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Just to help out my good friend, greengo....who I don't know from a hole in the wall:
San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, April 29, 2010, Vol. 10, No. 83
Immigration putting expat residency data online
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The immigration agency is putting on line the personal information of legal foreign residents in the country. The agency has contracted with Radiográfica Costarricense S.A. to offer a service to firms and individuals who want to check out the status of foreigners.
The Banco Nacional has been using the system in its banking activities in a pilot program. Those who seek to use the system have to sign up with Radiográfica Costarricense, known as RACSA. The charge is 100 colons per inquiry, about 20 U.S. cents.
The immigration status of foreigners has been available on a case-by-case basis, but four years ago the Dirección General de Migración y ExtranjerÃa restricted that information to lawyers.
The data base is set up to be searched by name, number of cédula, birth date, nationality and gender, said the immigration agency.
Alicia Avendaño, director of the División de Gobierno Digital, said that the project is part of the process of providing transparency in government operations.
A number of companies have asked for a system to check up on the legal status of foreigners in Costa Rica, said Mario Zamora, immigration director.
Only foreigners who are permanent residents are allowed to hold jobs in Costa Rica, but there are many types of residency, including pensionado and rentista. Permanent residency usually is achieved after several years in one of the other categories.
The system also will allow banks and potential employers to check the validity of cédulas presented by individuals and visas, which sometimes are forged.
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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
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