work as a handyman in CR?

[JOEL JOHNSON]

I know, in general, that there are plenty of restrictions on how an expat can make money in CR. I just don’t know any details and am finding it oddly difficult to determine via web searches. I personally am on a decent pension but have gotten the question from a friend of mine who currently is having a hard go of it as a general contractor in CO. His clientele has been high end, specialty jobs and custom finish work. My question would be – would it be possible/legal for a US expat to work in CR as a handyman/contractor catering to the English speaking expat community? I am sure his Spanish is remedial at best.
Thanks. Joel Johnson, CA USA

[JOEL JOHNSON]

as a PS… ok, I could have looked at the “doing business” section of this site, but didn’t until now. However while I read “you can own a business but you cannot work in that business. Your responsibilities must be limited to management of the business.” I see later a list of business opportunities that seem very much like a one person operation without necessarily any employees. So I guess I am still a tad confused, but less so. I guess the question still stands but modified to say “How would one go about setting up a handyman business in CR? Would it be worthwhile to even investigate?”
thanks again. j

[JASON HOLLAND]

Hi Joel,

Great questions. Let me start by saying that technically only citizens and permanent residents of Costa Rica are allowed to work in the country. If you’re a temporary resident (pensionado, rentista, or inversionista), it’s technically illegal to work. But plenty of expat business owners do have one-person businesses in which they do all the work. It’s kind of a grey area and tolerated by the government. They mostly go after anybody who has say, a restaurant or hotel, and tries to hire all foreigners to work for them who aren’t legal to work.

Starting a handyman business – while technically possible – would be a tough one, in my opinion. There are a lot of good craftspeople in Costa Rica and because labor costs are so low, you can hire them for much, much less than in the U.S. So your friend would probably have a hard time making the money he’s used to. Also, there probably just isn’t enough work to go around with all the qualified locals there. The one possibility I see is if he was interested in doing this on the side and wasn’t depending solely on that income.

[JOEL JOHNSON]

Thanks Jason. I was rather expecting that response, especially that there are already skilled craftsmen available. It was worth asking though. Maybe I could convince his wife they need to run a B and B… 🙂
Have a happy New Year. Joel

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