As of Wed July 28th Costa Rica has registered a total 16,800 confirmed cases of Covid-19 out of which 4,050 have already recovered. 334 people are currently hospitalized and 75 of them remain in the intensive care unit. The number of deaths related to this virus has increased to 133 with over 110 deaths in July alone. The Costa Rican government announced the new measures that will be in place for...

On Saturday July 25th Costa Rica reached another record on the number of new confirmed cases of Covid-19 with 931. This brings the total to 14,600 since the pandemic reached the country at the beginning of March. 10,960 cases are active. A total of 98 patients have now died. Through July 1st, the country only registered 17 deaths related to the virus, which means that in just the past 24 days t...

On Thursday the National Emergency Commission (Comision Nacional de Emergencias, CNE), presented the latest status update and predictions for the growth of Coronavirus COVID-19 in Costa Rica. The predictions were described by some as worrisome, by others as catastrophic. The CNE predicts that if the virus continues to progress at the current rate, by mid-August the hospital capacity of the Cost...

On March 27, eleven days after the first confirmed COVID-19 case, the head of Public Security (Direccion General de Armamento Publica) temporarily suspended all psychological exams and practice tests for those wanting new gun permits. Citing concerns of COVID transmission, all in-person applications and renewals for gun permits are suspended until further notice. People seeking work as private ...

BAC Credomatic, Costa Rica’s largest private bank, announced this week that it is closing eleven of its outlets, canceling 187,000 customer credit cards, and laying off 373 of its employees. Many of BAC’s loyal clients have been contacted and told their credit cards will be cancelled within 60 days. Several other changes will be implemented in the coming months, apparently all due to the new law, ...

With a total of 5,836 confirmed cases of Covid-19 through July 8th and 25 deaths related to this virus, the number of cases continues to spike. The Costa Rican Government made new announcements in regards to the restart of the school year, reopening of borders and Tourists Visa Extensions. The Ministry of Education informed that schools won’t reopen for class until at least September, which mea...

Costa Rica is famous for its animal wildlife – but unaccustomed to seeing it in backyards and on small town roads. Experts think the current pandemic has meant fewer people out and about, causing less noise and traffic and making animals feel more comfortable to emerge, even in daylight. Security cameras, trap cameras and people’s cell phones have captured amazing sights. On February 15, a jagu...

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica People sufficiently frightened, lose their ability to think for themselves, and can become overwhelmed. So it is not just these constant changes to resumption of dates for travel and government services that stress us out. Tough decisions must be made about personal logistics in this intrusive state of fear and uncertainty. One foot on the gas. ...

During the press conference held this Thursday, July 2, the Ministry of Health in Costa Rica confirmed 270 new cases, which brings the total to 4,023. Daniel Salas, Minister of Health also confirmed the country has entered the phase of community transmission. Community transmission is when the transmission has reached a point where it is no longer possible to identify the source of origin of th...

The Ministry of Health confirmed the death of another Covid-19 patient this Tuesday June 3oth , an 89-year-old Costa Rican woman, living in San José. She had been diagnosed on June 22 and had remained hospitalized since June 25th. The deceased also suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure. The country also registered the highest number of new cases since the pandemic started with 190 and ...

This Saturday June 27th Costa Rica has registered two more deaths due to Covid-19 Coronavirus bringing the total to 14. During the morning hours the Ministry of Health confirmed the death of a 78 year-old woman, a Costa Rican citizen who lived in Guanacaste who had been hospitalized at the San Juan de Dios Hospital where she remained in the Intensive Care Unit since June 24, which is the same d...

The current health crisis has brought many changes in the life, economy, and routine of people, both in Costa Rica and around the world. It has also brought legal changes ranging from driving restrictions on certain days and hours of the week to the banning/limiting operation for bars, hotels, theaters and event centers, among many others. The Government and Congress have taken actions, some where...

After canceling the Phase 3 reopening of businesses this past weekend due to the important increase in cases of Covid-19. The Minister of Health, Daniel Salas, stated during the press conference this Monday that the reopening is tentatively scheduled for the upcoming weekend and that at the same time the use of face masks will be mandatory in some services and commerce. The legal instruction an...

University of Costa Rica Launches First Mechanical Ventilator Designed and Made in Costa Rica Doctors from the University of Costa Rica (UCR) have developed the first non-invasive ventilator for patients suffering from COVID-19. Called Fluxus Mask, the device is both a breathing machine and an isolation mask to stop the spread of the coronavirus. It was created out of a growing concern that COVID...

Costa Rica registered the highest number of new cases this Friday with 119 new cases. This situation forced the government to cancel the reopening of commerce that was planned for this weekend. “This puts us in a high risk of heading to an exponential curve, here we all have been doing our share to protect the health (of the population), to give the opportunity to people that can get seriously ...

Environmentalist Ulises Corrales Barrantes hiked into the forest on Saturday, June 13th, in search of seeds from a newly discovered tree in Reserva Dendrobates in Penas Blancas de San Ramon. His body was discovered on Tuesday morning by friends who had mounted a search party after he had not returned home. He was found face down in a ravine, his satchel and notebook at his side. The 39-year old...

The Ministry of Health of Costa Rica confirmed the 12th death in the country of a Covid-19 positive patient. The deceased is a 64-year-old woman resident of San Jose, who had been hospitalized for 70 days and remained in the Intensive Care Unit of the Hospital Mexico in La Uruca. The woman had several underlying conditions that made her a vulnerable patient, she had high blood pressure, diab...

The Ministry of Health in Costa Rica announced the evening of this Monday, June 8th death number 11 related to Covid-19. This time the deceased was a 26-year-old woman, Costa Rican and resident of Alajuela, who apparently did not present any symptoms and whose only risk factor was being asthmatic. The diagnose of Covid-19 was made postmortem. According to the information provided by the Mini...

The Ministry of Health registered 55 new cases of Covid-19 in Costa Rica this Sunday June 7th. This brings the total to 1,318 confirmed cases: 613 women and 705 men. 1021 are Costa Rican while 297 are foreigners. Out of the 1,318 cases, 704 people have already recovered. The number of deaths related to the virus remains at 10. There are currently 20 people hospitalized, 4 of them in intensiv...

Costa Rica’s Immigration Police (Policia Profesional de Migracion, PPM) have arrested a Swiss citizen by the name of Heinz Augsburguer for swindle and other nonviolent crimes – all while using the stolen identity of Polish citizen Grzegorz Bugaj. Augsburguer has been living in San Jose since 2014, under the assumed name of Bugaj, and has opened bank accounts, credit cards, created sociedades anoni...

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica The Pandemic situation has some of you intrepid types thinking about a more tranquil, warm, and safe country in which to live. As one who once immigrated abroad with a toddler in tow, I understand the burning need for realistic and meaningful information. Hopefully, this will help you move beyond dreams into action. Costa Rica boasts a very low...

In Costa Rica, the main asset for most people is still real estate (Property). Productive farms, raw land suitable for development, lots, houses, buildings, tourist buildings and similar are negotiated, developed, transferred, mortgaged, and given in trust on a daily basis. This in turn generates legal conflicts of all kinds: claims for breach of contracts, boundaries, access, unmatching cadaster ...

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica Well, no big surprise here, but never the less frustrating and stressful. The line in the sand just got moved again. The Department of Immigration has long been scheduled to open this coming Monday, May 18. But the news today is that the "Open to the public and legal representatives" date has now been moved way out to July 18. Obviously, anyo...

Through Friday, May 15, Costa Rica registered 13 new cases of Covid-19 for a total 843 confirmed cases, this number made up of by 384 women and 459 men, 712 Costa Rican and 131 foreigners. 542 people are already recovered and 12,260 have tested negative. On Friday May 15th the country registered the ninth death of a Covid-19 positive patient. This time the deceased is 58-year-old women who was...

In August 2018, Costa Rica’s Constitutional Court voted to legalize gay marriage, making Costa Rica the first country in Central America to recognize the right of same sex couples to marry. The ruling is supposed to take effect in ten days on May 26th, a deadline which brought members of the National Liberation Party (PLN) into a brief fist fight on Tuesday. Enrique Sanchez, Costa Rica’s first ...

A 75-year-old man that had tested positive for Covid-19 back on April 8th is the eighth registered death in the country due to Covid-19. The man was hospitalized on April 8th and was transferred to intensive care on April 14th, he had tested negative for the virus on May 7th but unfortunately died on May 13th. The Ministry of Health confirmed that in addition to his advanced age, had high blood...

James Allen Honer and his fiancée Bianca Mena Sibaja were well on their way to planning their dream wedding, when suddenly their family and friends stopped hearing from them. On May 3rd, their charred bodies were found by firemen putting out a fire on a nearby mango farm in Atenas, Alajuela. Honer (77), was an American retired lawyer, and Bianca (30), was a Tica student – a fantasy romance that...

As of May 11 Costa Rica has a total of 801 confirmed cases of Coronavirus, 277 of them are still active, 517 recovered, and 7 deceased. As the government continues to implement sanitary measures to prevent an uncontrolled global outbreak, it also announced changes for the sanitary restrictions that are in place. The Government of Costa Rica has announced the plan to gradually re-engage  economi...

The Ministry of Health in Costa Rica confirmed the death of another patient that had tested positive for Covid-19. This is the seventh death registered in the country. In this case the deceased is an 80 year old man who was hospitalized at the Enrique Baltodano Hospital in Liberia, Guanacaste on May 9th. The man was a foreigner who lived in Alajuela, he had underlying health conditions such as ...

The Government of Costa Rica will announce on Monday, May 11, the plan to gradually re-engage  economic activities and begin the road back to “normalcy”. “We will reopen economic activities subject to a strict surveillance of sanitary protocols. We will extend the vehicular restriction first. We will open for national tourism, hotels, national parks, commerce, restaurants, theaters and movie th...

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica Based on many recent communications from clients stuck outside or inside Costa Rica, it seems that the most common ailment out there is Cabin Fever. The #1 request is about the lifting of travel restrictions in or out of Costa Rica. It is interesting and very telling that those “stuck” in Costa Rica seem more comfortable with that situation than...

Two months have passed since the first case of Covid-19 was confirmed in Costa Rica. As of May 6th the country reports 761 confirmed cases out of which 428 have already recovered. 9,412 people have tested negative. Six patients have died and as of today 18 people are hospitalized out of which five are in the intensive care unit. Daniel Salas, Minister of Health, referred today to the strategy t...

The Ministry of Health confirmed during the daily press conference this Saturday, May 2, a total of 735 cases of Covi-19 positive patients. This number includes 351 women and 382 men, 657 are Costa Rican while 76 are foreigners. There are positive cases in 62 out of the 82 counties in the 7 provinces. By age there are 655 adults, 38 senior citizens and 40 minors A total 8,932 people have tes...

Through April 29 Costa Rica registers 713 confirmed cases of coronavirus, 340 women and 373 men; 642 are Costa Rican while 71 foreigners. The health authorities have discarded 8,980 people, while 323 have already recovered with Six having passed away. However, the number of Covid-19 positive patients of Costa Rican nationality that have died in the United States is of 16. The number was c...

As of Monday, April 27 the number of positive cases of Covid-19 in Costa Rica is 697 cases, that includes 334 women and 363 men, out of which 628 are Costa Rican and 69 are foreigners. 8,305 people have been discarded. The number of deaths in the country remains at 6. 16 people remain hospitalized 8 of them in intensive care with ages ranging between 45 and 87 years. The government also announ...

The Ministry of Health registered 686 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Costa Rica, the number includes 328 woman and 358 men, 619 are Costa Rican and 67 are foreigners, by age, 617 are adults, 35 are senior adults and 34 are minors. 8,032 people have tested negative, 196 are registered as recovered and 6 people have passed away. 13 patients remain hospitalized out of which 8 remain in intensive c...

The current times are unprecedented. The Coronavirus has impacted all areas of society, forcing new measures of social behavior such as isolation and distancing. Governments around the planet try to establish different measures to contain the disease, having to improvise in many cases. In all cases, the effect has been the same: the economy is suffering massive damage, causing a domino effect. In ...

The health authorities of Costa Rica announced today that the total of positive cases of Covid-19 in the country is up to 662 cases, only two new cases since Sunday. The total includes 317 women and 345 men, 606 Costa Rican and 56 foreigners. Unfortunately, a sixth patient passed away this Monday, the deceased was a 54 year-old man that had several underlying health conditions such as diabetes ...

The Minister of Health of Costa Rica confirmed a total 660 positive for Covid-19, 317 women and 343 men, 604 Costa Rican and 56 foreigners. Fourteen patients remain in intensive care. The death of a fifth patient was also informed the afternoon of this Sunday, April 19; the deceased was a 69-year-old Costa Rican man from San José who was diagnosed March 25 and remained in intensive care since Mar...

All corporations and limited liability companies in Costa Rica are required to have legal books. Corporations or SAs are required to have three books as follows: 1. General Assembly to keep the minutes of shareholder meetings, including all decisions to amend the original articles of incorporation by changing the corporate structure, legal address, raising capital stock, granting powers of attorne...