Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
A Will, validly drawn in the jurisdiction where it was drawn, would be recognized by the Courts in Costa Rica, after having been Probated in the jurisdiction where it was drawn, by way of an Application to the Costa Rica Courts known as “Letters Rogatory” (essentially asking the Costa Rica Courts to respect the Order of the Grant of Probate in the foreign Court and apply the Will to the passing of any assets located within Costa Rica accordingly). Having said that, the more expediente method to deal with assets in Costa Rica where a foreign Will exists, is to have a Will drawn in Costa Rica known as an “in situ” Will. This “in situ” Will would be subordinated to the foreign Will by making reference to the existence of the foreign Will by jurisdiction and date of execution and be limited in its scope to the passing of assets located within Costa Rica. An “in situ” Will is a much more expediente way to have an estate Probated as it relates to assets located within Costa Rica, by the Costa Rica Courts, rather than waiting to present an Application to have the Probate of a foreign Will recognized.
Note from Scott: ‘WatchDog’ is the username for my friend and attorney Richard (Rick) Philps who is a Canadian citizen, naturalized as a citizen of Costa Rica. Rick practiced law in Canada as a member of the Law Society of British Columbia, for fourteen years, prior to moving to Costa Rica in 1998. Mr. Philps the earned his Bachelor of Laws and Licensing Degrees (Civil Law), and a Post-Graduate Degree in Notary and Registry Law, from the Escuela Libre de Derecho University, in San Jose, is a member of the Costa Rica College of Lawyers, and has practiced law in Costa Rica for six years. Mr. Philps practices law in the areas of real estate and development, corporate, commercial, contract, immigration, and banking. To contact attorney Rick Philps and his associate attorney Roger Petersen, please use the Contact Form at the bottom of: https://www.welovecostarica.com/members/417.cfm
Theft and collision insurance coverage can only be obtained as a package from INS and not separately.
The mandatory third party liability insurance coverage included in the annual circulation certificate (marchamo)payment for the vehicle is only coverage for personal injuries and not property damage caused to third parties.
I would suggest obtaining the additional third party liability insurance coverage from INS, for both personal injury and property damage to third parties, go with the “LoJack” option (or similar) and forget the rest, as it is ridiculously expensive.
I’m a Canadian, naturalized as a Costa Rican and have lived in the western suburbs of San Jose for the past twelve years. I have never been mugged, physically threatened, or had anything stolen from my person, or my residence, while living in Costa Rica. I have made it a point to understand where the bad neighbourhoods are and to avoid them. In my opinion, downtown San Jose, like any major city, is an area to be avoided, especially at night. These are just common sense understandings that any prudent person would seek to have knowledge of regardless of the city or country lived in. Always be aware of your surroundings and don’t lay yourself open for a problem.
Although there is no specific language in either the Costa Rica Immigration Law, or the Regulations, the practise (Policy of Enforcement) has been for many years and continues to be, that if a party which has a Residency Application filed with the Costa Rica Immigration Department, carries the Immigration Department’s receipt for the filing of the Application (which includes the Application file (expediente) number) with their Passport, there will not be a requirement to leave Costa Rica to renew the Tourist Visa every 90 days, during the Residency Application period.
[quote=”2BNCR”]Finca, he said he was married in Febuary. This is before the new law went into effect. You are quoting the new law.
Watchdog – thanks for the great info. What if you devorce before 2 years? No citizenship?[/quote]
That is correct, no citizenship in that instance. You have to be married for at least two years and be married at the time of the Application to be Naturalized.
After two years of marriage to a Costa Rican Citizen, you are able to apply to be Naturalized as a Costa Rican Citizen. The process is commenced through the Naturalization Department located in the Civil Registry and is a much simpler procedure than Residency, although it takes about a year and one-half to complete. You will not require a lawyer to complete the procedure and there are no fees involved, only some legal stamps costing about $1.50. There will be some minor document authentication and translation costs.
You will be able to retain your US Citizenship and carry two passports. Once being granted Citizenship, you will receive a Cedula Card like any other Costa Rican Citizen, which only requires renewing once every ten years. You will even be able to vote in Costa Rica Elections.
My suggestion is that you skip the Residency process and proceed directly to be Natuaralized when eligible.If you are buying a used vehicle in Costa Rica, I would suggest that you deal with a dealership such ar Purdy Motors for Toyota vehicles, or Agencia Datsun for Nissan vehicles, where you will receive a limited time warranty for repairs. The only exception to this rule, would be if you are buying a one owner vehicle privately from a foreigner (American or Canadian), who can document the maintenance history to have been carried-out according to provisions of the Owner’s Manual. Ticos are notorious for not maintaining their vehicles and you are likely to wind-up with a “lemon” if you buy from one.
Regular maintenance of vehicles is even more crucial in Costa Rica than elsewhere, where the state of the roads and poor quality of gas and diesel products tends to “take its toll”.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.
Immersion is the best method to learn another language. Before I left Canada twelve years ago, I hired a Spanish Teacher (a Colombian Lady Lawyer married to a Canadian), on a one-on-one basis, five days a week, Monday to Friday, for two hours per day, followed by readings in Spanish and written exercises each day of approximately two more hours and questions the next day on what I had read and written. After about three months of this (limitng the conjugation of the verbs to the past, present, and future tenses and no conditional tenses), I had a reasonable understanding of basic Spanish and how to communicate.
After moving to Costa Rica, I subscribed to La Nacion, the most sophisticated daily newspaper in Costa Rica, which I religiously read each morning. This I do to this day, along with watching the local News on TV and it has helped immensely with the understanding of Spanish.
A perfect understanding of Spanish is not something that you will require in order to have a very happy and rewarding life in Costa Rica.
[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.
There are still Regulations to be published which will augment the new Immigration Law, and address these types of issues. In all likelihood, you will have to attend at the Immigration Department in San Jose, to request and pay for the 90 day extension of your Tourist Visa. Another issue surrounding this matter is how many times that you can seek such an extension in a row; once, twice, etc.? I don’t believe that anyone has the answer to these matters at the moment.
I believe that accessing the Airport to and from the new San Jose – Caldera Highway, will be more efficient via the Guacima exit and entrance in the future. I understand that that currently is unavailable for use, as MOPT has not completed the expropriation of the land necessary for Autopistas del Sol to complete the Guacima connection. I have heard that this should be ready for use by April, 2010.
[quote=”but999″]Does anyone know how long it should take to aquire a resident card once all the documents have been submitted. I am Canadian married to a Tica for 32 years. The process was started in Canada with the Consolate of Costa Rica, all the documents were authenticated in Costa Rica, Birth certificate, mariage certicate, criminal background check, fingerprints in CR, and submitted by a CR Attorney. The process is going on four years is this excessive.[/quote]
If you have been married to a Tica for 32 years, I would skip the Residency process all together and become a Naturalized Tico (only requires two years of marriage and registration of your marriage at the CR Civil Registry). The Naturalization process takes approximately two years following the Application (available at the Civil Registry, Naturalization Section) and costs practically nothing in fees (no Attorney required, only some legal stamps (timbres) on the documents). You will require a number of the same documents that you would require for a Residency Application and may be able to use some of the documents that you have, if they are not out of date for the Naturalization process. At the end, you will be a citizen of both Canada and Costa Rica, carrying a passport for each Country, and have all the rights of a citizen in each Country, including the right to vote in Costa Rica.
I am Canadian, a Naturalized Tico (marriage), an Attorney in each Country, and voted yesterday in the Costa Rica Elections.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]maravilla, I’m not opposed to being prepared, but some of what’s on the list is ridiculous. Included is a First Aid kit that’s truly laughable. I’m dying to see how many lives are saved with the kit’s primary contents — tongue depressors and acetaminophen. It would be a challenge to stabilize a hangnail with the trauma supplies that are included, especially for the untrained.
Too, I am opposed to luring anyone who’s not trained into fighting a gasoline fire with an undersized fire extinguisher. It’s a recipe for a very personal disaster.
If I want to sit by the roadside with a dead battery and no jumper cables, that ought to be my prerogative. This is the land of the free, no?
You are absolutely correct that the reflective triangles and vest are a great idea. Problem is, no one seems to actually use them.[/quote]
I believe that the correct state of affairs is that the changes to the Transit Law, involving mainly increases in fines, were put on-hold until a date in the month of March, 2010, including consideration of the expanded list of required safety equipment.
