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June 4, 2015 at 10:34 pm in reply to: Buying a house or a lot without being permanent resident in Costa Rica #615661
JASON HOLLAND
ParticipantHi Christian,
Here are a few real estate offices operating in this area, the Southern Zone, that will show you similar properties to those above:
http://www.american-european.net
ParticipantHi Jim,
I definitely recommend having some sort of coverage in the U.S., even for brief visits. It could be Medicare, it could be a private international insurance policy, or a Costa Rican policy that covers you out of the country as well.
It’s all about risk, basically. A friend of mine went back to Texas for a two-week visit and had a fall. Broke her wrist and ended up in the ER in Texas. With no insurance in the U.S., the surgery, follow up, etc. cost her $12,000 – at least that’s the last I heard. I know the bills from the all the different doctors and departments at the hospital were still coming in.
So really it’s up to the individual. But you can imagine what it would cost if there was a major medical issue during a visit to the States.
ParticipantShould clarify that no matter what your residence or immigration category, you do need certain permits and licenses to start a business in Costa Rica. For example, you have to register for a tax ID number to pay your business income taxes, you’d need a health permit if you had a restaurant, etc.
You mentioned the $200,000 requirement – that’s for the inversionista category, which calls for that level of investment in a business, commercial activity, or commercial or residential property. But you don’t need to be in this category to start a business. Most expats start businesses at lower levels of investment. You could start a business while in the rentista category no problem.
ParticipantHi Deborah,
Great to hear from you and great questions. Let me try to help you as best I can.
As far as owning and operating a business, you do not have to residents. You can buy or start a business on a tourist visa. A tourist visa gives you 90 days in the country. This is what you get when you fly in as a tourist or for a scouting trip. No prior paperwork needed. You simply arrive at the airport and they stamp your passport. You do need a return flight out of Costa Rica within 90 days. If you want to renew your tourist visa, you have to leave the country and re-enter. You can fly out or leave and re-enter at the land borders with Panama or Nicaragua. Technically, you could renew your tourist visa as much as you want. But if you plan to live in Costa Rica the best policy is to seek residence.
There are rules with opening a business. Technically, only foreigners who are permanent residents (a category available after you’ve been a temporary resident like pensionado, inversionista, or rentista for three years) are able to work in the business. Prior to that you can only manage the businesses and its Costa Rican employees. Now, that’s the law. But there are some gray areas. There are plenty of expats who have small mom and pop businesses where they do work in their business. This is especially true of those in the wellness field and small service businesses.
There haven’t been any issues with Costa Rican banks not accepting U.S. customers. Whether or not it’s a good investment, I’m not sure. That’s just the requirement. Also, keep in mind that you have to be a resident of Costa Rica (or seeking residency and trying to meet those deposit requirements) to open an account here. I don’t think they would accept gold in Panama to meet that $60,000 requirement. But you might ask Roger Petersen or Rick Philps, who have a law firm here in Costa Rica dealing with expat and immigration matters. They speak at IL events and can be reached here: http://www.plawcr.com.
Only permanent residents are allowed to have firearms. As temporary residents you would not be able to have them. The process of importing them is pretty complicated and they severely restrict the types of firearms you can have even after you become a permanent resident.
Costa Rica is a democratic country with fair elections a lots of healthy political debate. The current government is centrist/left-leaning. The previous government was centrist/right-leaning. The government is stable and the country is stable. Has been for more than half a century.
If anything you have more personal freedom here and there is a more DIY aspect to life here. Very live and let live type of attitude.
ParticipantThanks for the input, Michael. I’ve never lived in the Southern Zone but have visited frequently over the years. I had some flickers (power goes out for 1 min and comes back on) but no real outages when I’ve been there. This is good information to have.
ParticipantI think as long as it is TEFL certificate and you’re a native English speaker you’re good to go. There is great demand for English teachers here. Keep in mind that legally you must also have a “work visa” to legally work in CR. This is something that the school will help you arrange and coordinate. There are some schools that will hire teachers without this permit. But that’s a risky move as you risk being deported for working illegally.
ParticipantHi!
The price and tips really depends on where you go and what you’re doing. Usually you can get discounts for longer hires. Whether you buy a meal is up to you.
Before I answer, it would be good to get more information. Will you be sticking to the Central Valley or traveling to the Pacific coast, Arenal, or other area? Would you like the driver to also be a tour guide or just get you from place to place? Would you like someone knowledgeable in real estate? Will you stay overnight anywhere else? Are you okay being in a group with other prospective expats or do you prefer it be a private tour? Are you interested in hiking in national parks or a similar activity?
Let me know. What might work best for you is a combination of private driver, tour group, public buses, private shuttles, and other resources – it all depends on your answers. And i’m happy to help you put a plan together.
By the way, I would recommend you visit Kay’s Gringo Postres soon after you arrive in town. This is THE expat hangout in Atenas and I’m sure you could get a great recommendation from the owners, Harold and Lisa Beasley, or the expats who are there for drivers. And they can tell you all about life in Atenas too.
ParticipantI wouldn’t say there are frequent outages. For the year I lived in Grecia, for example, we only had one power outage. It lasted 30 minutes. Some areas, especially rural areas, can get more outages because the power infrastructure isn’t in as good shape. The Caribbean coast has this issue. But even there, outages are not a daily occurrence or anything and usually it’s up and running within a couple of hours at most
That said, there are gas-powered and liquid propane generators available.
ParticipantThis really depends on the provider and the service. A chiropractor would probably charge Costa Rican prices and that service would be much more reasonable than the U.S. From expats I’ve spoken to who retain a chiropractor and/or massage therapist, this is what they’ve told me.
But if you had an accountant doing your U.S. income taxes for you, they’d most likely charge you the rate they’d charge if they were based in the U.S. If a lawyer was working for you on something in the U.S. – U.S. prices. If they were working on a case for Costa Rica, setting up a corporation for you, for example, Costa Rica prices.
ParticipantFrom what I understand, a hot water dispenser is used in a sink, usually in the kitchen, to provide near boiling water for making tea, pasta, and such. It’s not for showers or washing dishes or anything like that.
So-called suicide showers provide hot water by heating water coming out of the shower head. These work okay but the water isn’t always that hot. A These are used usually in a home that doesn’t have a hot water heater that serves the house. In these types of homes, which is how many Costa Ricans live, there is no hot water in the faucets or washing machine. Some homes use a propane gas system to heat the water in the house.
Most if not all North American-style expat homes to buy or rent have hot water heaters and hot water works just like the U.S. or Canada.
ParticipantHi Steven,
Samara would be a good home base for exploring the northern Pacific. Getting up to Playas del Coco will be a couple of hours at least. But it’s doable.
One thing to keep in mind is that driving at night (sunset is 530 approx.) in rural areas can be a bit intimidating. The roads are winding, people walk and ride bikes in the road with no lights, and watch out for livestock (no joke). If at all possible reduce the time you spend driving in the dark.
Good news is sunrise is at 530 so you can get an early start.
ParticipantHi 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.
ParticipantHi Steven,
Kudos for taking a scouting trip. That’s totally necessary in finding your sweet spot.
Jaco is a pretty good home base for your explorations, with some caveats, which I’ll get to in a moment.
Here are some towns on the Central Pacific coast you should check out where you can live near the ocean and are close to modern conveniences and have North American style homes. First, Jaco is pretty touristy but does have a strong expat community. Lots of housing options here for rentals, from condos to homes. In Esterillos you have a small fishing village, with homes set in the jungle and close to the beach. Bejuco is similar to Esterillos except it has two medium sized gated communities where most of the expats live. Manuel Antonio further south is also somewhat touristy but because the buildings are set on a hillside overlooking the Pacific, many places feature spectacular views.
Some places to check out in the Southern Zone – about 2 – 2.5 hours south of Jaco, include Dominical, a small village, with most homes set in the hillsides overlooking the ocean. Uvita is a larger town 30 minutes south that also has homes in the hills, as does the small jungle village of Ojochal – great restaurants here, by the way.
So these are the two areas you can comfortably visit from Jaco – although the Southern Zone would be a long day.
To get to the northern Pacific you’d need to stay up there, as towns like Tamarindo – a small beach resort town, are five hours from Jaco. Some other towns in this area you might check out are Playas del Coco (and nearby Playa Ocotal and Playa Hermosa – not the same place as the one by Jaco), which has a nice expat population and plenty of services. Playa Samara is another beach town – kind of a bohemian vibe. And Playa Nosara is a community centered around surfing, yoga, and alternative health practices. Samara and Nosara are reachable from Tamarindo in long day trips. Plenty of rentals available in these areas as well.
ParticipantHi Darryl,
When it comes to major projects like this in Costa Rica, you just never know what’s going to happen or when.
There has been talk about an international airport in the Southern Zone for many years. They have the site and have done some preliminary studies. Construction has definitely not started and there is no start date set. They have run into issues because of environmental impact – the area has several national parks and is home to many threatened species. Also, I don’t believe it is fully funded yet.
We’ll see what happens. And if anything changes I’ll be sure to post the news.
ParticipantAs far as the high cost of doing business, I think Costa Rica is a victim of its own success in a way. It’s stable here, economically and politically (at least as much as any place can be), so lots of companies have located here with more on the way. Unfortunately, high electricity rates are also an issue. Another thing to consider when opening a business is the very strong employee benefits/protections. As an employer you have to contribute to your employees’ social security program the equivalent of 26% of their salary so they can be part of the Caja government health program. There’s also worker compensation and a legally-mandated annual bonus equivalent to a full month’s salary. Business income taxes aren’t considered by most business owners to be that bad. But all those costs I mentioned are a concern.
Homicides and violent crimes have risen but are still very low and generally limited to certain areas, especially certain neighborhoods in the capital, San Jose. In general, Costa Rica is a very safe country and I and most of the expats I know feel very safe. What I am concerned with crime-wise is a break in at my home while I’m away – so I either have a security system or have somebody housesit. Also, I never leave anything unattended on the beach or in my car. In the Central Valley, this is less of a concern. Most of these property crimes take place in the beach areas where there is a high tourist activity.
All these issues are nothing new to Costa Rica and it’s nothing that will really affect somebody who moves to the country, probably least of all the Central Valley.
Looking at Ecuador and Panama, I can’t be specific there as I’ve never visited either country. But I do think that the cost of living is lower in Ecuador and the benefits for retired expats are much better in Panama. You might try contacting my colleagues in those countries at ecuador@internationalliving.com and panama@internationalliving.com
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