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emiliano
  2/8/2016 01:38 EST

Hi
I am retired Florida teacher considering relocating in Central America. I prefer near water possibly Nicaragua, Costa Rica or Panama. From the comments here I understand that there is considerable waiting for pensionado visa that allows you to qualify for medical coverage (what I mean to be allowed to pay and participate in the local health care system). I would rely appreciate if someone tell me:

-Roughly how long does it take to get retired visa to qualify for the medical coverage?
-Do you have to be in the country while this process is taking place?
-If you have to be in the country while waiting for the visa what do you do for medical coverage?

Any information would be greatly welcomed

Thank you

Future expat (hopefully)

AttorneyKearney
  2/8/2016 01:52 EST

Hello
You don't need a visa to enter Costa Rica if you are a US citizen.
Pensionado status is one of several types of residency ( to live permanently in CR ).
To get local health care ( CCSS) you need to be a resident.
You may begin the process before comig to CR,
There is also private health care which is excellent.
We can go more Into detail if your interested.

Lic. Gregory Kearney Lawson.
[email protected]

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Kohl
  2/8/2016 07:00 EST

Your application can take a year or more and could cost you approx. $2000. While waiting, to have access to healthcare you must purchase medications 'over the counter' and pay for private care if required.
Wait time to see specialists or to have surgery can be very long...

Not all meds. will be provided by CAJA and generic versions are often substituted.

http://costaricalaw.com/costa-rica-legal-topics/immigration-and-residency/residency-general-information-and-summary/

richardschlinder
  2/8/2016 09:16 EST

First,go online and find the requirements for Costa Rican residency. There is a C.R. consulate in Miami where you can apply for residency once you have all the documents needed.They are very helpful.Make an appointment with them and bring your questions with you. Face to face communication is still the best way to get answers.

paxson
  2/8/2016 16:23 EST

Do many expats file for residency or just leave the country every 90 days?
Paxson

carolvaughn
  2/8/2016 18:20 EST

People do a lot of both. For many, it
depends on how close you live to either
Nicaragua or Panama to determine how big a hassle it will be to leave every 90 days.
I border hopped for 1.5 years, until an
Immigration dude took me aside and said -- soon we won't be allowing you
to do this any longer. Take care of
business, please. My personal opinion is: if you have the money to
apply for res., and have no criminal
record -- you should apply. Life
gets easier after you can just stay here legally and happily.

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Kohl
  2/8/2016 18:21 EST

Without residency you can not be covered by the socialized medical system. You can also be refused re-entry into the country on the 'whim' of a border official and you are not guaranteed a 90 day 'visa stamp' in your passport...as it could be 9 days.
Some do this...but it gets old 'very quick'.

carolvaughn
  2/8/2016 18:24 EST

Agree x 10. Not fun to be kept away from your pets, plants, husband, home
because some immigration guy ate
bad ceviche for lunch....

ILuvCR
  2/8/2016 21:02 EST

Dear Paxon,

I hear the term "expat" all the time. Just looked it up for the first time and Merriam Webster defines the noun as "an expatriate person" and
expatriate or

ex·pa·tri·at·ed or ex·pa·tri·at·ing as "

"to withdraw (oneself) from residence in or allegiance to one's native country"

& as a intransitive verb

"to leave one's native country to live elsewhere; also : to renounce allegiance to one's native country"

so by definition, why not apply for residency?

It's NOT for everyone but for me it's Pura Vida!

Kohl
  2/9/2016 08:54 EST

You could wait for a few months to decide whether living here is a good or too different from being on vacation, then apply.

paul68
  2/9/2016 09:22 EST

Our residency cost $1000 in attorney's fees. We did not begin the process before we came here (though we should have) It took one year from the time we started to get it.

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Kohl
  2/9/2016 09:48 EST

There is also approx. $1000 for government/immigration fees...even if you 'do-it-yourself'.

paxson
  2/9/2016 10:31 EST

Thank you, everyone, for sharing such valuable information. I hope I have the chance to meet some of you in late April in Playa Hermosa. Warm regards to everyone since it is snowing here in DC.
Paxson

emiliano
  2/10/2016 18:11 EST

Good evening all,
I also want to thank everyone for the helpful information and great advice. So far I am interested in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama and I am in the process of making appointments with their consulates Nicaragua and Costa Rica in Miami and Panama in Tampa. Hopefully that meeting face to face with the government official will provide most up to date and accurate information.
Again, I am very grateful for your assistance.

NothingButNet
  2/11/2016 00:18 EST

Emiliano, in 2015 Costa Rica reported a record 553 homicides, giving us a per capita murder rate of 11.4 per 100,000. According to the BBC, The per capita murder rate in Panama (from January thru September) of 2015 was 9.3 per 100,000. The UN Development Program (UNDP) reported Nicaragua's homicide rate in 2014 (the most current information I could find) was 8.7 per 100,000. By comparison, the United States has a murder rate of 5 per 100,000.

ILuvCR
  2/11/2016 08:12 EST

nice research on the web! and is there a point to be made here?

are you suggesting that Emiliano is twice as likely to be murdered in C.R. than in the U.S.?

you might be right if he hangs out with criminals and drug dealers but he won't be gunned down in a movie theater, his kids won't be slaughtered at the day care, the police won't pump 40 rounds in to him for having a panic attack and some drunk NRA member won't accidently gun him down on the way to their "take back America" rally here in Costa Rica!

Dig deeper and you'll see that violence against tourists and North American expats in Costa Rica is minuscule.

La vida es Buena!

NothingButNet
  2/11/2016 11:29 EST

I posted statistics for Panama, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica because Emiliano is considering relocating to one of these three countries. I posted the stats for the U.S. for comparison purposes because he currently resides there.

NothingButNet
  2/11/2016 12:18 EST

Emilio, since you prefer living near water, you should read this artucle from today's Costa Rica Star, http://news.co.cr/thousands-of-people-are-receiving-contaminated-water-in-guanacaste-official/44610/?utm_source=The+Costa+Rica+Star+Daily+News&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=74533fd894-CR_Star_Feeds_011_29_2015&utm_term=0_b1f96bf75f-74533fd894-295622933. You will also find a number of articles concerning the Chinese construction of the grand canal in Nicaragua, which many people I have talked to in CR and Nicaragua think will severely pollute Lake Nicaragua (which provides a large portion of the country with drinking water) with industrial chemicals. As for Panama, I haven't heard much about life near the water down there so it might be a good idea to ask the consulate official about that when you meet with him/her.

Kohl
  2/11/2016 12:47 EST

While this article is cause for concern, it does not specify that the 'problem' is near the beach areas. There is a lot of land in the interior of Guanacaste ... including where we live.
So, anyone moving make sure to your due diligence...

Always get the water checked, prior to purchasing a property or take a sample to a local laboratory if renting, especially if there has ever been cattle raised on it.

emiliano
  2/12/2016 13:51 EST

Hi,
It is good to be educated and aware of statistics, however, personally I do not believe it is a deciding factor me. I lived many different places in Europe and US. So far I have learned that it is most likely that every place has areas and people to stay away from and areas and people to associate with. The life expectancy would be influenced by the choice made. In addition there are times where “wrong place wrong time” factor will occur. I do not intend to spend what I have left on worrying what might happen. I remember while back some place local where plane crashed in a church and killed people while praying, in a local farmers market parking lot I saw a man who had a heart attack and died in his car after finished his shopping. There is not ultimate guarantee; you take a chance every time you get out of bed.

I noticed few statements about people lasting for a short while before returning to US. Perhaps that has lot to do with a mind set. It is logical to assume that most people move abroad with expectations that it is better than home. When they get there they realize that there is a “new normal” dictated by the local life style. I would imagine that the deciding factor would be being able to unlearn the old normal and learn and adapt to the new normal. It’s been said that the unlearning process is far more difficult that learning.

Someone mentioned concerns about the quality of water. I read somewhere that in areas with unsafe water people boil water once a week fill number of bottles to use during the week. Not sure how practical that is but then again that is my old normal.

I am a retired teacher and was hoping to find a place near water where I could possibly volunteer in the local schools, do some surf fishing, kayaking keep it simple. As for property since I am not sure where I want to be I do not intend to purchase anything down there. Perhaps it is wiser to be able to pack up and leave if you dislike the place rather than being tide by owning a property.

I read some interesting things about Quepos, it is around 22000 population, has a hospital, over 2 hours ride to San Jose and it has rentals from about $35 to over $2000 per night.

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