The immigration department has posted the rules governing the administrative renewal of a tourist visa, and the outline does not look good for the average U.S. or Canadian expat.
For starters it appears that the immigration office is enforcing the wording of the law that says only visas issued for less than 90 days can be extended. The usual North American visa is for 90 days.
But then the procedure gets even more complex. Instead of a tourist just handing in a receipt for $100, the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería wants extensive documentation, including a ticket for leaving the country.
The idea of a tourist renewal originally was proposed for snowbirds and others who might want to stay more than 90 days in the country and not face the burden of taking a foreign trip to renew the visa.
According to the memo posted on the Web site, applicants for renewal must fill out an application and list contact information in Costa Rica. The document must be authenticated by a lawyer or by the immigration official who receives it.
Then the immigration agency wants a personal data form which asks marital status, education level completed, parents names, occupation and once again contact information.
The renewal applicant also has to provide three passport-type photos and a certified photocopy of the ticket that will be used to leave the country.
A photocopy of the passport also must be certified. The photocopy must include all the pages of the passport to be verified by the immigration official who receives it. If the passport is not in Spanish, a translation must accompany it, according to the rules.
As expected the applicant has to demonstrate financial capability for the time he or she is staying in the country. The rule is vague on this part, although informally immigration workers have talked of a bank account or some other evidence showing access to money during the time the applicant would be in the country.
Any individuals who are here at the invitation of the government or private Costa Rican companies have to present a letter explaining the situation.
Medical tourists who have to overstay their current visa have to present a medical certificate explaining that fact.
The $100 fee must be deposited in an account in Banco de Costa Rica.
A reporter accompanied a Swiss citizen last month in an effort to renew his tourist visa. He was denied on the third of three visits to immigration because his visa was for 90 days. The 90-day rule appears to have been the use of an incorrect phrase by the legislative staff because at the time the law was being discussed in the Asamblea Legislativa, everyone involved seemed to think that an easy renewal process would help tourism, real estate and those individuals who flee the northern winter here.
The remainder of the regulations that go with the new immigration law have not yet been available.