Living Legal in Costa Rica - Part III Addendum

As was indicated in my previous blog entry on this topic, we obtained our original drivers' licenses in Costa Rica when it was possible to do so on presentation of a foreign driver's license (British Columbia, Canada), a passport, and proof that an application for residency in Costa Rica had been made. Our passport numbers had to appear on these licenses because we had not yet obtained cédulas (Costa Rican ID cards).

Then the law changed. Now, you must have a cédula before you can get a Costa Rican driver's license. For some, this leads to the headache of having to leave the country every 90 days in order to keep driving in Costa Rica on the strength of a foreign driver's license. However, unlike ourselves, when these people finally get a cédula and their first Costa Rican license, it will be their cédula number which appears on the license and not their passport number. Later, when it comes time to renew such a license, the renewal process may be more streamlined than in our case. There will be no need for COSEVI to update its records to show a cédula number instead of a passport number.

The upshot is that it may not be necessary to go to a COSEVI office in order to renew a driver's license that already shows a cédula number. There will be no need for a "jefe" to update COSEVI's records. Instead, one should have the option to go to a participating branch of the Banco de Costa Rica which can handle the entire process – payment, photograph, etc. in one sitting. Go here for more information.

We were aware of the Banco de Costa Rica program but did not go to the bank to handle the process because we had visions of being told by the bank to go COSEVI to get the records updated with our cédula numbers, then come back.

 

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Living Legal in Costa Rica - Part III

When we arrived in Costa Rica, we had valid driver's licenses from British Columbia, Canada. To obtain Costa Rica licenses, all we had to do was present our unexpired foreign licenses and some papers (passports and verification that we had applied for residency status), pass low threshold medical and eye examinations, and pay the piper within 90 days from our date of arrival. Fortunately, we did so in a timely manner because the law changed a short time later.

Now, the rule seems to be that you must have residency status in Costa Rica before you can obtain a Costa Rica driver's license based upon a foreign driver's license. The problem is that it often can take upwards of a year or more to have a residency application approved. In the meantime, your foreign license will be recognized for only 90 days from your latest date of entry into Costa Rica as it appears stamped in your passport. So, for those caught by the new law and wanting to drive in Costa Rica, it may be necessary to periodically leave the country (to Nicaragua, Panama or wherever) and return the next day (or whenever) merely to get a new latest date of entry into Costa Rica – and then to be good for up to another 90 days. Or, you may choose to rely on the bus system and taxis.

Recently, the time came when our original Costa Rican drivers' licenses had to be renewed. In fact, they had expired but expiry has no effect on renewal. The only consequence is the obvious one – you cannot or you had better not drive. You certainly will not be able to rent a car as we do from time to time.

The first step in the renewal process was for each of us to obtain a medical exam and "dictamen médico digital" (digital medical opinion). For this, we went to Dra. F. Elena Arias (tel. no. 8336-6475) who has a private practice in Atenas – the town where we live.

The exams were little more than taking blood pressure, measuring height and weight and heart rate, and asking a few questions (any drugs, etc.?). We were in and out within a half hour. A good part of the doctor's time was spent entering our identities and exam results into a computer and transmitting the information to a database (SEDIMEC) which appears to be operated under the umbrella of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Costa Rica ("Colegio de Médicos y Cirujanos de Costa Rica"). Although Dra. Arias said we probably would not need them, she provided us with printouts headed "Comprobante Dictamen Médico" (Medical Opinion Proof), each containing an important code number so that authorities down the road could easily locate our information on the database if any question arose.

Costa Rica law requires that we be enrolled in the public medicare system (CAJA) and we are. Whether we might have obtained "dictamenes médico digital" through CAJA, I do not know. But, I seriously doubt it. Nevertheless, not being inclined to address the issue, we turned to the private system. The total cost for the two of us was ₡30000 (about USD $60.00).

The next step should have been to go to the Banco de Costa Rica, pay for the license renewals (₡5000 or about USD $10.00 each), and get receipts confirming the payments. But, early one morning, we instead went directly to "COSEVI" - the agency in Costa Rica which handles the issuance of drivers' licenses and license renewals.

COSEVI is an acronym for "Consejo de Seguridad Vial" or roughly "Road Safety Council" in English. In addition to its headquarters in La Uruca, it has several regional offices throughout the country where renewals can be obtained. The locations of these offices can be found here or, with Google Translate from Spanish to English, here. We chose the COSEVI location in Alajuela which is identified on the maps below.

From where we live in Atenas, Alajuela is a comfortable ride by bus on highway 3 to the interurban bus station "1" shown on the right hand map. Depending on traffic, the trip takes about 45 to 60 minutes. From the bus station, it is a 10 minute ride by taxi to COSEVI. By car from Atenas on highway 3, one should exit right on Calle 24 in Alajuela.

When we stepped out from our taxi at COSEVI, we were approached by a friendly traffic guide wearing road safety clothing. He spoke some English and basically asked if he could help. He then guided us to a guard at the main entry gate to COSEVI only to be informed by the guard that the "jefe" (pronounced hef-eh or "head" or "boss" in English) would not be there that day. He was needed in order to properly process renewal applications that needed to be linked to a cedula and not a passport. "Come back tomorrow at 8:00 a.m." was the message. Both the guard and the traffic guide looked truly sorry, but that's the way it was. So back to Atenas we went.

We returned at 8:00 a.m. the next day and were met by the same traffic guide who took us over to the same guard. We were then were told that unfortunately the "jefe" would not be available until at least 9:30. Again, both the traffic guide and the guard looked sorry. The traffic guide then asked if we would like a coffee. When we said sure, he walked us across the street to a nondescript shop offering coffee and various bottled beverages and seemingly nothing more – but there was more as we subsequently discovered. We left the shop after about 45 minutes and then marked time in the shade at the side of the street for another 45 minutes. The traffic guide gave us chairs to sit on.

It was about 10:00 a.m. before we sat down in front of the "jefe". He wanted to see our existing licenses and cédulas (ID cards) and he wanted to know our current residence. For the latter purpose, we simply gave him a copy of the latest electric bill. Although we had them with us, he did not ask to see our Medical Opinion Proof – so he obviously had no difficulty getting the required medical information from the SEDIMEC database. He asked some questions including whether we agreed to be organ donors. He spent a lot of time at his computer typing and producing a lot of documents each of which required signatures and dating and some of which also required hand printed full names and cédula numbers. I think we each had 7 documents to deal with – more than required to get our original drivers' licenses.

When we were done with the "jefe", we were directed to another office to have our photographs taken. Here we encountered a minor embarrassment. The lady in charge wanted to see receipts confirming that we had paid the required license renewal fees. Well, we had not and we had to leave – nothing more could be done. We had immediate visions of having to taxi to a Banco de Costa Rica branch in downtown Alajuela, then back, just to pay the fees – and who knows how long it might take to get a teller in the bank. When we went outside, we asked the friendly traffic guide for directions. He smiled, pointed across the street, and walked us back to the nondescript shop where we had had coffee earlier in the day. He spoke to the proprietor who then stood at a computer terminal, did a bit typing, and produced two receipts. Total cost: ₡5500 colones each - ₡5000 for the license fee plus a ₡500 colone commission.

We were back at the photographer's office within 10 minutes of having left. In another 15 minutes or so we were done with renewed driver's licenses in hand and good for the next 5 years.

By the way, the friendly traffic guide never asked or hinted, but we did give him a gratuity for his time and assistance. He also has cars on hand that can be rented to take a driver's test and, if you don't have the required safety equipment in the trunk of your car, he can rent you those items too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Living Legal in Costa Rica - PART I

Foreign nationals like ourselves who wish to live in Costa Rica without having to leave the country every 90 days - or sometimes less - are obliged to have (or to have completed an application for) a government issued ID card commonly referred to as a "cédula" or as a "DIMEX", the latter being an acronym for "Documento de Identidad Migratorio para Extranjeros".

With fanfare, I first wrote about receiving our cédulas in my blog post on July 23, 2012. They had been issued on July 20, 2012. Recently, they were renewed. As indicated in the above snapshot of my own cédula, the headline is "RESIDENTE PENSIONADO COND RESTRINGIDA". This means that our right to live in Costa Rica is subject to conditions. Being in the "pensionado" category, one condition is an assured monthly income of at least $1,000 U.S. Usually, the assurance is in the form of a letter from a competent authority verifying a government pension. Another condition is being able to prove year-to-year that at least $12,000 is being converted from U.S. dollars to Costa Rican colones. When the each year begins and ends is a bit of a mystery. We took it to begin on the date our cédulas were issued - and that seems to have worked.

Coming from Canada, the conversion process is a bit painful not by reason of the amount but because we have to first buy U.S. dollars from a Canadian bank then sell the dollars to a Costa Rican bank, each bank taking its pound of flesh along the way. We figure that we are losing 8‑10% to the banks on foreign exchange, whereas those from the U.S. might be losing half that amount. I suppose those from France, Germany, the U.K., etc., are in the same position as ourselves.

Another condition is to enroll in CAJA, Costa Rica's public medical care system and to make monthly payments to CAJA based on income. Even if one elects not to use the public system and to rely exclusively on private hospital and medical care services which are available, one is still obliged - and rightly so - to contribute to CAJA.

When we received our cédulas in 2012, we cheerfully assumed that they were good for two years from the date of issue - and then would have to be renewed. Two years is a number which we had heard several times. We had in mind that we had until July 20, 2014 to renew.

WRONG! They expired in February. So off we went to our lawyer who advised us we would each need an affidavit explaining why we were late. The affidavits are in Spanish. The cost was $50.00 each.

The actual expiry date of a cedula is indicated on the bottom right of the card - "Vence" - with a date beside it. We never noticed that!

Our lawyer also advised that I then needed to get a new pension letter from my Canadian federal government pension people stating my monthly net income. A phone call to Ottawa started this wheel turning, but it took about three weeks for the actual letter to get into my hands. We then took the letter to the Canadian Embassy in San José for an official translation - only to have it rejected because there was no written signature. Fortunately, however, we were dealing with Michelle in the Consular Section and she was very helpful. We ended up making a conference telephone call from the Embassy to a pension officer in Ottawa and I was able to authorize my pension information to be made available to Michelle. She was then able to prepare a Spanish language letter on Embassy letterhead verifying the pension amount. The Embassy charge for all of this was 22,400 colones (about $41.00 U.S.).

Neither the affidavits nor the new pension letter would have been required had we renewed our cédulas in a timely manner.

The next step was to phone Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) and make an appointment. Their phone number is 900-00-34639. They offer an option to speak to an English speaking employee. We opted to go to the BCR in San Jose because it is easy to get there on a bus. BCR told us to bring along the following:

• Current passport and a copy of the information inside.
• Current cédula and copies of the front and back.
• A letter from our bank verifying the amount converted from U.S. dollars to Costa Rican colones. Special Note: We do not maintain bank accounts in Costa Rica because we have not sensed much need. All we have done is to keep bank teller receipts showing the conversions with my name and cédula number on them. They were organized with checklists for 2012, 2013 and 2014 so that they could be quickly inspected and checked off.
• Copy of marriage certificate.
• Current "Carné Asegurado Directo" and a copy. This is the card issued to you when you have joined the CAJA.
• Current receipt from CAJA showing you are paid up to date.
• We also had to bring our affidavits and the new pension letter.

The cost for renewal is $123 USD each and this can be paid in colones or U.S. dollars. We also had to pay 3,000 colones for each month we were overdue (for each of us). There was also a 3,500 colone charge (for each of us) for the correos (post office), which is where our new cédulas would be sent and, in our case, this was the correos in Atenas.

There was one glitch: Lance did not have his own carné from the CAJA and this caused some confusion with the BCR people. They seemed to suggest that it would be necessary to get some form of confirmation from CAJA that he was covered by CAJA and that it should be delivered directly to Immigracion and not via BCR. Necessary for what? At the end of our appointment with BCR, we were both told that our new cédulas would be available for pickup at the correos in two or three weeks - and so they were without any followup involving Immigracion.

In the meantime, we were a bit concerned about the situation with CAJA and took steps to obtain Lance’s own carné - but that is a different story.

 

 

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Banking in Atenas

This morning I went to Banco de Costa Rica to deposit our rent money to our landlady's account. First I draw out the amount in U.S. dollars from my bank in Canada. The reason for this is because, as pensionado residents, we are obligated to convert $12,000 U.S. to colones every year for three years in order to fulfill the requirements of living in Costa Rica as pensionados. After the third year, we can apply to become permanent residents and this requirement will cease. We see this as just the cost of living here for the first three years. We have to save the bank receipts to prove we have done the conversions. You can do it in one fell swoop, or over months, as long as you have converted $12,000 U.S. to colones at the end of a year.

We are now into our second year of conversions. It took a year to get our cedulas and that is when the requirement to convert starts.

So every time I withdraw money from my Canadian bank via the ATM, I do it in U.S. dollars, then convert to colones. Canada does not have an agreement with Costa Rica whereby Canadian pensions can be directly deposited to a Costa Rican bank, unlike other countries, the U.S.A. being one I believe. Some time before the end of our year (in our case August to July, August being when we received our cedulas) we usually reach the $12,000 mark and can stop doing the conversion - which saves me from embarrassment for a period of time.

The reason for the embarrassment is because I then have to turn around and convert the colones back into U.S. dollars because our landlady's account is a U.S. dollar account. The tellers shake their heads at me ... why would anyone do such a thing! I just shrug and agree that it is loco, but it's hard to explain why in my limited Spanish. Sometimes I do the transactions on two different days just to avoid this.

So everyone gets a piece of the action ...

In Canada, you have to stand in line to see a teller, sometimes a lengthy line. Here at the Banco de Costa Rica, you get a lettered and numbered ticket from a machine and then take a seat ... a seat! The letter on the ticket corresponds to how many transactions you want to do at one time. There is a special teller for the elderly and handicapped so they don't have to wait long. On two walls are screens showing the next number up and which teller to go to. It's a good way to learn some of the Spanish alphabet and numbers.

The bank door is manned by two guards and you won't get in without the magic wand sweep and a quick look into purses, backpacks, etc. I'm always polite and say thanks and now I receive "con mucho gusto" from them ("with much pleasure"). It took a while to get to that point, but now they recognize me.

Well, today the ticket machine was not functioning but that's no problem for the guards. They know exactly who gets the next vacant chair and we played musical chairs through three rows of chairs. When someone vacates a chair to go to the teller, everyone moves up a chair and if you are a bit slow to realize this, the guard is right there to ensure you move. It's very efficient. The elderly get preferential treatment. I'm not sure when they will decide I am at that point.

Oh yes - turn off your cellphones! The guards have the eyes and ears of eagles and will be at your side in seconds if your phone rings. Such a change from Canada where everyone is yak yakking on their phones and we are forced into listening to their inane conversations.

Sometimes it can be a lengthy wait for a teller, so bring a book. At least we are sitting, not standing. Usually I just sit there in peaceful contemplation, listening to the numbers being called, "M42, posición tres" (posición being the teller's number). Once, in this state, I realized what the big blue square post was in the middle of the bank, in front of the tellers' stations. I was able to read the Spanish signs. It is where everyone must go to in the event of an earthquake. I guess it is super stabilized to withstand one.

You may as well do that, because you won't get out the door without the guards letting you out!

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Friday Morning In Atenas

I was at the gate bright and early this morning, ready to walk into Atenas. What luck, a neighbour of ours was driving there and gave me a lift. Thanks, neighbour!

That got me into town too early to go Banco de Costa Rica (they open at 0900), so I went to the Ferreteria J.R. Vargas E Hijos (J.R. Vargas and Sons Hardware Store) to buy a hose coupling. Like a lot of shops in Atenas, they open up early. This is a good place to browse in - usually I can find whatever I am looking for.

Next stop - the newly opened (two weeks ago) Del Mar Pescados and Mariscos (fish and seafood). The owner (at least I think he was the owner) speaks English and knows his seafood. I wanted smoked salmon, scallops and tilapia and got it all for 6,000 colones ($12 CAD) and I have enough of everything for six servings. He had salmon filets from Canada and also Chile. Apparently Costa Ricans are not very familiar with scallops here - I don't know why - so I am happy that I can now get them. Next time I am going to get the salmon filets. Not sure if they were Canadian Pacific or Atlantic salmon and whether they are farmed or wild.

Never knew Chile had salmon so Googled it and, yes they do, but it is farmed. I also know that some "scallops" are not really scallops but cut in rounds from white fish or rays. You can identify a real scallop by noting that the muscle strands run vertical, not horizontal.

Here's a good hint: I carry a small icepack in my bag with me if I know I am going to buy meat or seafood and am not going straight home.

Del Mar's website is http//www.delmarcr.com. Hours of operation are Monday to Saturday from 7:30 am to 8:00 pm, and 7:30 am to 3:00 pm on Sunday. Phone numbers are 8413-6333 and 2446-0126. They are located in store number 6 in the Centro Plaza Atenas, 50 meters north from Importadora Monge. This is the small mall across from El Rayo and Del Mar is right at the back. Please support this shop ... I don't want them to disappear!

Then I strolled over to the feria (our weekly Friday outdoor market). Atenas is small enough that one can walk everywhere. Still too early for the bank, so I walked around the market and admired everything, then sat on a bench in the shade to kill a bit of time. Back to the bank, did my business, then returned to the feria.

I bought tomatoes, green beans, a big bag of onions, lettuce, potatoes ..... and I don't think I spent more then $3 CAD. What I need to get is one of those grocery bags on wheels so I can load up at both the mercado and the feria, zip the top closed, toss it into the trunk of a taxi, and head on home. I noticed a lot of people use them, both Ticos and expats. I would buy a lot more if I didn't have to lug the bags around ... including orchids! Yes, there is a booth selling orchids, another selling potted plants and herbs, home made tamales are available, fresh cut flowers, fresh made bread and baked goods ... so many wonderful things.

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