Costa Rica Expat Forum

New to CR by marriage, need help and advice

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veritasvincit8

3/31/2017 01:57 EST

Hello all. I am new to Costa Rica by means of marriage. There's no doubt about it I am fully invested and will call Costa Rica home. So far I have started working with a group called ARCR to handle the legal size in regards to residency. I have very little experience so not sure if they are a good group however they gained a certain amount of my confidence so far. The main things that I will be looking forward now are purchasing a home, employment, receiving mail or packages (If feasibly affordable, and is online purchasing as affordable as the states?), as well as shipping all of my belongings here. I would appreciate any and all advice on these topics and look forward to meeting new friends here in Costa Rica. I am retired military as of last year with 19 years combined active and Reserve service. I'm leaving behind a 15yr career with a professional fire department. My home was Houston Texas. Thank everyone very much and I appreciate any help.

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lindyluvsCR

3/31/2017 14:56 EST

We used a lawyer that used to be with ARCR, but broke off and works independent. It cost us $3626 for the 2 of us. He kept to his original amount and never tried to get more. We received our Expediente in 3 weeks, and received cedula in 9 months. I never one time called to bug them.

We do not order on-line or have stuff shipped here.

We came only with 5 big suitcases. We had no interest in having a bunch of 'stuff' shipped. Many people spend thousands and thousands of dollars to ship a bunch of, what I have seen when entering their house, I would say junk. But I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

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Blueridgeboy1

3/31/2017 15:10 EST

There is a lot of good info on these topics in the ARCR forums, indexed by topic. The tabs in the left margin of this web site also give you a lot of basics and handy links.There are also a few expat blogs where they chronicle their moves. Spending a few evenings devouring those will get you a good start. Congratulations on your marriage and your new adventures. Your spouse may know about where they want to live (near family?). Best wishes.

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Kohl

3/31/2017 17:34 EST

You will read the info on the ARCR forum, that you can't work until you have a cedula stating that you are indeed, 'legal to work' however this could take up to a year or more.

When applying for Residency based on marriage to a CR citizen, immigration will request additional information including previous photos of you and your new spouse with extended family, etc. and you will have to attend a 'meeting' with immigration.

Expenses are listed here:
https://outlierlegal.com/services/immigration/legal-fees-government-fees-and-expenses/

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