CAJA Monthly Premium Calculations
(read time: 3 minutes) One of the most common questions I get from clients regarding legal residency in Costa Rica is: How much will my CAJA (Costa Rica’s universal healthcare A.K. A. – CCSS) premium cost? Unfortunately, calculating monthly premiums can be a headache, as the rules often vary from one CAJA/CCSS office or clinic […]
Validity of your foreign driver’s license: PART III.
Question: What happens to the validity of your foreign driver’s license once your application for Costa Rica residency has been approved? Answer: Assuming you have not yet homologated your foreign driver’s license (see article – Foreign Driver’s License Homologation How-To), you will have 90 days to do so. Otherwise, you will need to do a […]
Foreign Driver’s License Validity Issues
“… but officer, I think you are mistaken…” Roadside Traffic Court Strategy Recently, I’ve received reports from clients who were stopped by Costa Rican transit police or had friends and neighbors stopped. The transit police claimed that their foreign driver’s licenses were no longer valid because the visa stamps in their passports were issued over […]
MAY 7, 2024 LICENSE VALIDITY UPDATE
It’s official. I recently published an update on extending entry visas to Costa Rica from 90 to 180 days. Decades of waiting for this. I also mentioned that the Costa Rica government was working with the Transportation Ministry to liberalize the validity of foreign driver’s licenses to better accommodate tourists and foreign residents. IE: Eliminate […]
Greatest Thing About Costa Rica
Dear reader, here is some excellent news about Costa Rica to lift your spirits. I guarantee you will not find this on any other Costa Rica website. I will begin with a short story. In 2003, in Canada, I had been doing weeks of rigorous study at university, including all-nighters, to complete assignments. I was […]
CAJA (Healthcare) Monthly Premium Issues
Applicants approved for legal residency in Costa Rica must enroll in CAJA (CCSS – National Healthcare) as a condition of residency. (Step 2 of 3 in the post-approval process). Effective March 13, 2022, anyone enrolling in CAJA also had to enroll in the Costa Rica Pension plan. This resulted in a significant increase in monthly premiums. (see […]
Purchasing a New or Used Vehicle in Costa Rica
What follows is based on my experience, plus the real-world expertise of immediate family and close friends in the automotive service business here in Costa Rica. Begin by carefully re-considering your brand bias. Many of those were developed with biased logic. Whatever brand you plan to purchase, look up its reliability ratings before making a […]
Driving in Costa Rica
In a word: Different. You need to re-frame your idea of how to drive when you come to Costa Rica. Road behaviors that can get you arrested and have your license suspended in your home country are often ignored here in Costa Rica. So you are left dealing with some really intrusive and outrageous habits […]
Tax-Free Vehicle Importation
Subjects covered: Most of the emails I receive about importation are about vehicles. As for the importation of furniture and other personal effects, check with your customs broker once you submit the actual list to them as to what you intend to import and if, in fact, going for tax exoneration with all its red […]
Costa Rica announces new 180-day entry visas
Effective Friday, September 8, 2023, entry visas for Group One Country tourists entering Costa Rica will, at the discretion of the customs officers, be granted a 180-day visa stamp. It is a privilege. Not a right. Here again is the crucial paragraph: (Translated) The Regulations for the Granting of Visas were reformed on June 15, […]
