permitted to own real estate in Costa Rica whether in their own names or in the names of corporations which they own and control.
There is some disagreement about whether it is worth it to form a second corporation in the name of which to own an automobile. To do so limits liability and makes subsequent sale a little simpler. Costa Rican attorneys will probably advise you not to do so. They don’t.
If you buy a car here during your five week stay, what will you do with it when you leave? You need an exit strategy (the Rule of the Way Out). It will probably be less expensive and less hassle to rent for that period of time.
how ever you need to be aware of the pit falls of becoming a purpetural tourist! The president is very serious on cracking down on this issue and people have lost all of their investments by playing the purpetural tourist game!
Thanks for all the help and input.
I think that I was getting residency and citizenship mixed up.
Can’t believe that I have to deposit that much money into the bank.
I read a post here, not sure how accurate, that they were cracking down on those that would leave for 72 hours and back in where they might be denied entrance for possibly 5 years!
This would be bad if you owned property down in CR.chariotdriver,
Tourist visas are valid for 90 days, and can be extended for another 90. Leaving the country for 72 hours will enable you to start anew. Unless you’ve overstayed your visa, or are otherwise not conforming to its restrictions, I don’t see how, or why, they would bar your re-entry. The crackdown on “perpetual tourists” is directed at those who are deriving some sort of income or other economic benefit within the country, either through employment or business activities, without the proper permissions. Reading through this forum should provide you with all the details you need for now.
If you have downloaded the free Google Earth software, it will show you where almost all the landing strips are. You’ll want a broadband connection.
Are you flying your own plane down or do you intend to rent one there?
Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad
The attorney who handled our residency, Romulo Pacheco, met a couple of months ago with the Minister of Immigration who said that they are, indeed, cracking down on “perpetual tourists” and it has nothing to do with those “tourists” earning a living here. That’s another matter. The premise is that if you’re going to live in Costa Rica long-term, the law requires that you become a resident, and they’re going to enforce it. Indeed, the Minister said, a perpetual tourist attempting to re-enter Costa Rica might find him/herself barred from re-entry for up to five years. It’d be a shock.
Play by the rules.
Gotta Love Google Earth!
I have a 4 seater that I would either be flying down with a more experienced friend (speaks spanish also)and thought that I could use it to see the country but have that knee jerk reaction about something happening to it while down there like being siezed, stolen etc. Just thinking ahead about if I moved there what would I do with the plane as to whether I should sell it here or try to get some use out of it there.
Not that I have any proof that this type of crime is rampant, but you know it has to enter my mind.
When I went to Google Earth in the past and turned on “airports”, just the 2 big ones showed up. Will have to look again to see if they changed it.Edited on Mar 27, 2007 06:19
Chariotdriver,
This kind of crime is possible in most of these countries down here. I just came back from Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama and they all have problems with missing airplanes because of drug runners. How ever in CR there are many great airports that are secure.
I have personally rented a 182 and flew to some locations around the country, how ever it is very expensive because of the insurance issue. Here they also fly a lot of VFR in IMC condidtions, crazy!
I have zero experience in flying in mountains areas and am a private pilot myself no official IFR endorsement under the belt.
We were driving from Grecia to Arenal last year and went up into the clouds along the highway and I thought about the issues with flying in this area with my training.
I would imagine that there are lowlands south of this ridge that would be lower than the clouds for clear weather flying.
And then there is the rainy season to deal with also.
PhilI have a map that shows airports (or landing strips) in the following locations –
Limon, Boca del rio Parismia, Boca rio Tortuguero Boca del rio Colorado on the East coast
Atirro, Los Chiles, Upala, Canas, Filadelfia, Puntarenas& Buenos Aires in the central part of the country
Uvitas, Quepos, Pochota, Islita, Carrillo, Nosora & Tamarindo on the West coast.If you look up NatureAirs website they fly all over the country, that would give you a good idea where there are landing strips.
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