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 the charts stress. If they don’t speak Spanish its practically a impossibility.

Some enterprising souls read that Costa Rica Residency can be applied for from any Costa Rican Embassy abroad. That is true. You may use that way and save yourself a $200 fee. However, again, doing so is ill-advised. Especially if you do not speak Spanish. Such applications enter a very underfunded, understaffed and chaotic Immigration Center in San Jose (there is only ONE) through the mailroom. (Assuming the paperwork actually arrives at all.)

Other applicants go by word of mouth from fellow ex-pats who had a good experience with a professional. Usually, such professionals have websites and should be vetted by the feeling one gets from perusing their sites and references. Such sites will indicate the professionals’ ability to communicate in a North American style, is easy to navigate, not too wordy, sticks to the subject of Immigration/Residency, and contains genuine testimonials (as opposed to the ambiguous Bob and Madge from Montana, or worse: J.H. – Grecia). The site should also include easy to find contact info. These are an excellent place to start the sorting-out-who-to-hire process. Then monitor how quick the service providers respond to your initial request for contact. Pay close attention to how the phone chat goes and how meticulous any subsequent emails are written. Spelling and grammar are huge indicators of communication dexterity. Ideally, the English used by the service provider was learned outside of Costa Rica.

Complex technical instructions require a lot of subtlety:

The most effective method of applying for Costa Rica residency is with the help of a professional IN Costa Rica who specializes only in Residency and Citizenship. Ideally, that individual should live in San Jose and personally bring your application into the Immigration Center where they submit it face to face to an Immigration Center staffer. Not by a messenger or 9-to-5 “legal assistant” assigned to your case by the law firm you send your money to. (Thats what happens 95% of the time)

Submissions correctly done involve documents handed over one at a time with a thorough review of each piece to ensure correctness and timeliness. (Some materials are declined if older than six months from date of issue). Any legal specialist who mails these applications in from outside of San Jose, do so through the same bottleneck and anonymity of the Immigration Center mailroom.

The Immigration Center: An accurate view:

The Immigration Center has never been customer-friendly or efficient. (For many expats it can be a literal nightmare) In the past two years, things have gotten much worse. The work atmosphere there is demoralizing with tyrannical managers lording it over an understaffed workforce. Residency Specialist Laura B. Gutierrez says that with few exceptions, she used to get her submitted applications approved on average from 3 to 7 months up to the end of 2017. Since then, it takes at least double that time. Government austerity measures have now resulted in empty cubicles once occupied by staff who were either let go, quit or retired and never replaced.

Following disastrous humanitarian and economic events in Nicaragua and Venezuela, the Immigration Center has been overwhelmed by refugee claimants. To honor an agreement with the U.N., Costa Rica is obligated to look at all refugee claims while on-site U.N. staff supervise to ensure fair treatment of all claimants.

Immigration was so overwhelmed that a 100-seat tent was erected in front of the refugee section. That overflow has been moved to an offsite building along with staff to attend to the never-ending parade. Ironically, most claimants will be denied. However, this adds significantly to the Center being bogged down. U.N. funds for additional staff and offsite accommodations have fallen far short of the intended goal to help maintain regular workflows for non-refugee applicants.

Ms. Gutiérrez, who is a regular visitor to the Center from her nearby office, says that 80% of all applications for residency are either incomplete, erroneous or fraudulent and are rejected. She explains that the caustic staff dreads going through so much defective paperwork. Ms. Gutiérrez has seen her share of lawyers, messengers, and individuals acting on their behalf fly into a murderous rage during heated exchanges with some obstinate staffer or reptilian manager refusing to budge over some discrepancy. Negotiation is not a strong suit of the Immigration Center. There are exceptions, and they are accommodating staffers if you appear before them professionally and calmly.

Ms. Gutiérrez also goes on to explain that when visitors to the Immigration Center show up dressed slovenly with dog-eared paperwork extracted from a battered backpack or binder, they do themselves no favors. The staff takes insult to such appearance and casual attitudes. Meticulous attention to detail, patient diplomacy, neat dress, grooming, and deportment are essentials when submitting residency applications (or expediting them past their approval due dates.) Beachwear is best reserved for the beach.

Once you hire a representative:

Following a thorough vetting exchange by phone or email, have a signed agreement between your service provider that spells out each participant’s responsibility, fees, and timelines. There is usually a retainer paid upfront. Best to do so by wire transfer, PayPal, or Credit Card to have a traceable transaction record. Be sure to obtain a receipt immediately following the transaction.

Service providers will then issue instructions about needed documents and required authentications. Those should include very detailed WHAT, WHERE, HOW directions. Depending on your initiative and the country or state of origin, this part of the process takes between 30 and 60 days. Applicants can also go online and find service providers in each country that will look after the document chase for them. Somewhat costly, but for the most part, well worth the investment in return for the convenience and lack of stress. Some countries such as Canada are more onerous to get documents from as they lack the much more convenient Apostille service of other countries.

Once an applicant has received the required documents, they scan and email those scans to the service provider who in turn either translates these into Spanish or forwards the scans onto an official Costa Rican government registered translator.

Translating needs to be done with prudence:

Just because a translator or law firm says they are bilingual and authorized to do translations, it does not assure accuracy. Mistakes are common and cause very lengthy delays, do-overs, or even rejections of the residency application. Spanish phraseology is often in reverse of English and has many words that do not directly translate. Don’t expect Immigration Staff to leap to “well… you know what it meant to say…” Precision is key.

Service providers also prepare all the needed application forms for both the Fingerprinting Center (Dactiloscopia) and the Immigration Center.

Applicants arrange for a mutually agreeable submissions date – taking care that such times are before any document expiry dates. (6 months from date of issue). They do not expire once submitted.

Before submissions, applicants must each pay the following government fees and obtain duplicate receipts:
1) $200 – Change of status fee
2) $50 – Application fee

On the day you meet up with your representative, translations are meticulously matched up to the original documents and application forms previously prepared by the representative along with the receipts from the above transactions.

The “date” begins at the Fingerprinting Center in San Jose (San Pedro) for a pre-booked appointment. (This can also be done ahead of time in Liberia). There, applicants are fingerprinted and have an Interpol check done on them. Fingerprinting staff will then produce a report which is added to the other documents and applications held by the service provider. That usually takes less than one hour per applicant. Then it is immediately off to the Immigration Center located on the opposite side of San Jose to submit the entire package. The submissions are usually completed by 10 – 11 AM depending on the type of application (I.E., Pensionado, Rentista, Investor or Vinculo) as well as the age of the applicants. Those over age 65, are given front-of-the-line preferential service.

The law provides that Immigration has 90 days before they must process applications. Due to the constraints described above, they are falling far short of that obligation. After the 90 days, your representative has the right to expedite your applications. However, the system is so bogged down, that it would be a pointless exercise before six months from the date of the submission. Moreover, the usual answers given at that time is, “Come back in two months.” It is challenging to know the efficacy of such expediting efforts, but, by the 10-month mark, things can begin to shake loose. This expediting requires excellent persistence and delicate diplomacy.

Once you are Approved:

When a Costa Rica Residency Application is finally approved, you will be required to sign up for CAJA (Costa Rica universal health care or CCSS). You must do so before obtaining your residency card. The service provider will guide applicants on the HOW, WHERE, and WHAT.

Following sign-up for CAJA, the service provider with then book an appointment with the nearest participating Correos de Costa Rica (Post Office) where the applicant will bring the residency approval (Resolución), proof of CAJA, and receipts for the following payments:

1) $98 – actual residency card
2) $300 – Guaranteed deposit.
3) $25 – Refugee fund.

Applicants will also have their photo taken for the residency card (Cedula/Dimex Card) and should groom themselves accordingly.

The Correos de Costa Rica will then send the digital photo and related documentation to the primary Immigration Center in San Jose. That package is processed, and the residency card printed and sent back to that same Correos de Costa Rica within 30 days. The applicant has 30 days to pick up the card IN PERSON with proper I.D.

Those Costa Rica residency cards (Cedula/Dimex) are good for two years of temporary residency. They need to be renewed every year following the initial two years. After three years, there are other residency options with fewer restrictions.

Once the Costa Rica residency card is issued, applicants are entitled to apply for a Costa Rica driver’s license , outward-bound tickets are no longer needed , the need to worry about those daunting border runs become history and as an added bonus you are allowed to enter Costa Rica through the much shorter “Citizens” line at the airport… amongst other significant benefits.

The Costa Rica Star would like to give a special thanks to Laura Gutiérrez from Immigration Help CR for allowing us to pick her brain during the process of the article.

If your in need of immigration assistance Laura can be reached by clicking here, toll free at 1-833-733-6337 or by sending a email to [email protected].