An excellent overview of the notable successes but also the serious challenges facing Costa Rica. I feel that the incredible levels of bureaucracy and red tape are serious obstacles to investment and business development for the country and this has become a greater problem than ever in recent years.
Hi. Thank you for your comment. I agree with your view on bureaucracy. I thought this new government was focused on reducing red tape and making it easier for small business to function but I have not seen that implemented into practice.
Hello sir, If i purchase a Lot and build a house on it totaling just a little over 150k so i can apply for the investor real estate residency but i have no monthly income just a large amount of savings until i figure out my strategy for income do i qualify or do i need proof of income already? Plus i would love to contribute to the caja.
Hi. Yes. Any investment in real estate of US$150,000 will qualify you for investor residency. With that category you do not have to show any monthly income just the fact that you made the investment.
Great video... we've been here three years and are finding our groove here in Peréz Zeledón. One bone to pick, though. The bureacracy in Costa Rica is epic. Comical, if you have a sense of humour and all the time in the world. Not so funny if you really need something done today or even this week.
Thanks for the excellent and concise discussion. One question I have for you or Juan is this: in the U.s., when one submits a substantial claim under auto insurance or home insurance, it's typical to see an increase in rates for subsequent years because the covered party is now considered a higher risk. Is that the case in C.R.?
I've owned a beachfront property in Guanacaste for 16 years. Without homeowners insurance. Instead, I merely created a self administered fund to cover repairs, appliances etc. And, eliminated the middle man. Anyone who has ever initiated a insurance claim, will have a shocking experience.
That was great info Roger and this is why I like to get residency so I can get onto a medical plan. Question I have is if a non resident buys a car could he get auto coverage ? Thanks
Hi Thank you for your feedback. That is a great question about auto insurance for non-residents. I just ran the question by Juan the insurance agent and he indicates that on auto insurance you do not need to have residency. You can insure the vehicle with your passport information.
Thanks for the video .. I am your neighbor for 16 years from New Mexico .. Retired builder living in La Castilla looking down on lake Cachi .. everything you said checked all the boxes for me as well … Take care neighbor 😊
When visiting as a tourist, I've heard stories about large upfront costs before you can be treated. Is there a medical travel insurance you can get that would not require the large upfront payment?
Hi Richard. Thank you for watching and commenting. In private hospitals they are going to want you put down a credit card to cover any treatment as part of the admission process. During that admission process they will also ask if you have any insurance coverage. If you don't have insurance then they will block enough funds on your credit card to cover what they estimate will be the cost of treatment. If the card is not sufficient they will require a cash deposit to their bank account. You can purchase international travel insurance policies or purchase from local Costa Rican insurance companies and the hospital will contact those insurance companies during admission to determine if they will cover your hospitalization.
well, he has the money to buy properties in Costa Ria, a very expensive country, the 3rd most expensive country in LATM. If you have money, everything is beutifull in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica is not a cheap retirement destination and as John pointed out it really depends on which part of the country you are living in. Properties in the Central Valley tend to be less expensive than in the coastal areas and the same applies for rentals. Thank you for watching and commenting.
Hi. Thank you for watching and commenting. Yes for Pensionado it does require a lifetime pension and you are correct they don't accept IRA it has to be a government, disability or private type of lifetime pension for this category. The other options are Rentista or Investor
Can i get a US birth certificate attested living currently in UAE. Can i do it by mailing my document to them as I’m currently not in the US are they gonna mail it back to me once its done?
If you are not in the US then you might want to hire a company in the US that can get your birth certificate for you and have it apostilled. There are several companies that offer that type of service. Here is one we have used in the past. www.onesourceprocess.com/
My family is from Cartago, and I went to visit CR last year. We drove to Orosi and then Cachi one weekend, very nice area. I don't live in CR, I miss being there though; I live in the Midwest
Hello. Thank you for watching and commenting and yes that drive around Orosi and Cachi is very scenic and relatively close trip from San Jose for those that want to explore the area.
To all my Canadian friends do not use the new office in Toronto to issue Apostille stamps. It is a new process in Canada and they are still working out the bugs .I am working with Andreina Bastos who has been very helpful. My original documents that I did in Toronto was rejected and Andreina recommended International Documents Canada in Ottawa who will do the documents and send them directly to Andreina.This new information is disheartened but this may be my last shot. Thanks for the update Roger.
To all my Canadian friends do not use the new office in Toronto to issue Apostille stamps. It is a new process in Canada and they are still working out the bugs .I am working with Andreina Bastos who has been very helpful. My original documents that I did in Toronto was rejected and Andreina recommended International Documents Canada in Ottawa who will do the documents and send them directly to Andreina.This new information is disheartened but this may be my last shot. Thanks for the update Roger.
Hi. You would need to contact local real estate brokers to find out if they have any listing in that price range in the specif areas where you are considering.
Hi Thank you for watching and commenting. This is certainly not a "'cheap destination"' and of course that depends on what part of the country you are looking at.
What is the odds of getting financing as an expat? Someone like myself can show a 7 figure portfolio but the majority of it is in stocks, precious metals, mutual funds etc and I'd prefer to not have to drop 250-300k in cash. I'd give anything to be able to leave the US tomorrow but nothing is ever that easy lol. One day soon though.
Hi John. Getting a mortgage loan in Costa Rica from a local bank requires that you have residency status in the country. Otherwise you option is to negotiate Seller financing or use a private mortgage lender but those interest rates can be pretty steep.
Hi thank you for watching and your question. It should not affect since switching from Temporary Residency to Permanent Residency will not require as much documentation as the one to file Temporary Residency for the first time. For new filers just pay close attention to the content of the Apostille and ensure that if there is any discrepancy between your name on you birth certificate and passport that this be explained away as well with an affadavit.
WOW - as usual, Costa Rica punishes those who want to immigrate LEGALLY, while turning a "blind eye" to ILLEGAL immigrants who enter, stay, and work without proper documentation. Guess the need for cheap labor, plus the lack of will to enforce their own borders, will continue as the status quo.
Hi Mary. Thank you for your comment. I think part of this change is to be able to close out many of the pending applications related to other categories. They issue is that categories such as Pensionado, Investor and Rentista which were declared by law as being of national interest get caught in the same sweep.
In theory if you filed before July 1st, 2024 and they find something in the file they don't like which is minor then they are supposed to give you a ten (10) period to cure any defect.
Hi Roger,I’m working on my residency application and when I went to get my documents apiostill at the government office in Toronto they refused because the seal (stamp) was not visible enough. I took the train into Toronto and walked the 2k to get this done so I wasn’t too happy,but what can you do. I went back to the layers office where he redid the stamp and will be going back into Toronto this coming week then mail them off to you. Thanks for all your help along the way.
Hi. Yes send me an email with the document to review it. With this new directive they are being very stringent with the fact that the apostille of the government document must be done of the signature of the government official that actually signed it.
@@CostaRicaLaw when I went there cost time I did show them the email how you said they want it. She looked at the email and went on about the seal not being visible enough. I will make sure that they read it again . Thanks Roger.
As always... great information! As I've always said about CR government and businesses... It's form over substance. We'll see how these new clarifications are actually implemented. You can rest assured they won't be consistently applied. :-)
Hi. Thank you for watching and your comments as well. Your observation about form versus substance is right on and the worst part is they didn't issue up front criteria on what they want to make it easier to adapt to what they are looking for.
Hi, I have been thinking about coming to Costa Rica for some time now. Possibly taking a trip this fall around September October to get a feel of the place. Check out the cost of everything how to transfer money etc et cetera. I wouldn't mind communicating with somebody who would give me a little insight. And tell me where to get started.Thank you Evan
Hi Evan. That is the great approach come down rent a place for that time frame. Those months are during our rainy season and it will be much easier to find accommodations at lower cost. I would just start by selecting an area of the country where you want to spend some time. If you are interested in Atenas and Central Valley area or, Guanacaste Beaches, Southern Zone, Caribbean side and then locate an Airbnb in those areas. You could also stay in one place for 2 weeks and then check out another one and so forth to see which area of the country you like. Also the Airbnb hosts will be able to give you tips about the areas where you will stay. For example I just checked Atenas on Airbnb for September and you have 12 different options starting at $85 a night and up.
really, too much red tape and i have only heard that one person was granted this and it would still take 2 yrs to get reimbursed for the import taxes on cars and goods...c.r. needs to streamline this stuff and much more...seems none of their computer systems are linked to coordinate things faster...
Hi Doug. There is no doubt that Costa Rica is one huge bureaucratic web when it comes to dealing with any government agency and Immigration (processing residency) and the Department of Revenue (processing tax exemptions) are no exception. The law was supposed to "fast track'' these applications. However, the word "'fast'' is not even part of the Costa Rica dialect so that has not occurred the way the law was intended. Also I would not expect any streamlining in the future since the exemptions law indicated that they would expire in 2026. The government wanted to stimulate the economy by attracting boomers/investors to recover from the economic impact of the pandemic but given the US decoupling from China the new focus in Costa Rica is on high tech manufacturing and medical device manufacturing and that investment has significantly grown. For example Johnson and Johnson is about to open a new medical devices manufacturing facility with 3,000 new jobs created locally. Thank you for commenting and your input which you have correctly pointed out.
Hi thank you for watching and your question. I don't have a longer version available but I am currently working on more expat interviews and addressing legal questions that we receive so hope to have those out shortly in long form.
I disagree regarding the two political parties. Yes, they collaborate frequently, but corruption was high those days. Multi parties, so to say, fix many of those issues that PLN and PUSC created. Excess of debt, corruption and poor infrastructure and more.
It is not required to do so and really depends on the property that you are purchasing. If you want to avoid any boundary issues and confirm that the size of the property is correct then it would be recommended.
Back in March, I purchased a home in the Santa Barbara Cantón of Heredia province. The home I purchased is approximately 1800 ft.² with a little over an acre of land, and the one in this video does not look nearly that size, and it also does not have a fence with razorwire around it. All of my neighbors, the closest one is a half mile away, own various types of agricultural farms or plantations. After all of the taxes and fees and everything that was involved, the total cost came to just under US$73,000. There might be more to the home and the property that comes with it than what is shown in the video but from that I would not pay $125,000 for that in Costa Rica since I’ve seen homes that looked a lot nicer, a lot bigger, And didn’t require protective fencing around them in areas of Costa Rica that I’ve been to. That would be an absolute steal in the US but not for similar price properties that I have personally seen in the rural parts away from the coast in Costa Rica.
Hi Thank you for watching the video and your comment and for sharing prices about your purchase. For those that dig deep there are certainly well priced opportunities in many different parts of the country.
it's the imposing of SOCIALISM Dude. That ALWAYS fails in spurring capitalism and migration into the "middle class". Services sector does NOT (generally) promote economic growth for employees - they stay low wage and only attract low skill job opportunities. LOTS of American companies have located MANY jobs for customer service (which is ALWAYS low wage for the most part). Draconian environmental laws & regs keep out factories, which are MAGENTS of high wage and middle class formation. < yawn > All that capital that China poured into CR between 2000 and 2010 was wasted by the political class; and CR government is ADDICTED to creation of DEBT.
Hi. Thank you for watching and commenting. Yes, with Costa Rica becoming so popular with U.S. and Canadians there are definitely creating expat hotspots.
@@lolfish-prime7009 Hi. Thank you for watching and commenting. To qualify for Investor residency you need to show US$150,000 in cash investment. The loan portion would be a liability that would not be included in the calculation
Hi. Thank you for pointing that out. You are correct that Costa Rica modified the tourist visa and it can now be granted for periods of up to 180 days. This makes it very easy to be able to explore the country to see if it is the right fit before making any major commitments.
