Costa Rica Moving Towards Recognizing Migratory Rights of Same Sex Couples. On November 20th, 2018, the Immigration Department (DGME) issued and submitted for public opinion a draft legislation titled “REGULATION FOR THE RECOGNITION OF MIGRATORY RIGHTS TO COUPLES OF THE SAME SEX”. The draft, which in summary states that same-sex couples holding a valid foreign marriage or
As a quick update to the imposition of penalties for overstaying in Costa Rica, it seems that a new moratorium has been decreed. Whilst it had been announced that starting November 01, 2018, tourists with expired entry stamps, temporary residence or special category visa holders with an expired DIMEX and foreign nationals who have been
Earlier this year the Immigration Department announced their intention to impose penalties for overstaying in Costa Rica, however, they postponed the implementation of the fines due to difficulties processing the payments. Nonetheless, a moratorium was issued soon thereafter, standstill that will be officially lifted on November 01, 2018. On October 22, Immigration even launched a
I am on the road and I see a Costa Rican police car with the flag of China on it, and I wonder: is Costa Rica really independent? Last weekend (September 15th) Costa Rica celebrated 197th years of independence from Spain while at the same time early this month La Nacion newspaper announced that population
Unfortunately, and as it happens, there is a lot of “fake news” regarding the minimum amount of time required to remain in Costa Rica to keep the residency. People generally ask “Am I required to be in Costa Rica for at least four months?” I wish that other firms providing immigration services would dedicate a
Just recently Thomas (an immigration client) asked me how he can receive his pension from the US in Costa Rica. I remember seeing brochures at the BCR branches offering the service to receive a direct deposit from the Social Security Administration into a BCR account. He said that people had told him that Banco Nacional
Starting September 26, the Immigration Department (DGME) will implement a pilot plan at the national level that consists of systematizing the Entry and Exit Card (TIE), improving the current entry and exit process. We are moving from the use of a physical Entry and Exit Card (TIE) to a digital migratory control system. Currently, a
Obtaining residency in Costa Rica is difficult and costly. There are a lot of documents required to obtain residency which also cost money; the processing time is lengthy and it can become frustrating, and the costs are high when you add up the government fees, legal fees and expenses. So, try not to lose your
Some immigration categories are widely unknown for most folks. Mostly, people focus in just a few categories such as the marriage, parent, pensionado, rentista and investor while there are over thirty different categories available. Naturally, these categories are very popular because most the information that you find on line is about them. The lay person
There is a new issue we have come across. According to Immigration Regulations, a requirement to be eligible for residency is to have a clear criminal record for the past ten years. Therefore, people who have been convicted of a crime committed more than ten years ago are eligible for residency, provided they comply with
