As the old saying goes, you don’t get to choose your family. Only your friends. And your pets. One of the perks of moving to Costa Rica is distance from certain family – or ex-family - you just as soon never see again. Good friends on the other hand will be difficult separate from. But the beloved pets? They get to come along. Based on the frequency and intensity of questions to residency ex...

A small religious cult calling themselves “Carbon Nation” have now been thrown out of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and on December 5th, out of Panama, for endangering and threatening the national security of those three countries. They were most recently operating in San Carlos province, in western Panama, 75 kilometers from Panama City. Their Carbon Nation leader Eligio Lee Bishop was arrested – he cal...

When we reached out to residency specialist Laura B. Gutiérrez of Immigration Help CR, she told us there is often confusion about children of ex-pats in Costa Rica and the need for them to have residency. While strictly optional for any dependent child under age 18, it is advisable for them to apply for and obtain residency at the same time as the parents. The procedures and required documentat...

A reform to the Immigration Control Regulation, promoted by the Costa Rican Promotion Investment Agency (CINDE), the Ministry of Foreign Trade (Comex),together with the General Direction of Immigration, will allow foreigners, who are in the process of approval of residence procedures, the opportunity to work while the application is being resolved. Decree No. 41890-MGP represents a huge advance...

Costa Rican Immigration Police (Policia Profesional de Migracion) reported the death of an American by the last name of Hall, on Saturday, allegedly by suicide, while in custody for being out of status with his documents to legally be in Costa Rica. Hall was found deceased in his cell early Saturday morning, in the immigration prison located in Los Lagos de Heredia. He had been picked up in Jaco t...

A significant number of ex-pats have lived in Costa Rica for many years. But for various reasons, they have put off getting their residency. Others have just arrived or will be very soon. For some, here is the big, save-a-buck question: Can I apply for Costa Rica Residency on my own? The short answer is yes. But likely not a very good idea. It is similar to filling out your tax returns. Most...

Costa Rica Residency for Expats 101: Most Costa Rica residency applicants start off surfing the net for any articles they can find on the subject, particularly on Google where most of the results stem from sites with paid ads. Once devouring that information, some, unfortunately, think it safe to go it alone. If they speak Spanish, they currently have a 20% chance of success accompanied by off ...

To run or not to run that is the question: Border Running is the practice of traveling to either the Panama or Nicaragua border for the sole purpose of obtaining a new 90 visa stamp on one's passport as an economical alternative to returning to one's home country for the same reason. In and out and back to Costa Rica within 60 – 90 minutes. (Those who specifically go to shop for cheap goods, mu...

This past spring, there was a lot of anxiety swirling about the ex-pat community in Costa Rica over vaccines in relation to residency in Costa Rica. It all started with an article in a major Spanish national news outlet and echoed into other minor publications and blogs. The Costa Rica Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Salud) and Ministry of Immigration (General de Migración y Extranjería – DGMIE)...

Director of the Professional Migration Police, Stephen Madden, announced on July 31st the capture and detention of “Mama Africa”, an accused notorious human trafficker, allegedly responsible for smuggling 249 people this year alone through Costa Rica, en route to the USA. She was in possession of 14 passports belonging to citizens of Cameroon, Ghana and other African nations. She was also holding ...

By John McPhaul President Donald Trump has declared that the United States has an emergency on its southern border. In response to the emergency, one of the president's tactics has been to cut off humanitarian and development assistance to the so-called northern triangle -- Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador -- alleging that the counties have done nothing to with the assistance to stem the ...

When foreigners consider moving to Costa Rica or buying a vacation home in this paradise, they many times choose a beach community to enjoy everything that living in a warm tropical country has to offer. Costa Rica has coasts on both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, with miles and miles of beautiful beaches to explore, however, there are a few that have become favourites among expats, one of th...

An article published recently by the New York Times titled ¨23,000 Nicaraguans Have Fled to Costa Rica. 50 Fugitives Are Hiding Here¨  caused Costa Rican authorities to investigate whether there is indeed a safe house in the country where Nicaraguans might be hiding. According to the article some 50 fugitives live in a modest three-bedroom ranch home in the Costa Rican countryside. The crisi...

International Living published their 2019 Global Retirement Index, which scores the world´s top 25 retirement destinations across 13 categories, including, including cost of living, governance, retiree benefits, climate and healthcare, among many other aspects that are important for those looking for a place to retire. ¨This yearly Index examines safe, good-value destinations beyond the U.S. or...

Over the years Costa Rica has become one of the main expat havens in Latin America, the country possesses specific characteristics that make it attractive for foreigners who are looking for a peaceful place to live where they can enjoy the tropical weather and the benefits of living surrounded by raw nature while at the same time enjoying a comfortable life with access to modern-day amenities. ...

The number of Nicaraguans requesting asylum and migrating to Costa Rica shows a considerable decrease since September. June and July this year registered the highest numbers of refugee requests, however, according to Raquel Vargas, director of the General Directorate of Migration, the number of requests received in September was only of a 50% in comparison to the month of August, “During the mo...

The Judiciary Investigative Police (OIJ) informed that foreigners who lose their Costa Rican identification document no longer have to file the report with OIJ in order to get a new one issued, instead, they only need to make the request in the Migration offices. Up until recently any foreigner who lost their Costa Rican ID first had to file a report with OIJ, sign a sworn statement with a nota...

In 1977 a Law took effect named Ley Sobre la Zona Marítimo Terrestre or Law about the Maritime Terrestrial Zone, with the purpose of regulating all those areas located in front of the beach all over the country as well as other relevant areas such as islands, mangroves and estuaries. The beach areas of Costa Rica have gained a high value in recent years, due in large part to the attraction they ha...

The Costa Rican child that was found abandoned in Luckerville, Arizona in June this year, is now back with his mother thanks to the assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in coordination with the Children’s Welfare Agency and other national and international institutions. “Migration authorities of the United States delivered the child to his mother after spending two months in a shelte...

The Migratory (Immigration) Police carried out operations with the collaboration of the Public Police Force in different areas of the country to detect the presence of immigrants who remain in the country illegally. According to the General Directorate of Migration another operation was carried out last Friday in 21 locations within the country. The areas of importance were communities with a h...

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees will extend the technical and financial cooperation it gives to the General Directorate of Migration in Costa Rica with the objective of strengthening the attention to the public in response to the increase in the number of asylum requests. Raquel Vargas, Director of Migration, explained that this donation is the result of efforts made by the Co...

Thirty public institutions and seven international organisms have worked in a coordinated manner to present a protocol for mixed migratory flows in Costa Rica. The Comprehensive Plan for the Attention of Migratory Flows contemplates a series of actions to offer an efficient response to the migratory flows that enter and/or stay in the country. “Even though in Costa Rica we have precedents of...

President of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado, spoke today regarding the protests and acts of aggression which occurred on Saturday in San Jose against Nicaraguans in the country. “Costa Rica is known to be a country of peace that respects the rights of others. The majority of the immigrants that arrive to Costa Rica are good people who are looking for job opportunities and different forms to contri...

Costa Rica’s Minister of Public Security, Michael Soto, confirmed the detention of a total 44 people, 38 Costa Ricans and 6 Nicaraguans, many of them with criminal records, during the protests in San Jose, this Saturday, August 18. A group of Costa Ricans organized the event to protest against the presence of Nicaraguans in La Merced Park and other areas of San Jose, the protest was organized ...

The Costa Rica Public Police Force (Fuerza Pública) had to intervene in riots this Saturday afternoon in the center of San Jose, more specifically in the La Merced Park and surrounding areas, after what began as a pacific protest ended up in acts of violence. A group of Costa Ricans organized the event to protest against the presence of Nicaraguans in La Merced Park and other areas of San Jose....

*Image for illustration purposes only La Merced Park (Parque La Merced) in downtown San Jose, Costa Rica has been known for many years as a place of gathering of Nicaraguans in the country; in the past few weeks, the number of Nicaraguans in this park has increased considerably, as have the number of street vendors in the center of San Jose, according to the Municipal Police; reports were rece...

In the past three months the Ministry of Public Security, Border Police and Migration Police have rejected over one thousand Nicaraguan nationals that have attempted to enter Costa Rica illegally, while they have detected at least 20 cases of people smuggling. “The Government of Costa Rica is working persistently in coordinated actions to guarantee national security in reason of the crisis in ...

The General Directorate of Migration in Costa Rica will be renting a new building near the current headquarters in La Uruca with the purpose of giving service to the increasing number of people requesting refugee status in the country, the majority of them Nicaraguan natives. According to recent information released by Migration authorities, since April close to 8 thousand asylum claims have be...

The Development Center of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) presented the report “How Immigrants Contribute to Costa Rica’s Economy”, which provides new insights and analysis of immigrant workers’ contribution in three areas of Costa Rica’s economy: labor markets, economic growth and public finance. “Costa Rica is one...

Epsy Campbell, Vice-President of Costa Rica and Minister of Foreign Affairs announced today that Costa Rica has opened two shelters for the assistance of Nicaraguans that are fleeing this country as a result of the violence and social-economic crisis. One of the shelters is in the North Zone close to the Nicaraguan frontier and the other one is in the South Zone in Golfito, since according to C...

The General Directorate of Migration in Costa Rica announced that as of this Wednesday, June 18 it will make available the phone number 1311 to offer appointments for refugee applications. The call center service will be available from Monday through Sunday from 7 a.m. through 10 p.m. and to access it calls must be made through a Kolbi line at a cost of $3 per minute. The caller can make all ne...

The General Directorate of Migration in Costa Rica will be extending the length of tourist Visas to Nicaraguan citizens from three to  six months with the purpose of giving them additional time to remain in Costa Rica legally considering the critical situation affecting Nicaragua. Raquel Vargas, director of Migration said, that the extension from three to six months for tourist Visas to Nicarag...

Playas del Coco in Guanacaste, Costa Rica is one of the oldest beach communities in the country, many expats live here and many more are considering making this location their permanent home. Every year many foreigners choose Costa Rica to start a new life, the country’s closeness to the United States and Canada, its weather, political, social and economic stability, and many natural attraction...

The morning Monday, July 2, officers of Management Investigation of the Professional Migratory Police arrested a Costa Rican woman during a search in the area of Getsemani, Heredia, as the main suspect of human smuggling ring through the forging of documents. The woman's last name Benavides De la O, forged different documents such as bank statements, municipal permits, social security orders, w...

Blue Zones are geographic areas with high concentrations of individuals over 100 years of age and were people generally get to an advance age without experiencing health problems like obesity, heart disease, cancer or diabetes; one of the few blue zones around the world is found in Costa Rica, more specifically in the Nicoya Peninsula. According to recent data by the Ministry of Health, there a...

A group of U.S. citizens living in Costa Rica, gathered in front of the US embassy this Saturday to manifest against Trump’s immigration policies. Chanting “What is democracy? Resisting is Democracy!” and “We are ashamed!” while holding signs with messages like “Liberty for children in the boarder”, “No to families’ separation”, “They are refugees, please help them”, “Stop tearing families apar...

The morning Monday June 25th, the offices of the General Directorate of Migration in Costa Rica were abnormally crowded by Nicaraguans waiting to request refuge status. The government insists that the majority of the requests are coming from Nicaraguans that already reside in Costa Rica, however, the number of requests this Monday was of over 1,200 by 10 a.m., exceeding the normal average of 10...

Migration Police in Costa Rica intercepted a bus aboard which were 80 Nicaraguans with irregular migratory status. The bus was detained close to the Juan Santamaria Airport in Alajuela and apparently it departed from La Cruz in Guanacaste. Migration Police checked the identities of each of the Nicaraguan natives; their situation will be clarified on Monday by the General Directorate of Migra...

The six-year old Costa Rican child that was found Tuesday afternoon abandoned and alone in Luckerville, Arizona near the border, will remain in the custody of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the information was released by the Ministry of Public Affairs in Costa Rica. Mabel Segura, General Consul to Costa Rica in Los Angeles and Carmen Bermudez, Honorary Consul in Arizona, agr...

The Consulate of Costa Rica in Los Angeles is handling in coordination with the United States authorities, the case of a Costa Rican minor who was found on Tuesday afternoon at the Arizona desert. "The six year old child, was rescued by migratory agents of the United States in Luckeville, Arizona, just north of the frontier", stated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release. Accordi...