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An image of Laura Gutiérrez who provides Immigration Help and Residency Assistance for Costa Rica

• FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION
• 15 YEARS EXPERIENCE
• 100% SUCCESS RATE
• NO MORE BORDER RUNS

Free Initial Consultation
Understand the process including costs and times involved as it will apply to your specific circumstance before you make any financial commitment.
100% Success Rate
Laura will not take on your case unless she is certain you will be approved after reviewing your particulars.
No More Border Runs
For those of you who have chosen to live as “perpetual tourists”. All those border runs may very well have cost you more than the cost of a residency process. Risks of refused entry back into Costa Rica are also increasing. Call Laura today.
15 Years of Experience
Laura has thorough understanding of: 1. Current Costa Rica Inmigration and Residency Law. 2. Latest Inmigration Center procedures and protocols. 3. How to deal with the unpredictable Immigration Center Staff.
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A picture of a sold sign on a house for someone moving to Costa Rica

Get started on your residency sooner than you thought

Even if you’re still back home!

With Laura’s careful step-by-step guidance, even if you are still in your originating country, you can begin preparing for your Costa Rica residency application.

The sooner you start, the sooner you will have that treasured residency card (Cedula) in hand and the life enhancements that come with it.

1. Free Phone Consultation

2. Residency Application

3. 100% Success Rate

Contact Us Today To Schedule Your FREE Consultation

Why Laura?

  1. Laura provides transparent and accurate advice on how you qualify.
  2. She has excellent bi-lingual communication skills learned from living and working in both the U.S. and Canada. (Dual Costa Rican and Canada citizenship.) If you ask a question, she’ll wait for you to finish, then answer in context and stay on point. (Uncommon in Costa Rica.).
  3. She provides understandable guidance in a communication style familiar to YOU.
  4. Laura is timely in her responses to your questions during the process.
  5. She is very skilled at maneuvering through the unpredictable labyrinth of the Immigration Center. Her office is very nearby in San Jose and she does all her communications with the Immigration Center staff face-to-face, IN PERSON. No office assistants or messenger services in the communication chain of your application

Our Testimonials

Character & Competence

With her cheerful style and engaging personality, Laura will put you at ease at your first encounter. She has great empathy and has experienced it all from your side of the counter when she was a new immigrant to Canada.

She will never forget the nightmare that this process can be if handled by the wrong lawyer.

While processing times are getting longer due to overload of the Immigration Center, Laura’s approvals are still well below the averages due to her persistent expediting of all her cases.

She knows how to make your case move as quickly as possible. Immigration staff know Laura well and trust her to bring in correct paperwork so as to avoid needless delays.

80% of all applications submitted to the Immigration Center are either incorrect, missing documents or fraudulant. So getting it right the first time through requires meticulous attention to detail and diplomatic dealings with Immigration staff.

 
 

While your application is being processed, you can fully embrace the joy of Costa Rica worry free with updates from Laura as to your status.

However, if your case gets complicated, all the more reason to have Laura in your corner.

 
 

Call or email Laura Today!

TOLL FREE: 1-833-733-6337
Costa Rica: 506-8386-4395

info@costaricaresidencycard.com

News

Laura B. Gutierrez

Laura B. Gutiérrez
Residency &
Citizenship Specialist

Brett & Karma Nelson
Flower Mound Texas/ Santa Cruz, Costa Rica

My wife and I hired Laura to help us with our desire to become residents of Costa Rica.  Laura did an amazing job of explaining the process, specifying what information we needed, where to get the information, what form the information needed to be in, and when we needed it by.  

The process took longer than expected due to Covid but Laura remained engaged and communicative with us during the delay. 

As a result,  we were ready to submit our application when the time arrived late September 2022.  Laura’s level of explanation removed any uncertainty about the process and we simply had to follow her detailed instructions to obtain the documents we needed to satisfy the submission process. 

Laura’s level of professionalism and communication exceeded my expectations. I highly recommend Laura for your immigration needs.

Sincerely,

Brett Nelson Esq.
Flower Mound Texas/ Santa Cruz, Costa Rica.

Donald, Julie, Shawn and Julia Schneider
Washington State/Atenas, Costa Rica

We needed to coordinate our Costa Rica Residency Card application long distance from our home in Washington State. Worries about whom we were going to hire under these circumstances were laid to rest when a highly credible source recommended Laura.

Laura began by assisting us with getting a bank account prior to us having residency, which apparently is very difficult to do. Laura showed an unusual care and concern for our case – like it was her own family. She also kept us right up to date during the whole process and helped us co-ordinate our flight itineraries to best advantage. She even provided us with a lot of other very important and useful information about how to go about our business here in Costa Rica.

We so enjoyed her warm company.

Michael, Kelly & Carmela Calandrino
Brooklyn, New York / Samara, Costa Rica

My wife, seven year old daughter and I used Laura’s services to obtain Rentisa Residency, which can be somewhat difficult. We received a free telephone consultation from Brooklyn, NY and felt comfortable with Laura’s presentation, explanation of the process and rates. After hiring her to guide us through the residency process, Laura sent a detailed list of what was needed and was communicative in answering the questions we asked along the way.

We officially moved to Samara on August 31, 2021 with our residency appointment in San Jose on November 16th. As Samara is around a 4 and half hour drive from San Jose, we asked Laura do whatever she could to obtain the fingerprint appointment during the same trip, which had become more challenging due to Covid. Laura was able to secure us the required fingerprint appointment on November on 13th…a Saturday, which was incredibly convenient and saved us a lot of money with car rental and hotel fees which would have been necessary with a second trip to San Jose.

On the day of our immigration appointment, Laura really shined. We bypassed the lines outside and inside the immigration office, took a seat in front of the immigration officials and were called upon immediately. After 30 minutes, we were outside of the immigration office with our Expediente numbers in hand, and were able to stay in Costa Rica while our residencies were being processed for approval.

On August 23, 2022, Laura contacted us to let us know our residencies had been approved and provided details for the remaining final steps, including paying the necessary fees, signing up for the Caja (healthcare), submitting the paperwork and taking the cedula photo at the nearest Correo (post office).

We grateful to Laura for her professionalism, information, advice and communication in helping to navigate the residency process.

Pura Vida!
Michael, Kelly & Carmela Calandrino
Brooklyn , NY/Samara Costa Rica

Jackie & Bob Van Deventer
Bahia Ballena, Costa Rica

A hearty thank-you to Laura from Bob & I for getting us through the residency process all the way to cards in hand.

From the beginning, Laura helped us. When we thought we needed to move back to the states, Laura gave us back our money. When circumstances changed, she welcomed us back and we resumed the residency process. Laura answered my many questions with thoroughness and patience. What I especially appreciated and admired about Laura was her constant encouragement.

Even after we obtained out cards, Laura continued to answer questions about ancillary things which she really did not have to. Bob & I are so excited that we stayed with pursuing our residency. I have been so relieved and happy.

Thank you Laura, so much!

Joni & Tom Moore
Nicoya, Costa Rica

You are definitely in good hands when you have Laura guiding your every step. She gives in clear, understandable detail, everything you need to have on hand before your first visit to Immigration.

Thanks to Laura’s understandable directions, we had all our required paperwork in order. Along with applications she had prepared, she presented our documents to Immigration face to face with intake staff… one document at a time. It was all accepted the first time through. As a result, we got our temporary residency number on our first visit.

Laura has been specializing in this field for many years. She knows the staff at immigration and they know her, which is a plus when you are only a stranger to them among hundreds waiting in line. After the wait for residency applications approvals, there remains the process of getting registered at CAJA and getting your final Residency card made. Laura also guided us through that with clarity. Everything that was in Laura’s power to do, she helped all go smoothly.

We highly recommend her services if you want to go about this painlessly.

Bravo Laura! Joni and Tom Moore, Nicoya, Costa Rica.

Brenda Faw & Joyce Tuttle
Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Hola dear Laura… today Joyce and I had the best experience at the Correo de Costa Rica in Limón obtaining our Cedula for residency. We believe it went so smoothly because of the excellent service you provided to ensure that everything was in good order.

You are amazing at what you do – you were always there for us and we could not have chosen a better residency specialist for this process. We can not thank you enough for all that you have done for us…truly… we could not have done this without you and we so appreciate you. Big Hugs and Big Gratitude.

Best Regards and With Much Respect

Brenda Faw and Joyce Tuttle
Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Meg Gideon & Mike Inzitari
Heredia / Colorado

If you are moving to Costa Rica and looking for a trustworthy residency professional to shepherd you through the lengthy and tedious application process, look no further than Laura Gutierrez.

We’ve been visiting Costa Rica since 1990 and have engaged in many processes, such as purchasing property, selling vehicles, paying taxes, and opening bank accounts. With one of us being mostly fluent in Spanish, we were able to self-guide through many of these processes or vet lawyers for services we were not knowledgeable enough to handle on our own. 

When it came time to apply for Costa Rica residency, we knew we didn’t want a law firm that offered residency services as a small part of their practice. Rather, we needed an expert like Laura who is devoted exclusively to Costa Rican residency and citizenship transactions.

Working with Laura, we have found everything her current and former clients say to be true. Laura knows the minute details and nuances of the application process, including the best category of residency for your unique situation. She is extremely organized and detail oriented, from where to request your U.S. documents and getting them apostilled and translated, all the way to giving you a map that shows where you should (and shouldn’t!) park when she meets you at the immigration offices in San Jose to submit your application.

Ultimately, you will come to see that Laura is highly regarded by the staff at the immigration offices. When you are with her and see how everyone greets her, you feel like you are a welcomed insider as you breeze through your appointment and watch the officials stamp your documents as “accepted” on your first submission.

If they trust her brand, perhaps you should too.

Laura gets 5 stars from us!

Sincerely,
Meg Gideon & Mike Inzitari

My work life was as a project manager. So when deciding whom we would entrust to
handle our residency process, we immediately felt at ease and trusted Laura to guide us
along this path. We could not have been more pleased with her attention to every detail
and level of clear communication. What could be a stressful process was not with Laura
at our side. Laura exceeded in every aspect and process along our path to residency. I
have finally met my match in triple checking! We did our initial phone interview when we
were still living stateside. We were fortunate to receive back all our documents before
our final move to Costa Rica, thus being ready to hand those original documents over to
Laura for our appointments. She is a genuine and sincere powerhouse working to
achieve the best outcome for her clients! We loved our ride to get here!


Thank you, Laura!

Sharon and Paul Sheppard
Nuevo Arenal, Costa Rica

Richard Skyra
San José, Costa Rica

Laura is by far the most professional and thorough person I have had the pleasure of dealing with in my 15 years of experience in Costa Rica.

My case was not straight forward. It involved documents and multiple trips from between three countries, covid related interruptions to logistics and other personal issues. Lots of changes on the fly.

Laura had the solutions and associates in the USA that assisted where necessary. She was prompt and thorough in her responses to my many communications.

You’ll be the best hands with Laura to fulfill your dream of Costa Rica Living!

Richard Skyra
San José, Costa Rica

A gem of a person who truly cares.

My wife and I found Laura several years ago after having vetted providers online. We really appreciated the initial phone interview with Laura as well where she explained the process to us. From that day we hired Laura and with her system we were able to obtain our temporary residency cards without any issue. Since then, Laura has helped our parents get their temporary residency cards as well. We recently hired Laura again to help us to obtain Permanent Residency.  We were pleasantly surprised as to how efficient and smooth the process went. Laura provided another very satifying experience.

Tom and Robin Jung
Bolton Ontario/ Delfines Costa Rica

WOW!!! What a find. Laura is spectacular. 

After coming for 17 years, my wife Kathy and I finally decided to apply for residency. 
Having heard all the horror stories we were not sure. But we found Laura after reading an article she wrote on residency. 
We called her and after a few different conversations we felt really confident in her. What a GREAT decision. 
This is all she does and has perfected the process.
She provided us with a detailed step by step of all the documents we need to get. 
It included specific addresses and contacts for each item. 
It also included a contact to gather the documents for us if we needed it. 
She checked each document as we received them to make sure they were correct. 
She was available throughout the process and her detail to each step was beyond outstanding. 
When we were ready she found us a hotel located within minutes of the bank, 
Interpol and Immigration. Everything went smoothly. 
We would highly recommend Laura. She has it down.
 
Chuck and Kathy Senig,
Loveland, Colorado/Montezuma, Costa Rica

Wes and Ruth Smith
Playa Hermosa, Guanacaste

Not having lived here very long and being weak in Spanish, we had concerns about the residency process and who to hire to represent us. Laura Gutierrez was recommended to us by a trusted local friend and expat of 18 years.

Thankfully, we acted on that advice.

The process for Costa Rican residency is comprehensive and has many fluid idiosyncrasies! We could never have accomplished what she did for us in such a short time.

She is a great listener and communicates well in English in a clear, congenial manner, even on the phone, which can be challenging. She held our hands through the entire process, which became complicated at one point due to unavoidable changes to our travel logistics.

Laura was always very steady and encouraging and anticipated each step of the process to prevent missteps on our part. When the time came for us to meet at the DGME (Immigration Center), we were amazed at how she quickly navigated to the Immigration intake staffer. Laura was elegant and well-received by the Immigration staff and many security officers.

She carefully managed the submission of our extensive packets of certified, verified, stamped, and signed documents – one at a time to ensure no errors. They were all successfully accepted and sent for final approval.

We are thrilled and know we could not have done it without Laura’s help.

We unreservedly recommend Laura Gutierrez for her personal and professional care of her clients. Follow her instructions to the letter and know she will get the job done, standing alongside you the whole way!

Pura Vida!

Wes and Ruth Smith,
Playa Hermosa, Guanacaste

Bryan Stuart and Teri Mathis
Tilaran, Arenal, Costa Rica

We couldn’t imagine buying a house in Costa Rica without making a commitment to the country of Costa Rica. Being a perpetual tourist just didn’t feel right for us. Legal Residency seemed the next best thing – but how to go about it?

We decided to be guided by an expert. Laura Guitérrez guided us professionally for the time it took us to assemble all the documents. Along the way our frequent questions of clarification were given clear and timely responses. When it was time to present ourselves at the Immigration Office in San Jose we met Laura there with our documents in hand. It was obvious that Immigration officials know and respect her professionalism and take seriously her clients. It took only minutes for our applications for Temporary Residency to be submitted with stamps of acceptance. Now as we wait for final approval we know that Laura will be there to guide us through the finishing tasks with the appropriate authorities necessary for acquiring our residency card. It’s a good feeling of accomplishment knowing that with Laura’s help we will soon feel even more at home in Costa Rica.