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Two years ago I bought a great townhouse in Escazu. My orginal plan was to live in CR half of the year and spend the other half in rental property in Washington State. For several reasons, not important here, I am considering an option of having my CR residence as my only residence for at least several years. My particular circumstances may only be shared by a few WLCR members, but I would appreciate any feedback for those with similar experiences. I am retiring from the US government and I will need a U.S. bank account to receive my annuity payments electronically. I do not have any family left so I have no permanent residence address in the U.S. after I sell my property in Washington DC. As far as I can tell, I cannot open a U.S. bank account without a residence address somewhere in the U.S.I do not want to rent an apartment in Washington State just to establish residency there because I will not use it very much if at all as I travel and use vacation rentals for short term visits. Does anyone know how I can establish a U.S. bank account without having a residence in the U.S.? Payment of federal income taxes is not an issue because of deductions from my annuity. Is there anyone on the website who is an American citizen living in CR without a residence in the U.S.? Perhaps you could give me some advice about this. Thanks. DC Bob
Hi, Bob. There is no problem here. We do exactly what you envision.
Before you depart the U.S., do two things:
First, establish a bank or credit union account with a financial institution that has good online electronic banking and to which your federal government pension and other income can be electronically deposited. Get a debit card to use at ATMs both in the U.S. and in Costa Rica. If the ATM card has the Plus or Cirrus logo on the back, you’re in business. Have all your statements and other correspondence delivered via e-mail.
Second, establish an account at Aerocasillas or another transshipper who will forward mail and packages from the U.S. to their office in Costa Rica. Give your U.S. bank that address as your official address in their records. They’ll give you a Post Office Box number that the bank will accept. You won’t be a resident of Florida or anywhere else.
And now the hard part . . . Next time you’re in Costa Rica, open an account at a local banco. Ask for one account in dollars and one in colones. This will take some doing. If you have a Costa Rican corporation, it may be simpler. If you do it in your own name, the bank will probably want two years of tax returns, proof of the source of your income, your local Costa Rican address, maybe a letter of reference or two and heaven knows what else . . . maybe a hair sample. This documentation may be required even if you open the account in the corporation’s name. Persevere!
Once you’ve done these three things, and once you’re in Costa Rica, you can write a check against your U.S. bank and deposit it in your Costa Rican dollar account. HSBC bank here imposes a ten-day float, but there is no charge whatsoever. Your U.S. bank will charge you to send an international wire transfer and your Costa Rican bank will charge to accept it. Between Wachovia and HSBC, this costs $95US, so we don’t do it often.
I don’t know, but it might be worth checking to see if having an account at HSBC Bank in the U.S. and one at HSBC Banco in Costa Rica would make things any simpler. Possibly opening one at HSBC in the U.S. first and then trying for one at HSBC in Costa Rica would be an easier path to follow. HSBC bought Banco Banex here a couple of years ago. As I understand it, the systems between the HSBCs in the U.S. and Costa Rica are not exactly integrated, but still it might make things simpler.
Hope this helps.
My credit union in Washington State (BECU) only charges $15 for a wire transfer and BN does not charge for incoming dollars to a dollar account. BECU has an awesome online system and due to the banking crisis has grown from 500,000 to over 600,000 members in less than a year. The only requirement is a Washington State address to establish, but once established they cannot close the account, even if you move. David is right about opening a bank account in CR. Plan on a three day ordeal and having an S.A. put together by any of the attorneys recommended on this site with their letter of recomendation and a copy of an ICE bill with the same address as the S.A. will usually get the trick done. Some banks are more particular than others and with the recent OECD/IRS crusade, they are asking for a lot more personal information. Personally, I wish CR were more like Panama giving Uncle Sam the one finger salute.
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