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My husband and I applied for residency through ARCR. We were told we should be approved as of last November, and don’t you know, November rolled around, and we were approved. We were also told we could enroll in Caja through ARCR, and our price would be $89. We are pensionados. But on the advice of several forum members, we went to the Caja ourselves to see what price they would give us. We enrolled directly with the Caja because it is costing us roughly $70 instead of $89. It is worth doing this. If the Caja quotes you a higher price, you don’t have to sign up with them.
I have read that some people were allowed to itemize expenses. We weren’t asked about our expenses. We also weren’t asked for our marriage certificate.
It took about 1 1/2 hours to complete the process. We couldn’t get our ID cards that day because we went when Otto struck, and that particular office was closed. We returned a week later. It took about 15 minutes, and we were told to return in 3 months to get our permanent cards.
“The limitation is $10.000. If that runs out, there is virtually no way to get money from the US to YOURSELF in Costa Rica unless you have a bank account here, and you cannot have that until you have a residency permit.”
I know you didn’t ask about this, but your statement is wrong. You CAN open a bank account here before you apply for residency. My husband and I did this very thing almost 1 year before we applied for residency. Just wanted to let you know this because having a bank account here makes things a lot easier, in my humble opinion!:lol:
Yes, social security will deposit your money into a CR bank. Our neighbor has hers deposited here. But I don’t, and I don’t know what information they need. Best to call the social security office and ask.
Yes and yes. Read more about it on their website. It lists the countries where they will send disability payments to, and CR is one of them.
I did read of 2 different instances where people were denied entry into CR because of being a PT, but I forget where I read it and the exact details. I know someone who lives here and runs a business. She’s been doing this for almost 8 years and has never been denied entry, but she also doesn’t always get a 90 day stamp either. Because we have applied for residency, I always ask for 90 days. The last time the immigration officer at SJO scrutinized my paperwork (expediente) so long I thought she was going to either deny me entry or give me less than 90 days, but she did give me the 90.
What we would have to pay for a Bronze plan is very similar to the insurance we had when we lived in the States. It was through my husband’s employer. I can remember when we paid roughly $15 for just about any prescription and peanuts for a doctor’s visit. But that was many years ago. I found the Bronze plans to be comparable to what we already had. So for us the coverage was roughly the same. At least with Obamacare pre-existing conditions are covered. Our private insurance here? No. And the bill is due at the end of the month, but I don’t know how much it is for yet. Can’t wait to find out!!
Yes, we were disappointed to learn that. We were told no new Caja discounts through ARCR at their seminar. Oh, well. What can you do? Just go with the flow.
The hubby and I got private insurance through INS, and once we get our residency approved, I think we’ll keep our INS insurance. Of course, that could change in time as the price goes up.
As far as Obamacare, I don’t think it’s a bad thing, although it needs some readjusting. I forget what it would cost the 2 of us when I looked into it. I believe around $350/month for a bronze plan.
I don’t think that’s a terrible price, but since we are paying for insurance here, there is no point in getting that insurance, too.
I don’t think there are enough Gringos here to make a difference, meaning bailing out the system. But that’s just my humble opinion! Also, ARCR no longer accepts any new members into the Caja system. And I think I read somewhere that it was the Caja itself that told ARCR they wouldn’t take any more members into their discount program.
I currently reside here in CR (Heredia), I’m having the WORST time getting money here from my US Bank accounts. I’m buying property and building little casitas slowly. I have a Banco National account as well as two US Bank accounts. The problem is if/when I need more than the allotted 300USD per day…I can’t get it. Does anyone know of a bank that crosses borders? Or how I can get more than 5k per month from my US Account to my Banco National account.:D[/quote]
I don’t understand the “allotted $300USD per day”. What is that exactly? Also, when we were building our house, we went to the bank and requested permission to transfer over $5000 four separate times. We had no problem getting permission for this. I was surprised they didn’t ask to see where we came up with the money. In our case, we had sold our house in the U.S., and I had the documents to prove it. I will say that our builder is well known at Banco Nacional. He also has an account there, so maybe that’s why we had no problems with transferring the money. On the other hand, knowing how Costa Rica is so procedure oriented, maybe that had nothing to do with it. I just don’t know.
You can not legally work here unless you are a resident or a citizen. Or if you have a special skill that no other Tico/Tica has, you might be able to find a job with a company.
If you have a business through the internet, that is possible. You can open your own business, but you can’t actually work it, meaning you can’t wait tables, cook, run a register, etc.
It is very difficult as a foreigner to come here and work/open a business.
You really need to research this before you take steps to move here.
Are you coming alone, or do you have children?
Have you been here before?
What area are you thinking of moving to?
I’m sure others with more knowledge than I will chime in here. Also, it is not cheap to live in Costa Rica. Yes, it can be done, depending on your lifestyle.
We had our household goods shipped here from the States in a 40 foot container. We used Charlie Zeller, shiptocostarica@racsa.co.cr, 2431-1234. The price he quoted was what we paid and was not a penny more. Everything arrived safely and securely. Nothing was broken, and no boxes were opened. His guys delivered everything to our house in trucks, and they were very professional, hardworking men. In fact, Charlie kept our goods in Alajuela longer than he wanted to at no extra charge. Our house wasn’t done when it was supposed to be (surprise, surprise!) I wrote about our moving experience in this forum a few months ago.
Johnny, what year did you make the trip? I used to live in Tucson, and going to Nogales for a day or the weekend was a real popular thing to do back in the 70’s. I wouldn’t go there now, however.
I have never heard of this. Now I am trying to remember when we got our electricity connected. I am pretty sure it was last September. We are not residents yet. We didn’t get our internet until October, and the same can be said of our TV hookup, although that wasn’t through ICE.
Yes, I have read about it on another forum. Supposedly you have to have a “new” marriage certificate which is no older than 30 days when renewing your Caja. That makes getting it from your home country a little difficult. It has been suggested you should get married/renew your vows here, making it much easier to get your certificate within the 30 day limit.
Please note that I do not know if this requirement is true. I am just reiterating some of the “chat” going on in the forums! So take it with a grain of salt for now!
