Thursday, July 19, 2018

No More Visa/Border Runs!!! - Our Life in Costa Rica Yr #3

Congratulations Devon!!!
As per mentioned before, to avoid your Visa Stamp to expire we have filed your application for residency with the Immigration Department in Costa Rica. Attached please find a copy of your application receipt. Please print it and carry it with a copy of your passport. For your passport, you should  carry a copy of the ID page and the entry stamp. 

Today I received my Numero de Expediente! I no longer have to leave the country every 90 days!! It took about 60 days for me to receive my number (partly due to a delay with my birth certificate) but I did not do any collecting of documents myself instead I signed over power of attorney to my lawyers at Outlier Legal. I did not even have to go to Migración to pick up my number today. It was emailed to me. At this point my papers have been sent for approval and the next step will be to receive my Cédula (which is like a Green Card). 


I have included some important facts about the traveling to Costa Rica as a tourist and Costa Rica Residency laws below.

*Note - This information was taken from the Costa Rica Law website. Please click on the link for more detailed information. There are several other sites available for your use and I have not used their services.

If you were granted a 90 day visa this is the maximum stay allowed by law. If you want to stay in Costa Rica longer then you have leave the country and then come back in to get another 90 days. If you were given a 30 day visa then you can renew that in Costa Rica up to the maximum of 90 days. The amount of time that a Tourist can remain in Costa Rica is based upon their country of origin as follows: 
NO VISA REQUIRED. MAY STAY UP TO 90 DAYS. Those countries designated as No Visa countries may enter Costa Rica without an entry Visa and may remain in Costa Rica for up to 90 days. 
Example: United States, Canada, European Union, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Panama, Russian Federation, Denmark, Finland, Japan.
Please pay attention to this next point - Some people are under the impression that you must carry your passport with you at all times! That's a dangerous thing to do because the last thing you want to do is lose or heaven forbid...have your passport stolen --

Your Passport Entry Stamp: While you are in Costa Rica your passport and the immigration stamp that was placed in it when you entered the country is your proof of legal status. The Immigration Department allows you to carry a copy of your passport with the entry stamp so that you can keep your passport in a safe place.

WHAT ARE THE IMMIGRATION RESIDENCY CATEGORIES 
The Immigration Law breaks down the residency categories available under three subsections. The first one is Permanent Residency (Article 77-78) the second is Temporary Residency (Article 79-86) and the final category is defined as Specialized Categories (Article 93-97). The most common initial classification for all initial applicants will be that of Temporary Residents. As such I will start explaining that category for you.
TEMPORARY RESIDENCY:
The majority of application for Costa Rican residency will fall into the Temporary Residency category which is regulated by Article 79 of the Immigration Law and has the following subcategories: 
(1) The Spouse of a Costa Rican citizen as set forth in Article 73 of the law.
(2) Those of religious orders for religions that have been accredited by the Ministry of Foreign Relations and Culture
(3) Executives, Managers, Technical Personnel for Corporations which are established in the country. This may also include those specialized workers that are independent workers but whose technical expertise is required and the Department of Immigration as set forth the criteria to allow that specialty to work in Costa Rica.
(4) Investors
(5) Scientific, Professional and Specialized persons.
(6) Sports figures recognized by the National Council on Sports and Recreation
(7) International Press Correspondents
(8) Rentistas
(9) Pensionados 
Within the Temporary Residency category the most common categories that we process are Pensionados, Rentistas and Inversionistas. If you are planning to retire in Costa Rica and you have a lifetime pension or you receive investment income then you may qualify for either PENSIONADO RESIDENCY or RENTISTA RESIDENCY. If you decide to purchase property or invest in Costa Rican then you may qualify for the INVERSIONISTA.

For more info you can check out their website at Costa Rica Law
That's it for today - I'll catch ya later - time for me to change the date of our flight to Ft Lauderdale which was scheduled for 7/31 (my next visa exit date). Now, I have the option to go back to the states only when I decide I want to go! 

Oh Happy Day!!!
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

No comments:

Post a Comment