Alternative Lifestyle

[NICHOLAS JACKMAN]

Hi,
My partner and I in our 50’s are thinking of CR as an retirement destination.We visited 2 years ago on a tran-canal cruise.What is like for gays to live or be ex-pats in Costa Rica.We are both Hispanic,(Puerto Rican) low key and professionals,so well aware of the taboo’s.I have the u-tube of the couple who live there but was also looking for another perspective and resourse,thank you

[JASON HOLLAND]

Hi Nicholas,

Great question. Costa Rica is an accepting, tolerant place. Very live and let live. And a lot of gay and lesbian expats make their home here with no issues. Manuel Antonio, on the Central Pacific coast, especially has been known as a destination for gay travelers and expats for years. You are right most couples stay pretty low key though, as in many other Latin countries.

[JAMES ROSS]

I would like to start out by saying that I’m glad I joined CR Insider as there is so much useful information available. However one thing that is consistently lacking is information that would be especially useful for the LGBT community.

Case in point, I found the interview with attorney Rick Philps useful but one that made no attempt to address issues particular to me as a gay man. Mention is made of the cost of obtaining residency for a single person ($2250) and for a married couple ($3500 or so). Is this the government’s fee or the fee charges from both the government and from their law firm? The latter being the case, does their firm give this same rate to a gay couple? We are legally married in the US but accept the fact that the CR government does not recognize our marriage, but as a private firm, do they offer the same joint discount?

I have been in touch with Lic. Peterson in the past with a couple of questions and he has always been very prompt and eager to answer me. I would most definitely use this firm’s services when the times comes. I could ask him or Lic. Philps this question directly, but I believe that CR Insider should also address LGBT issues on a more consistent basis.

One of the reasons I stopped subscribing to IL Magazine was due to their lack of rarely if ever addressing these issues which are important to me. Typically, as an example, the joys and benefits of retiring to Belize are frequently touted, but not once is it mentioned that gay sex is subject to 10 years of inprisonment. They are not simply referring to public displays of behavior, but to being gay in general.

I’m not naive about gay rights in Latin America, but IL’s incomplete if not rare coverage of these issues which affect an undoubtedly present portion of their readership most often leaves me “out of the picture” as far as IL is concerned.

But as for CR Insider I intend on continually renewing my subscription because, in spite of the issues I’ve raised, there are obviously many other issues which also affect me, and they do a good job of covering these.

[JASON HOLLAND]

Hi James,

Thanks for posting.

As far as the fee charged to a gay couple, I would ask the particular law firm. But considering that the Costa Rica government would process the applications and grant residence individually and not with one person as the dependent, I would guess most law firms would change the individual rate. But, as I said, check with the law firm. The attorney fees usually do include the government fees, which, all together, run about $300.

[JASON HOLLAND]

Hi James,

I was reading some local publications and ran across this article about a recent rule change with the Costa Rican national health system, aka Caja. Apparently now those who have Caja can share their coverage with a same sex partner, just as people were previously allowed to do with spouses or other family members. I’m not sure that it would have an effect on foreigners applying for residency.

But I will keep an eye on this issue and also ask some of my sources for further info. You can see the article here:

Same Sex Partners Can Obtain Health Insurance in Costa Rica

[JASON HOLLAND]

Some further information on this issue:

My contact confirmed that Caja will start accepting applications from same sex couples, just as they do hetero couples. This will apply to both Costa Ricans and foreign residents.

One partner will submit their income to Caja, they will have their monthly payment (7-11%) based on that income, and the other partner will be covered under that same payment as the dependent.

For further help on this issue, or help when applying for residence, you can get in touch with the law firm of Petersen and Philps here: http://www.plawcr.com.

As far as accepting joint residence applications from same sex couples, that is still uncharted territory.

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