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It used to be that you had to simply log 4 months of the year in Costa Rica (it didn’t need to be consecutive time, either). I am not sure that the time requirement is still in effect. If it is, you can spend 8 months out of CR, 4 months in CR, but you must keep your CAJA paid up. Some will tell you that you can suspend your CAJA while out of country, others that you cannot…I’m not willing to risk my residency status over my CAJA payments being in arrears so we pay monthly, on time, whether or not we’re in CR.
I’m a permanent resident & your time in country becomes trivial once you reach that status. We just have to make sure we’re in Costa Rica once a year – or more specifically, that we’re not out of Costa Rica longer than one year so our entry/exit each year would be judged by that passport stamp.
Jessica
I think he’s just referencing how many US citizens are in line at the Embassy to have passports replaced & get help after having their belongings stolen (maybe a tongue in cheek explanation as to why the Embassy makes it hard for Ticos to get a visa?).
Jessica
There is a fee – I want to say something like $150 & that’s whether you are approved or denied! I think he must have paid that in advance, though. He brought a folder full of paperwork. He had the letters of recommendation, bank statements, papers related to the property he owns, CAJA receipts. I don’t know what she looked at prior to my arrival at the window, but I know she didn’t look at any of the paperwork once I was there & she could talk to me in English.
Okay…I figured I could Google the info you’d need to apply & found this to cover it well (since it is the US Embassy website).
http://costarica.usembassy.gov/consnonimmigrant.html#step3
Jessica
I don’t have any particular wisdom to impart, but I can share my experience from last year when I accompanied a male family friend to the US Embassy for his visa application/interview.
We didn’t think that I’d be able to attend the actual interview part because we’re not a couple. He is male, I’m female, but I’m married (he is one of my husband’s best friends in CR). He went to the window alone, but a guard came to get me & I was allowed to approach the window. The attendant asked him a few questions but spent most of our time together asking me, in English, why I was there to help him & seemed to just want confirmation of the few things she had asked of him (how long I’ve known him, where he works, for how long, etc.). Before I knew it, he was told his passport would be ready in however many days & I didn’t even realize he had been approved!
Maybe my friend would’ve gotten the visa without my help, but he doesn’t think so & I’m not so sure, either. I watched people being turned away left & right & I don’t think there is any rhyme or reason to how that is decided.
My friend had me write what was basically a letter of recommendation for him in English that I translated to Spanish. He had another letter of recommendation from another gringo couple written in English. The Embassy lady never even looked at those.
Bottom line, I have no idea how they made the decision to grant him his visa. But it worked! Of course, now everyone in the small town he lives in thinks I’m able to magically make visa approvals happen so I have all kinds of invites to the Embassy now!
🙂
JessicaI’m the parent of 4 children. We moved to CR in 2007 when my kids were young (9, 6, 6, & 4). I’ve traveled all over CR as a family, by myself, & even by myself with the kids.
I’ve never once been concerned about the kidnapping issues you brought up, though I’ve heard occasional reports in the news over the years.
Could it happen to us? I suppose there is always a chance of it.
I think certain expats are targets of crime in CR & many are the victims of random petty crimes or crimes of opportunity.
Our home was robbed in 2012 when we were out of the country.
I am pretty certain we were targeted, but am also pretty certain the timing of the robbery was one of opportunity, taking place when we weren’t there with our kids (we’re well known in our small community due to having so many kids & it is fairly easy to know when we’re there & when we’re not).
My best advice is to not be an easy target. We added several security measures to our property, including a professional security system, & have had no issues since (knock on wood!).
Jessica
My advice is to get to CR & spend time in each place. They are in totally different areas of Costa Rica with different landscapes. Yes, both are hot beach areas but one is in a seriously dry area of CR & one is in a seriously wet area of CR. You need to spend some rainy season time in Manuel Antonio to decide if it is for you. Both places are tourist “traps” so you’ll really need to decide if you want to live in the midst of it. I’m about 40 minutes north of Manuel Antonio – I love living NEAR it but certainly don’t want to live there with tourists around 24/7/365. You also need to do some research on the ease (or lack of ease, more accurately) of doing business in CR.
Jessica
I am self-employed as a medical transcriptionist. Have you talked to your company in detail about moving abroad? As long as you keep a US bank account, they can direct deposit your pay. They won’t be operating within CR & you aren’t going to be a CR citizen so it isn’t like they will incur business tax liability in CR. As long as you are using HIPAA-compliant software to work, it seems you have an argument in favor of your ability to work abroad. I mean, seriously, look at how much medical transcription has been outsourced to India, Philippines, etc! Why wouldn’t they consider long-term employment of a US citizen who happens to live abroad? I wish I could point you to another company, but my business has stayed away from coding & focused solely on transcription so I really have no contacts. I think the MT Stars Forum has a coding section where you could pose your question. Or, maybe you should do what I did & get your own clients? 🙂
Jessica
I discussed this recently with an attorney friend who is Tico. He was unsure of how the permitting process would go with the food truck concept, both within the Muni & with the Ministerio de Salud. We owned a restaurant in CR previously so are familiar with what would be needed for a set location, but not for something like a food truck that would potentially be all over the place. We’re also permanent residents so are legal to work…I cannot see how the food truck concept would work for someone not legally able to work in CR. You’d have to put a tremendous amount of trust into employees, & by having employees your operating costs will increase exponentially.
Just my opinion, nothing more.
🙂 Jessica
I think there is also a basic letter that states your request (status change from temporary to permanent resident) that you need to submit along with the documents that costaricafinca outlined. We used an ARCR-affiliated attorney to handle our status change from rentista to permanent residents (though we lined her up on our own, not through ARCR). When she was setting up the packet to bring to Immigration, she plugged in our info & then printed off the letter to include. We applied back in 2009, though, so perhaps this is no longer required? The ARCR forum does have up-to-date threads on what you need to do.
Jessica
We pay ours online with our BCR account.
Just keep in mind that you have to pay during CAJA’s business hours for some reason. You cannot process the payment at night or on weekends (at least that has been our experience).
Jessica
It sounds like you need to make a few exploratory trips. The country is very diverse & only you can decide what area is best. Some of us are beach people, some are mountain people…& you don’t want to decide the area you’ve bought in is actually not for you after the fact, because it can take a long time to sell in CR if you expect to recoup your investment.
Jessica
I am back & forth between Costa Rica & Florida a lot, so I hear the excitement in tourists’ voices on the flight to CR & I hear all kinds of stories on the way back to FL. Of course it is just anecdotal evidence, but a lot of feedback on flights seems to be an issue of perception versus reality. A few issues that seem to pop up again & again are: 1) Costa Rica is still perceived to be a “cheap” tourist destination & people are surprised, disappointed, or downright angry when they’re spending twice what they expected; 2) Costa Rica is perceived to be an environmentally conscious country & people are surprised, disappointed, or angry when they see the extent of litter along highways & at beaches; 3) Costa Rica is perceived to be a country full of friendly people that love tourists & people are surprised, angry, or disappointed when they feel they’ve been taken advantage of or experience theft while on vacation.
I’d argue these are problems any country visited by tourists may face, but I’ve heard many a person state emphatically that they won’t ever visit CR again after experiencing one of the above things. My cousin & his family came to visit us last year & #1 would probably keep them from returning (even having stayed most of the trip with us, saving big $$ on accommodations).
Anyways, just my opinion, for what it’s worth 🙂
Jessica
My home is at a very small beach in the Central Pacific. There are 2 hotels – one stays relatively busy with Ticos during high season, while the other is almost always empty year round. There are two gated communities at our beach with a large number of rental homes. I own in one of these communities. My neighborhood stays relatively busy with renters, even during the low season. So, based on what I see in my own neighborhood, I’d say that a huge issue for many hotel owners is the number of condos & homes offered as vacation rentals for comparable (or cheaper) prices. At the same time, most of the homeowners are not reporting income or paying taxes whereas the hotels are on the hook for it. I can only imagine the dent my neighbors have put in the business of the two hotels at our beach by offering their homes for rent.
Jessica
If a legal resident wants to drop CAJA without repercussions, you have to formally renounce your residency status by filing with Migracion, then wait for it to be approved (similar process to applying for residency). Once you have the resolution where your residency is cancelled, you can legally unsubscribe from CAJA. Until then, you are liable for whatever CAJA payment accumulates monthly & penalties if you are behind on payments. Once you have the resolution that confirms your residency status is cancelled, you can apply to have a refund of the money you had to deposit that would buy your ticket back home if you were ever expelled from the country. If you are not up to date on your CAJA premiums, my understanding is that you can be denied re-entry to Costa Rica until the premiums are paid in full.
I have a friend going through the process right now. I don’t think it is a quick process.
The CAJA amounts I posted are for new enrollees at this point. We joined CAJA on our own, not through a group plan, & are permanent residents. Our monthly payment is just a little under what the “new” amounts are for permanent residents. However, we’ve seen some pretty hefty increases the last 2 years that occurred in January so I’m expecting another increase in January 2015 that might bring us in line with the “new” premiums.
Jessica
