Inside Costa Rica

11/10/2022

What is FOMO?

What is FOMO? According to the popular website Wikipedia, Fear of missing out is the feeling of apprehension that one is either not in the know or missing out on information, experiences, or life decisions that could make one’s life better. FOMO is also associated with a fear of regret, which may ...

11/06/2022

Let us know where you think the best place to live in Costa Rica is ?

https://news.co.cr/best-areas-for-expats-to-live.../83001/

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica How to choose where to live in Costa Rica. So, you are contemplating a move to Costa Rica after being intrigued by the promise of its unique beauty and livability. Going back to 1500, Christopher Columbus gave it the name which translates into “Ric...

10/05/2022

The new President Rodrigo Chaves Robles Presidente 2022 -2026 certainly had an impressive speech.
Can he be the change Costa Rica needs?

https://news.co.cr/the-new-49th-president-will-make-it-easier-to-immigrate-and-move-to-costa-rica/82993/

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica Until 2018, the immigration (residency) process was relatively straightforward. Even though the DGME (Immigration) mandate was to process correctly prepared and submitted applications in 90 days, they went past that deadline. Still, my application ap...

29/03/2022

How do Expats feel with their Caja Premiums almost doubling in some cases?

https://news.co.cr/caja-rates-spikes-for-expats.../82984/

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica CAJA sticker shock. For those who don’t yet know, one of the requirements for residency here in Costa Rica is that you must enroll in our national healthcare system (CAJA) upon approval of your residency application. You will be means-tested to ass...

07/02/2022

Who is going to complain about Tax breaks?

https://news.co.cr/move-to-costa-rica-we-all-love.../82953/

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica We all love tax cuts. Therefore, it is understandable that many of you got very excited when you heard about the new laws governing importation and investment incentives designed to stimulate post-COVID investment in Costa Rica. It did not help that....

28/10/2021

19/10/2021

6 People slaughtered including 1 American Expat in the deadliest homicide of the year in Costa Rica.

https://news.co.cr/american-expat-dies-in.../82928/

On Sunday morning, a jolly group of five people from San Isidro de El General (Perez Zeledon), set off to help a gr**go friend of theirs in nearby Buenos Aires de Puntarenas. There were apparently several pieces of farm machinery in need of repair, and 44-year old Quesada Cascante was just the mecha...

19/10/2021

accine Passports :The Ministry of Health in Costa Rica
What you need to know.

https://news.co.cr/vaccine-passports-the-ministry.../82923/

27/09/2021

Where are the expats going in Costa Rica?

https://news.co.cr/foreigners-keep-disappearing-in.../82918/

According to the Missing Americans Project, a nonprofit organization helping to track Americans and other nationals who vanish in Costa Rica and elsewhere, disappearances of foreigners are under-reported and not closely monitored by any organization. “Families of people who go missing outside thei...

27/09/2021

Keep up with the forever changing immigration rules and regs of Costa Rica.

https://news.co.cr/immigration-update-for-expats.../82916/

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica Due to COVID, rules and procedures continue to change and evolve regarding travel and how one remains legally in Costa Rica. For tourists and those of you preparing for or waiting to have your applications for legal residency submitted (by appointmen...

21/09/2021

Increased COVID-19 Coronavirus Warning for Costa Rica.

https://news.co.cr/the-worst-of-the-pandemic-is.../82899/

Health authorities in Costa Rica warn that the worst moment of the pandemic in the country is expected in the upcoming weeks. Early this week the social security service (CCSS) reported they had over 2,246 patients that required hospitalization due to Covid-19, an increase “never seen before”. I...

22/07/2021

Are you coming to Costa Rica for a vacation? This is what you need to know.

https://news.co.cr/costa-rica-changes-covid-19.../82890/

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica There is a significant and welcome change to the entry requirements to Costa Rica. Good news for the vaccinated amongst you. The change is effective August 1, 2021. Those of you who can provide proof of complete vaccination with either the Moderna, P...

28/05/2021

People are running to the borders for last minute visa runs but are being rejected by the hundreds. (Especially in Panama)

https://news.co.cr/visa-extensions-for-tourists-in-costa-rica-will-come-to-an-end/82870/

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica After repeated visa extensions throughout 2020 and 2021, June 2, 2021 (coming up soon) is the last extension date on visa expiries if you are here in Costa Rica on a tourist visa alone. As a reminder, tourists who enter Costa Rica with a passport fro...

18/05/2021

This is the best information out there about buying a property or house in Costa Rica.

https://news.co.cr/a-full-legal-cost-breakdown-and.../82859/

The current pandemic affecting the world generated an unexpected effect on the real estate market in Costa Rica. Despite travel restrictions and new requirements for tourists such as negative Covid-19 test or insurance with sufficient coverage in case of requiring extended stay due to illness; the t...

16/05/2021

American Expat living in Costa Rica dies in a hail of bullets.

https://news.co.cr/american-expat-brutally-murdered-in-costa-rica/82856/

When your lover’s old boyfriend shows up unannounced at your front door, it often means big trouble. This was the case for 57-year old American David Baldino Dominic, who died in a hail of bullets on May 14th, in front of his home in Herradura, Puntarenas. The accused killer is a Nicaraguan by the...

13/05/2021

Be on the lookout for these adorable little guys.

https://news.co.cr/attack-of-the-giant-snails-in-costa-rica/82852/

BOLO (Be on the Look Out) for the highly destructive Giant African Land Snail, announced the Servicio Fitosanorio del Estado, (SFE) in a press release. They warned of a new plague of giant snails discovered in Liberia, Guanacaste, that are aggressive, long-lived, crop-destroying, and spread human di...

14/04/2021

Make sure you understand what is going on with your corporation in Costa Rica.

https://news.co.cr/new-2021-obligations-for-corporation-holders-in-costa-rica/82826/

During the next weeks, all those Expats who have a corporation in Costa Rica will have to fulfill some obligations that are relatively recent, making important to take them into account in order to avoid problems and headaches. Certainly, having a corporation is no longer as simple as it was a few y...

15/03/2021

In Typical Costa Rica Fashion when there is a little pressure the government buckles and does what the people ask.

https://news.co.cr/foreign-tourist-drivers.../82778/

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica While unofficial at this writing, MOPT (Costa Rica Ministry of Public Works and Transportation) has issued a recent communication. The validity of foreign drivers’ licenses for TOURISTS with valid visas has been extended to June 1, 2021. This is in...

02/03/2021

Welcome to the Jungle where decisions are made at the 12th hour.

https://news.co.cr/tourist-visas-extended-until.../82767/

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica As mentioned again in my February 24 article here, throughout 2020, the Costa Rica government repeatedly extended visa expiry dates. That last extension, up until last night, was until today: March 2, 2021. They had announced that there would be no f...

17/02/2021

Let's not forget about the beautiful Dr who was r***d and murdered in Quepos Costa Rica. The Sauga continues.

https://news.co.cr/six-more-months-of-house-arrest.../82762/

The owner of the luxury hotel La Mansion Inn of Manuel Antonio, Harry Bodaan, has received a six-month extension of his house arrest, accused of the murder of anesthesiologist Dra. Maria Luisa Cedeno Quesada at his hotel in July. The doctor’s family has commented, “This is a very painful crime, ...

12/02/2021

Everything current you need to know and understand regarding Immigration and Residency in Costa Rica.
Do you need to leave March 2nd? What about your drivers license?

https://news.co.cr/complete-immigration-and-residency-update-for-costa-rica-where-do-you-stand/82758/

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica Tensions are running high as we continue to endure COVID and its impact on tourists and those seeking legal residency in Costa Rica. Readers under stress are least capable of absorbing reams of information, so I will be as concise as possible in addr...

12/02/2021

Soon it will also be necessary to report on the amount of capital stock and the value of assets, as well as presenting annual tax returns, even when no tax is due on Non Active Corporations in Costa Rica.
Learn how to protect your assets without using a corporation.

https://news.co.cr/how-to-protect-your-assets-without-having-a-corporation-in-costa-rica/82752/

It has been a common practice for expatriates to buy real estate property and vehicles in Costa Rica and proceed by placing the title on a corporation created with the sole purpose of protecting said assets from possible liabilities, liens by creditors and other contingencies. Then these corporation...