Residency Application

[DAVID RYLANDER]

It appears that your podcast with the immigration attorney, which was quite helpful, has been removed from CostaRicaInsider. The procedure for residency seems to be in constant change. I just discovered that documents are no longer authenticated by Costa Rica consulates in the United States. An apostille from the responsible Secretary of State is sufficient.

I have these questions regarding my application for residency. I’ve been legally and physically separated for some time and will be moving to Costa Rica by myself. Is an authenticated copy of my marriage certificate a required part of the application? Must the Police Certificate (background check) be authenticated? I’ve read that the United States Embassy in Costa Rica can certify my income from Social Security. Is that correct?

I realize this is getting into legal territory, so I may have to defer these questions to an attorney.

[MICHEAL LEVINE]

I can answer some of your questions.

I have no idea about the marriage certificate. I am married but I applied for residency only for myself; my wife was not interested at the time I started the process. I did not need a marriage certificate.

Costa Rica requires 2 police checks:

1. From your state. In New York, this entails getting fingerprinted. The fingerprint service forwards your prints to the Justice Dept, who will send back a police check for NY. This document has to be apostilled by the NY Secretary of State.
2. You need to be fingerprinted by an FBI accredited fingerprint agent. The card with your prints is sent to the FBI, who can arrange an apostille for the resulting police check.

You will also need an apostilled birth certificate.

Of course each step in this process requires that you write a check or submit your credit card number 🙂

Yes, the US Embassy will certify your SS income. You need to make an appointment by telephone.

Hope this is helpful.

[JASON HOLLAND]

Hi David,

You can check out the interview with the attorney here: https://internationalliving.com/country_clubs/costa-rica/exclusive-interviews/

In answer to your first question, if you are filing for residence alone, you do not need your marriage certificate.

For your background check, below is the latest word from the firm featured in that podcast interview, Petersen and Philps, who can be found here: http://www.plawcr.com. They are a great resource for questions about immigration and residence.

You can obtain your background check from the city, county, or state where you reside. The procedure varies from place to place a bit, so you might need to be fingerprinted in some areas, some not. Once you have this background check it must be authenticated, which involves getting something called an apostille, from the Secretary of State of your state.

You are not required to have an FBI background check.

Once you apply for residency you will need to be fingerprinted by the Costa Rican Ministry of Public Security.

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