First of all: English is my second language.
I'm doing this at Kohl's request.
I decided to write all this info in an email first to have it ready to go for those who contact me but doing the Copy and Paste here is very different.
After I click "Post New Topic" I don't have any idea what is going to look like.
So my apologies in advance.
Remember to watch the Costa Rica Tourism video with the animals singing at the end (copy and paste it)
Here it is:
Requirements for a Canadian Citizen to apply for residency in Costa Rica as Pensionato:
Birth Certificate (s)
Marriage Certificate (if it applies)
Source of Income (such as CPP letter + OAS letter from Government stating that Pension+OAS are For Life)
Proof that you get at least US$1.000.00/monthly.
Police Report (NO fingerprints done in Canada)
2 photos (we had them taken in Costa Rica) but the Embassy website mention its size.
IMPORTANT: you must prove that you are able to transfer to Costa Rica at least US 1.000.00/monthly.
All these documents must be notarized by a lawyer or Notary Public, authenticated by the Foreign Affairs in Ottawa and then authenticated by the Costa Rica Embassy in Ottawa.
Before you go to the Embassy you must deposit $40.00/for each document in the Costa Rica Embassy bank account. This can ONLY be done in Ottawa (capital of Canada) or Vancouver (British Columbia).
Immigration lawyers usually have the bank account number or the Embassy will give it to you.
Right now I don't have that information available.
Not every lawyer or Notary Public will notarize these documents.
In Toronto I had many lawyers and Notaries Public denying my request.
They even made me feel that I was requesting something illegal from them.
IMPORTANT: if you were born or got married in a country that doesn't belong to the Hague Convention
those documents (Birth Certificate/Marriage Certificate) must come from the country of origin. They need the Apostille/Apostila (the authentication from the Government of that country of origin)
In our case we spent a lot of extra money we didn't have to because we first got them from the Embassy of Portugal and we paid for their notarization,authentication plus the stamp from the Embassy (authentication) the deposit of $40.00 each document and then they ended up in the garbage. Also: we first got these documents in Spanish and we were told to get them in English or the Foreign Affair wouldn't accept them.
FINGERPRINTING: after your lawyer opens up a file in your name at the Immigration in San Jose (capital of Cost Rica) and after you get a document with the Expedient number you can have the fingerprints taken in San Jose anytime.
In our case we only went there after we got approved. If you choose to do the fingerprints before being approved you won't need to schedule a meeting for that purpose.
However You will NEED a schedule meeting for the interview (our lawyer took care of that)
The questions are very simple: your name, adress, if you own your own place, which color, your education, if you have tattoos, etc...
Even though they will separate husband and wife (different rooms) they are not trying to trick you.
SECOND FINGERPRINTS AND PHOTO: we live in Playas del Coco ,Guanacaste so our lawyer sent her employee with us to the immigration at Liberia in order to have a mini interview (all the info was already in paper)and have our fingerprints taken and one more photo.
DIMEX CARD (or Cedula)/CAJA/UTILITY BILL: in order for you to get your DIMEX CARD you need to apply for CAJA (social medical care). Our lawyer did it for us. However you will need an Utility Bill (electricity, cable) in order to apply for the Caja card..
So if you don't own your own place you need to rent one long term.
In our case we needed to go to Filadelfia to pick up our Caja Card.
GOOD NEWS: First of all, I don't make any money for suggesting this lady whom I only know through email and phone.
My Immigration lawyer mentions her to her clients and honestly I was almost offended because I had already immigrated from Portugal to Canada and I thought I knew everything (LOL).
This lady's name is Diane Guy. She lives close to Ottawa (Orleans).
After we get all the documents (except the ones from overseas) we send them to her.
She will tell you how much those expenses are : notarization,authentication, deposit (she knows the bank account number)
She charges a fee of $250.00 but she will take care of everything.
Sometimes she has to stay in line for several hours.
Then (if you want) you also send her the money for DHL and she buys the envelope with the adress of your Immigration lawyer in Costa Rica and leaves it (the envelope) at the Costa Rica Embassy. When the documents are ready, the Embassy will send it through DHL to your lawyer (or to you if you prefer)
Diane will let you know when that happens and give you a link for you to follow its journey.
They already know her at the Costa Rica Embassy.
Actually when she went there for me the first time, the Ambassador came to greet her.
I'm saying the first time because we just renewed our Residency this week and we used her services again.
TO RENEW OUR RESIDENCY:
Proof of Income For Life (letters from the Government again)
Proof that we have transferred at least $24.000.00 in the last 24 months (letter from the bank here in CR)
Proof that we have been paying Caja monthly (we kept every receipt)
Proof that we have deposited at Banco de Costa Rica in the Government bank account the amount that is required for the fees to renew our residency.
In our case it was US $125.00.
They told us to make the deposit 2 days prior to our interview.
Our interview was on a Monday so we made the deposit the Thursday before.
You MUST make an appointment for this interview: you can do it within 3 months prior to your Dimex Card
expires. However because they were too busy they could only accommodate us for June 4th instead of ends of April)
We had to go through the same process like the first time.
We used Diane's services for: :notarization,authentication at Foreign Affairs+authentication at the Embassy of Costa Rica in Ottawa + deposits $40.00 each document+plus DHL services+Diane's fee.
This time the envelope wasn't sent to our lawyer but to us since we didn't use a lawyer.
IMPORTANT: This time we didn't have to go to San Jose.
We just had to go to the Immigration in Liberia (Guanacaste) where we showed all the documents and
they took our fingerprints again and a photo.
The DIMEX CARD can be mailed to you or picked up.
NOTE: If you have different pensions (supplements, annuities, etc...) you don't have to mention them all.
However you must prove that you get US$ 1.000/monthly.
I wish you all good luck so that you can enjoy this beautiful country of mountains and valleys, beaches and waterfalls,volcanoes and rain forests (cloud forest too) and enjoy the monkeys, sloths, birds, frogs, turtles, jaguars, macaws, etc...with a climate that you can choose from.
God Bless Costa Rica!
Watch this video:
(need to copy and paste it)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_VZcQja4-w
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