Renewing your Cedula at BCR = Efficient

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  • #198096
    mediatica
    Member

    I had to write about my recent efficient (yes, efficient!) experience last week at Banco Costa Rica. The new service that is available to renew cedulas is great. We called the ‘0900’ number and made an appointment on the phone for one week later. (Note that you have to pay 300 colones per minute to call and make the appointment. That is my only complaint–but worth it). My husband and I renewed our Residency Cedula at BCR in Santa Cruz and were done in 25 minutes. We arrived at 2PM and were done by 2:25PM if you believe it. Would you also believe they actually took us 20 minutes EARLY (our appointment was scheduled for 2:20 PM). When you are all done, they make sure to send your cedula to the nearest post office and you pick it up in 14 days. And, best of all, no visits to Migracion in San Jose! I would recommend this service to anyone who has to renew their cedula in CR.

    #198097
    maravilla
    Member

    did you go to your local post office and pay the special fee for having it sent there? because if you didn’t do that within 5 days, your cedula will not get mailed. this happened to me at puntarenas and the immigration person assured me that it would be at the post office in exactly 20 days with nary a mention of any special mailing fees that i was required to pay immediately. when it didn’t arrive i asked the postmistress why there was a delay and she told me about the time limit on these mailing fees and that it was now too late for me to have my cedula sent through the mail. i had to go to puntarenas to pick it up.

    #198098
    mediatica
    Member

    Hi Maravilla: At BCR they charged me to renew my permanent residency cedula for two years (34,000 colones) and the charge to send the cedula to the nearest post office (in my case Villareal/Tamarindo). The charge to do that was 2,600 colones and was paid for also at the bank. They give you a receipt showing paid, a document showing your cedula information and pickup information. I had it sent to me last time and never had an issue.

    #198099
    orcas0606
    Participant

    mediatica. My recent and ongoing experience to renew my residency with BCR and “migracion” has been anything but efficient. I also called the 900# but no luck, no record of my residency even though I have had it for 30+ yrs. I kept calling and kept getting the same answer and finally they told me that it was so old that they had not sent the info to BCR. A trip to migracion which I had been trying to aviod. My cedula expired July 17 and my appointment is for Nov. 6 and in the meantime Banco Popular will not accept any of the paperwork that I have been trying to present (passport, drivers license CR pensionado card not accepted) Also, all my records in CR, CCSS, Banks, property, vehicles etc. are with my old ced.#, which, surprise surprise will change with my new cedula. With the old manual pen and ink system all was done in a week. How much was spent on technology. Maybe if I live long enough it will go better next time.

    #198100
    mediatica
    Member

    Hi Orcas. Had you been able to make an appointment, your experience would have been completely different (obviously). I should have mentioned that at first I did NOT appear in their system either (and have had my residency for years). After calling Migracion and having them send me back to BCR we finally got it resolved over the phone. I didn’t have to make a trip to Migracion (thankfully!). After that issue (which took over an hour to resolve on the phone) the rest was smooth sailing. I would like to think that now that I am recognized in the system, I will never have this problem again. Remember my post was ‘renewing at BCR is efficient’. It is. I never said Migracion was!!! I wish you luck and hope your issues are resolved quickly. Becky

    #198101
    rosiemaji
    Member

    My temporary residency is up for it’s first renewal next February. I am wondering what documents they ask for to verify that the CAJA has been paid continuously (or does it even have to be paid continuously when you are not even in the country?) and to show the conversion of $7200 each year into colones. We won’t be returning to Costa Rica until December. Can I ask the bank for an accounting of my conversions of dollars into colones to make sure I will have enough for the year? Or do they even ask for this proof? My passport is up for renewal in September and people have told me that they change the number when you do this. Therefore, I will be going to Costa Rica in December with a different passport number. Is this going to cause problems when I go to renew my residency? Also how far in advance of the end date of my cedula should I go to BCR to renew?

    #198102
    Andrew
    Keymaster

    My last cedula renewal (until 2016) was unbelievably quick and incredibly efficient as well so I am pleased to report that has improved…

    I am not however pleased to report that it took me FOUR HOURS to renew my driving license last month…

    Scott

    #198103
    rosiemaji
    Member

    So, I also thought this renewing my temporary residency at the BCR in San Isidro was going to be very efficient.

    I got an appointment about 2 weeks later. They told me all that I needed to bring including bank records stamped by the bank showing dollars converted to colones in the amount of $7200 per year, current CAJA receipt and passport.

    I paid them $132 in fees. They took my picture and updated my address in their computer. It all took less than 1/2 hour.

    Then they told me to pick up my new cedula at the San Isidro post office 5 weeks later. This is where the nightmare starts.

    I went to the post office to pick up my cedula but instead of the cedula, I get this notice to come to San Jose for an appointment on March 25, 2013 at 10:00 AM.

    I went to the Migracion office in San Isidro (somewhat angry because they did not send my cedula after I had done everything they asked of me) only to find out that Migracion in San Jose is closed all of that week.

    They then told me to come the following Monday on April 1st. Now I have to still make a trip to San Jose! The trouble is, no one can tell me what they still need. The notice says “Requisitos EA5596, DEBE PRESENTAR COMPROBANTE EMITIDO POR AUTORIDAD COMPETENTE DONDE INDIQUE QUE MANTIENE ACTIVA LA PENSION” No one can tell me exactly what document would fulfill this request.

    The US Embassy can only give me a confirmation of my Social Security pension if I make an appointment and I may not be able to get an appointment on April 1st at the embassy before my appointment at Migracion. Or maybe I only need something that shows I get SS such as a 1099 from the US or a USA bank record showing my SS deposit each month.

    We are leaving in 3 weeks to go back to the states for 9 months and so our time is running short. I am disabled so going to San Jose is very difficult and very expensive for me.

    I am also my grand daughter’s learning coach and when I am gone, she misses a school day. Maybe someone who has recently renewed a cedula can give me an idea of what is going on and what I really need.

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