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[quote=”maravilla”]call the 900 number about 3 weeks before the expiration date. and yes, you can renew at BCR — you have to tell immigration which office you want the appt to be at. the whole process took less than 15 minutes when my husband renewed a few weeks ago.[/quote]
Many thanks for your input. I had heard that it would take more than a year, hence my early concern.
[quote=”bogino”]HAHA!!!! So see if there’s an answer to this:
I was born in Germany of German mother and American father. They were not married at the time. They married several years later so that for the 1st 3 or 4 years of my life I was a German citizen and then became a naturalized U.S. citizen after they married. I believe….if I wanted to….I could reclaim my German citizenship. I assume if I renounced my US citizenship for German that would not affect my US Social Security Benefits. So in that scenario if I retired to CR as a German citizen would my US Social Security benefits be taxable and if so by whom?[/quote]
I believe the US govt can charge you with tax evasion if you renounce your US citizenship in order to avoid paying income tax. I also believe that you cannot collect Social Security income if you live outside of the US and are not a US citizen.
[quote=”ticorealtor”][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?
Bob
San Ramon[/quote]Nope this is not true.. all you need is your passport and money. Then get your medical and blood. At my wifes family biz next to the place that you get your drivers lisc you pay there and take the exam. I understand that is the only one that you can do that. If you go to the others you will need to go to the bank to deposit the money and then take the recpt for prof.[/quote]
If you have an account with BCR, you can pay the license fee online and print out the proof to take to the renewal.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]The “Educación Vial, Departamento Matricula”, eh. What the heck is that? And where?
Please share your experience with the rest of us.[/quote]
We managed to renew my husband’s license today. Since we hate driving in SJ, we parked near La Sabana and hired a cab. The “Educación Vial, Departamento Matricula”, is about 500 meters south of the Hospital de Mujeres. About 300 meters south, there’s a fork in the road. To get to this place, stay to the left. After another 200 meters, or less, there’s a blue and white government-colored building on the right surrounded by a chain link fence, topped with razor wire. You can’t see a lot of the building but the color is pretty distinctive. Turn right onto this street. The gate is 50 meters up, on the left. It’s guarded and you need ID to enter. Take the walkway to the right and go to the farthest building. The signs say “matricula”, “control”, and “registro”, but not until you get to the building itself. We had 8 or 9 people in front of us in line. When it was our turn, we handed my husband’s driver’s license and his cédula to the clerk. I speak some Spanish, but I think one could manage without as the situation is self-explanatory. She did ask for a phone number and a physical address. She produced a print-out and stamped it, and we were on our way back to the renewal office minutes later. A staff-member recognized us from yesterday and pushed us up to the front of the line. Sweet! She was dressed as a cleaning lady, but seemed to run the joint. She also is the one who headed us off early in the process yesterday, so that we didn’t wait in line for hours only to be told that we had to go to the Educación Vial first. Customer service at its best.
His new license uses his cédula number instead of his passport number. Last week, I was looking at COSEVI’s website and it said that renewals were good for 5 years. Yesterday, I noticed that the site said the renewal was for 6 years. His renewal is good for the 6 years. I think this is something new. My license will expire in 2 1/2 years. I thought about trying to deal with the dual-number issue today, but decided to wait. Who knows what the process will be by then.[quote=”DavidCMurray”]The “Educación Vial, Departamento Matricula”, eh. What the heck is that? And where?
Please share your experience with the rest of us.[/quote]
Apparently, the Educación Vial is a branch of COSEVI. From the website, I gather that it is mostly a driver education agency. However, I guess that they have an office that merges ID numbers. Their offices are 500 meteros south of the Hospital de Mujeres on the road to Paso Ancho. I will tell you more after I have made the trip. This requirement will obviously be impacting more people than just my husband. ARCR offered to take us there for $35, but we think we can go it on our own.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]If you enter San Ramon from the autopista, you turn in at the mall, right? So continue into San Ramon on that street with the mall on your right. Go all the way through town (maybe eight blocks) until you get to a “T” intersection. You have to turn.
Turn right and immediately look for some guys waving you into their parking spots or their medical clinic where you can get your exam. If you need the exam, they’re there. Otherwise, drive past them a short block and you’ll go down a hill. It appears that you’re driving off the public road. There’s parking at the bottom and the MOPT building is on the left.
As I recall, you’ll need copies of the front and back of your existing license and your cedula or the picture page of your passport and the most recent entry stamp page. Might as well bring ’em along.
And you’ll have to go to BCR first and pay the renewal fee. Do that first, too, and bring the receipt (and maybe a copy of that, I dunno).
No appointment is needed, but I’d recommend that you not go at midday when some of the staff have gone to lunch.[/quote]
Excellent directions! Thanks much. We did, however, encounter an unexpected twist. My husband’s original CR license was issued using his passport number. Since then, he has received his cédula (hooray, hooray). We were told that we have to go to the Educación Vial, Departamento Matricula in order to have his driver’s license number converted from his passport number to his cédula number. Our task for tomorrow will be to go get the numbers straightened out and then proceed to renew the license which expires this Friday. My license is not expiring, but was also issued in my passport number. I will try to deal with those numbers while we are there anyway, but I will not be surprised if I am told to come back when the license is expiring.
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!
[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.
[quote=”pranaspakeywest”]Looking for input about what is available in Golfito.
We are building in Manuel Antonio, and have heard many times that Golfito is our best bet for getting the best prices on kitchen appliances, such as oven, stove, fridge etc.
Because it is rainy season, the trip down could be pretty rough going, so we are hoping that there is a way to know what is available, specifically as far a s brands and models.
Any way of knowing this? We won’t need the appliances for a couple of months, but we want to design our kitchen based on what we can get.
Are there “high end” brands such as Wolf ranges there for example.
One person told me that they believe that the same stores that we find here, or in San Jose, are represented in Golfito, and so we could shop one place, and by in Golfito.
Any input will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.[/quote]Here’s a good link to info about Golfito. We went down in Sept. There are some good deals on the same stuff you see in the local stores. This website includes phone numbers, so you can call the stores and inquire. Our trip to Golfito was an adventure and I will go again. http://www.depositodegolfito.com/
[quote=”watchdog”]The Costa Rica Legislature is supposedly considering the final changes to the Transit Law today. I don’t know if the safety equipment list is one of the items to be considered today, or not, but the fine for not having the specified safety equipment is currently suspended. Accordingly, I would wait until something definite is decided in that regard before purchasing any of the safety equipment items.[/quote]
Thanks for the advice/response. We have to go to RTV this month. Will they be looking for the safety item? I’m thinking not if the law is undefined? But I’m also thinking that I’m thinking like a gringo and not a Tico.[quote=”watchdog”][quote=”jdocop”]Does anyone know exactly what the new law requires us to carry (I’ve heard conflicting lists including, but not limited to: tools, reflectors, vest, fire extinguisher, first aid kit, etc., etc). in our vehicles, and where (outside the Central Valley, in Guanacaste) we can find the necessary items reasonably priced?[/quote]I would wait a few weeks before buying any of the “equipment list” items. The law is still under review by the Legislature and may not be in its final form until the final full week of March, just before the Easter Week. Fines are “on-hold” for these items during this period.[/quote]
Does anyone have an update on this? Our local hardware store is selling stuff that it claims are mandatory, but I heard that none of the equipment regulations made it into the final law. Don’t mind buying the stuff if I know what it is I need to have.
So, when these airline clerks indicate that residency would be the answer to my problems, they don’t really mean it? Or, more likely, airline clerks don’t know what they’re talking about and treatment is arbitrary depending upon the clerk and his/her understanding? We’re waiting on residency and I was hoping that it would solve the issue. I’ll be damned if I’m going to buy a useless return ticket when I’m a Costa Rican resident. Homeland security has got to be lurking behind every obstacle, or am I being over-paranoid again?
Spooky. I’ve heard the same story from other “legal residents”. They aren’t questioned. I’m always asked if I do have residency and then am told I have a problem because I don’t. What DO they know and how do they know it?
We came back from Ft Lauderdale yesterday without a return ticket. We were hassled about it by the airlines clerk, but we had a photo copy of our Costa Rican vehicle registration and told them we were planning to drive out. One clerk was ok with that explanation, but a second clerk was not. We prevailed and got home without the useless return ticket. This was Spirit. I was planning to buy refundable tickets if the vehicle registration didn’t work.
