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An article in this mornings AM Costa Rica explains some of the regulations being put into place to enforce the new immigration law set to take effect in March.

New law will tighten up on those perpetual tourists

By Manuel Avendaño Arce
and the A.M. Costa Rica staff

When the new immigration law goes into effect March 1 tourists here will still be able to renew their visa by going to and returning from a nearby country. But the rules are changing.

Mario Zamora, the director general de Migración y Extranjería, said Thursday that a tourist will not be able to go to the same country twice and that after two trips to renew a visa a tourist will have to stay out of Costa Rica for a minimum of 15 days.

The new law seeks to crack down on perpetual tourists. What Zamora said is not in the law. These new rules are in the regulations that soon will be published in the La Gaceta official newspaper.

In lieu of going to another country to renew a tourist visa, a foreigner also can show up at any immigration location and renew the right to stay here for 90 more days for $100, Zamora noted. That procedure is in the law, but the new information from Zamora is that the renewal process will be available at immigration offices at international airports, at border posts, ports, marinas and any other location where immigration officers work. There had been concern that the renewals could only be done in San José.

In order to renew a visa that way, the tourist will have to establish financial responsibility and show that they have the means to support themselves for 90 more days. For those who do not have the money, such as students, a procedure is being set up so that the $100 can be waived by the Ministerio de Hacienda, said Zamora.

The rule that a tourist cannot renew a visa by traveling to the same adjacent country twice is a new concept. That means a perpetual tourist living near the Nicaraguan border can visit that country once. But the next visa renewal will have to be at some other country.

And after two visa renewals the tourist will have to leave Costa Rica for a minimum of 15 days, according to Zamora. The idea is to encourage perpetual tourists to seek another form of residency.

Tourists are not supposed to work in Costa Rica, but many do. They run the risk of losing their
possessions and holdings if they are grabbed and expelled by immigration police.

Zamora was among other officials who met to discuss the new immigration law at the Hotel Radisson in Barrio Tournon Thursday afternoon. The new law was outlined in general terms. The law was reported in depth when it was passed last Sept. 1 and signed into law. HERE!

The major changes for expats are:

• They need to join the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social. Still unclear is if membership in a similar program in another country would be sufficient for the Costa Rican requirement. The exact system to enroll expats has not been made clear but they will have to show that they have Caja membership when they renew their cédulas..

• Tourists who overstay their visas will pay a larger fine when leaving, and they will be prohibited from reentering Costa Rica for three times the period that they were illegally in the country.

• Many more categories are created for persons who seek to work or stay in Costa Rica. Work permits traditionally have been difficult to get here unless the applicant is a large company.

• Pensionados approved under the new law must show a monthly income from a certified pension of at least $1,000 a month, up from $600. That amount also covers foreign spouses and minor Ch*ldren. Rentistas have to show that they have a continuing monthly income of at least $2,500, up from $1,000.

• Innkeepers and hotel operators will have to keep a registry of persons staying in their facilities for inspection by the immigration police.

The broad law creates an immigration police that is composed of Fuerza Pública officers. It criminalizes trafficking in persons. It creates an immigration council to issue visas to citizens of restricted countries and takes that job away from the immigration director.

The measure also gives the president the power to grant residency by decree. A.M. Costa Rica has reported that this creates the possibility of immigration amnesties of the type that were mandated twice in the 1990s.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

If these new perpetual tourist laws and regulations are enforced as per the article and if the new administration clamps down on prostitution whether through new laws/regulations or frequent harassment closings and immigration sweeps, then Costa Rica is going to be a much harder place to monger in unless you are an expat who knows the scene.

All big "ifs" of course and none of us knows for sure what is going to happen. All we can do is wait and see this play out over the next year or two.

Puerto Rico seems to have driven off most monger travel, and it seems like Panama may be starting down that road as well. In a far different time and situation, Cuba did the same. If Costa Rica also does this then it's going to be interesting to see where the perpetual tourists and weekend warriors flock to next. I don't know if Colombia or Nicaragua would work even though they are the two biggest sources of non-Tica talent in Costa Rica. The DR and Mexico still seem the most likely to me.

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"All them women gonna make me,
teach 'em what they don't know how..." TMIB

It's unclear to me if they mean you cannot go to the same country twice, or twice in a row. Can you go to Nicaragua, then Panama, then back to Nicaragua? Does it include the US? If I go to the US for a week, twice in a row, is that a problem considering i'm a US citizen? How would they track what country you went to last?

All good questions but I doubt anyone here has the correct answers. You would have to contact an attorney who specializes in immigration matters and even he/she might not have the answers at this time.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

In my opinion this might be the most significant change that will affect many people working and or living here in CR without residency;

"And after two visa renewals the tourist will have to leave Costa Rica for a minimum of 15 days, according to Zamora. The idea is to encourage perpetual tourists to seek another form of residency."

This should not affect the tourists that come to CR 6-8 times a year because of the fact most will stay out the minimum of 15 days between visits.

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This post is provided purely for entertainment purposes and free of charge on the part of the author. No "Sex tourism or travel" promotion is expressed or implied. The author of this post was not provided any compensation for this hopefully entertaining contribution. Any posts regarding any event or hotel item are just my humble opinions only.

As has been announced my migration and discussed here and on other gringo forums the day of the "ghost stamp" are numbered. The new electronic stamp will be installed at every boarder crossing. Not to mentioned the risk if being ratted out. People have been deported because someone tipped migration that they had a least one "ghost stamp" in their passport.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

The next step for those of us who are most affected by these morons is to wait till next week (March 1st) when it is posted in La Gaceda which makes it official. Then I will probably will contact an Attorney and start the process. Fortunately I don't work here,and my Social Security check alone is sufficient to qualify me for Pensionado status. Then again.....if they harass the Casinos and the Putas I will only need a plane ticket.

That supposedly is the intention in the new regulations. A quote from the article:

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Greengo if you do not believe that the government is committed to stamping out fraudulent visa stamp then you and those you polled to arrive at your "80% are still getting ghost stamps" or "probably 98 per cent of people here over 5 years have multiple ghost stamps" are going to have a rude awaking.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

I did an opinion piece on my blog on this subject, if anyone is interested:
http://www.usexpatcostarica.com/2010/02/perpetual-tourists-beware/

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"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

It will be interesting to see what transpires. It will take longer as even after the rules are published the agencies have latitude in interpretation. Hence the confusing contradictions in the past. Then Sala IV will rule part of it unconstitutional, then the agency will ingnore the ruling, then Sala IV will threaten with arrests, then the agency will reconsider and again it will hit the legistlature.

Napoleonic Code works much differently than our system of laws. And if you are, "ghost-stamped" at the border, it will be difficult to prove. There are border crossings at San Vito and Los Chiles that would be difficult to maintain functioning electronic stamping. And with the low pay for civil servents, there will be loopholes.

Until pay increases like it did in the States, there will be ways to supplement income.

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Gremlin, no resemblance to the AMC product

There aren't even full-time functioning electronic stamps at all of the immigration booths at SJO. In Oct '09 I received my first "e" stamp. In Jan of this year it was an old-fashioned rubber stamp again. Like most things in CR, it's gonna take a loooong time for the authorities to get their act together.

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Women are like beers. I've never had one that I didn't like. Just some that I like more than others! --Western

....and while you're at it.....check the stamp after the passport is returned to you by the officer. This last trip the twunt didn't put the standard 90 day expiry date.....it was 30 days

Now, to her defense, she DID ask me how long I was going to be in the country and I advised "...15 days or so...". Too, she refused to stamp by hand my copy and had a "supervisor" come over. I showed him my color copy with original stamps on it, explained that that was the document I carried with me as I locked up the real passport in the hotel safe and he explained back that the copy never should have been stamped with original stamps (that, despite the fact it had four original stamps on it from four trips over 11 months....). Oh well......all's well that ends well....but I do like my color copy with an original stamp......(this was arriving mid day....all other times I've been getting in at about 22:00hrs.).

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"Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand."
- Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, Ch. 16

Bilko....the link to your blog doesn't work

Oops I just noticed that the problem isn't with Bilko's link. Admin....it seems that ALL the links from posts don't work.