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My 2 daughters and I (14 & 10) want to relocate to Costa Rica…I have done lots of research. and it appears that there really is no way for us to do this legally.
I do not have SS and I do not have 2500 in income coming in from the states. I had hopes of getting a work visa but see that thats not going to happen. I am a massage therapist, Reiki II practitioner and Doula.
Dose anyone have any suggestions on how we can make this happen?
Thanks
KimKim:
What would you say to someone from Costa Rica who wrote the exact same letter to you about living and working as a massage therapist in the U.S.?
Scott
[quote=”Scott”]Kim:
What would you say to someone from Costa Rica who wrote the exact same letter to you about living and working as a massage therapist in the U.S.?
Scott
[/quote]
Hi Scott
I would suggest that they get a work permit and that they would then have to research the state that they intend to work in to see what their requirements are.
I did not mean I wanted to make this happen illegally, I was wondering if there was something I was missing or if its so that its just not possible.
I was hoping that there might be another way.
KimSadly, I’m afraid there is no way to do what you have in mind. As a tourist or as a legal temporary resident, you may not work in any capacity in competition with a Costa Rican even in a business you establish or buy. What’s more, there are plenty of massage therapists practicing here now, so the competition would be fierce and the income much less than what you’re used to.
Don’t tell him, but (as usual) David is right. I know it is out of the question, but there is a way, as distasteful as it may seem.
There are attorneys here that can arrange a “marriage of convenience” and you may never meet your new spouse. I don’t know what it costs, or if your children would qualify for, or need to be, adopted, or if they could even reside here legally, but the marriage part is possible and would get you citizenship. We have a friend, a very successful business lady with 3 kids, that has done it and she has full citizenship.
The rest of David’s answer is spot on – and I would be surprised if you could make enough for you to survive and for you and your children to enjoy living here.
Wish you the best – it is sad to see the passion you have to live here and have it be so difficult for you to achieve!
We have PM’d already, so don’t hesitate to contact me again if you still are pursuing your dream and think my wife or I can help!
Oh! Bill!! While you are certainly correct about the sham marriage, you are suborning residency law fraud. Should the lady actually contact you and you facilitate her fraud, you and she would be in equal legal jeopardy. That’s especially true given that neither of you, as tourists, would have any inherent right to any legal recourse.
What’s more, I’ve read elsewhere that Immigration, not entirely stupid, has been paying much closer to such marriages. The likelihood of getting away with it is increasingly remote.
Please think about this.
[quote=”costaricabill”]Don’t tell him, but (as usual) David is right. I know it is out of the question, but there is a way, as distasteful as it may seem.
There are attorneys here that can arrange a “marriage of convenience” and you may never meet your new spouse. I don’t know what it costs, or if your children would qualify for, or need to be, adopted, or if they could even reside here legally, but the marriage part is possible and would get you citizenship. We have a friend, a very successful business lady with 3 kids, that has done it and she has full citizenship.
The rest of David’s answer is spot on – and I would be surprised if you could make enough for you to survive and for you and your children to enjoy living here.
Wish you the best – it is sad to see the passion you have to live here and have it be so difficult for you to achieve!
We have PM’d already, so don’t hesitate to contact me again if you still are pursuing your dream and think my wife or I can help![/quote]
I appreciate everybody’s opinion and insight. This is our dream and something is pushing me to make this happen. How about if I start or try and buy a business? Or is there at all any type of work that I could possibly do that would be legal?
Bill if you or your wife can at all think of a way you might be able to help me that would be great. You guys have already been so helpful. I am coming in June for a visit to try and figure it all out!
Thanks againOne thing is the residency part, the other is the survival part. In this sick economy I just don’s see how to make a decent living if you do not bring a big junk of money to invest and make a start somehow. In order to run a business you don’t need residency (just leave the country every 3 months) but you will have to hire employees because you are only allowed to manage, not work. Plus you will want decent education for your teenagers which costs money too.
The kids may one day marry a Tico and/or have a Tico Baby, then you can get residency as a first grade relative.and. . . as a massage therapist you won’t make a lot of money. i go to two different massage therapist and one i pay C10,000 to (that’s $20) and the other one only charges me C3000 — that’s $6.00.
i think there are dire consequences if the State finds out about a sham marraige. that isn’t anything i would advise anymore than i would advise a mexican to marry someone in the States just for a green card. La Migra is pretty savvy about these things and they would know in a heartbeat that the marriage was a ruse.
sometimes dreams are unrealistic as yours seems to be at this time. leaving the country every 90 days with two children will get to be expensive and a burden, and then you have to hope you get a 90 day visa each time.
[quote=”elindermuller”]One thing is the residency part, the other is the survival part. In this sick economy I just don’s see how to make a decent living if you do not bring a big junk of money to invest and make a start somehow. In order to run a business you don’t need residency (just leave the country every 3 months) but you will have to hire employees because you are only allowed to manage, not work. Plus you will want decent education for your teenagers which costs money too.
The kids may one day marry a Tico and/or have a Tico Baby, then you can get residency as a first grade relative.[/quote]Thank you for your response. I do have child support that I receive monthly and I at least for the first year or so planned on home schooling my girls.
It is really tough for me to just let this dream go. I can’t imagine anything being impossible at least I don’t like to.[quote=”kwaltersx3″]
It is really tough for me to just let this dream go. I can’t imagine anything being impossible at least I don’t like to.[/quote]I always wanted to stand six feet four inches but, alas, in this lifetime it ain’t gonna happen. And thus it is with many of our dreams.
You cannot work legally in Costa Rica unless you are a legal Permanent Resident. (If you qualify, obtaining legal Permanent Resident status will take about five years.) The prohibition against your working applies to working for wages, working in a business you own or found, or working under any other circumstances save one.
You can perform work here via the Internet on behalf of an employer based elsewhere who pays you elsewhere. That is, you could do (say) copy editing for a book publisher who is based in the U.S. and who pays you in the U.S. In effect, you would be working in the U.S.
What I fail to see is how you’re going to do massage therapy via the Internet but maybe I’m missing something.
Too, please consider the jeopardies associated with being a perpetual tourist. At the very least, you and your two daughters will have to travel out of the country every ninety days or more often in order to receive new tourist visas. That won’t be cheap. And you would never have a legal right to re-entry.
Perhaps you should consider another country to which to emigrate.
(By the way, just how much time have you spent in Costa Rica?)
I should add that while you might get away with working here illegally, anything you do to advertise would be like waving a red flag in the faces of the authorities. And you’d be at the mercy of any legitimate competitor who could turn you in just to stifle the competition.
Then what?
In the main, those who successfully immigrate from North America or Europe to a life in Costa Rica bring their wealth with them. In large part, that’s because the routes to legal residency that are open demand either a fund of money ($150,000US) or a lifetime guaranteed income of $1,000 per month (typically from a governmental source).
Please do not even consider entering into a sham marriage! What if something happened to you….
[i]Home schooling is illegal in Costa Rica[/i], and even doing that can result in having your children removed from your home.
Of course, there are some that do this, just as there are perpetual tourists.
Again, have you ever been here?Ok…I have no intention of getting married or working illegally..I am not that person. I will be visiting in June. If home schooling is illegal than they will go to school.
I do appreciate all the info I am getting from most on this forum but I feel as some of it is slightly rude.
I came to this forum to learn and I am doing that. Honest and kind guidance is appreciated and I am sorry if my exploration of this dream is annoying to some….and David I will not give up my dream because it is not impossible, where being taller than you are is. I do not need snide comments just honest feedback.
Thanks again for everybody’s inputPlease read the info on this website, [url=http://www.costaricalaw.com/can-i-legally-work-in-costa-rica.html]Costa Rica Law[/url]
It is much more expensive to live here, than it was a few years ago, so also [url=https://www.welovecostarica.com/public/1072.cfm]check out the cost of schooling here[/url]. It is expensive.
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