How many days do you have on your tourist visas?
Let’s talk about Costa Rica tourist visas and the consequences of overstaying. Costa Rica offers different types of visas. Each type of visa has a different process for renewal. We are visitors in Costa Rica and want to abide by its laws, so making sure we leave the country every ninety days is important. We make it a point to complete our crossings three to five days before our stamp expires. This to ensure that we don’t overstay our visa due to unforeseen circumstances like road closures, weather, or personal issues.
Most of these runs can be uneventful, and they only take half a day. Costa Rica tourist visas are offered for a maximum of ninety days. At the end of the ninety days, you will be required to leave the country or risk being deported, jailed, fined, and possibly refused re-entry.
COVID-19 Is Effecting Costa Rica Tourist Visas
Due to COVID-19 Costa Rica borders have closed. Tourist visas have been extended however this doesn’t mean that I can overstay my visa. While I felt very confident that the Costa Rica government was going to extend tourist visas again due to a Level 4 Do Not Travel warning; however, they are not required to. Many people are in the same situation.
Costa Rica borders opening
Last week I wrote an article about Costa Rica borders opening and visas expiring. At that time my visa was going to expire in 52 days.
Shocked At The Comments
When I woke up in the morning, I was shocked at hundreds of the messages in my inbox and some of the comments on the post. Most of these were from people in the same situation also worried about what they were going to do, a few of the comments concerned me things like.
Concerning Comments
- "If the government doesn't extend the Aug 18 date many of us will overstay our visas."
- "Just wait it out."
- "Why have you been here for 5 years and not applied for residency?"
- Some even said I was being "dramatic",
So, I want to take a minute to talk to you about the legal ramification about overstaying a visa.
Costa Rica Residence
There are a couple of different perspectives when it comes to residency as an expat. One group is the die-hard, "if you are in the country indefinitely you should obtain residency". And their counterpart, "eternal tourists." So what are some of the reasons many Expats have not obtained their residency?
Residency can be a lengthy process. The application process can be costly. Then you have an additional monthly payment for Caja (mandatory national insurance). Besides, many people don't qualify.
Outlier Legal Service has asked President Alvarado if there is "an intention to streamline the process a little more to make it easier for people to get residency." As attorney Irene Brenes reports "at the moment is not the easiest thing to do... make it a little bit simpler".
These are only a few reasons some so many Expats never become residents of Costa Rica.
What do the attorneys say?
I Had the pleasure of being able to sit in on a live Zoom meeting with Lead Immigration Attorney Irene Brenes at Outlier Legal Services and Yamlek Mojica from La Voz De Guanacast: The Voice of Guanacaste.
The topic was: “What is next for the foreigners a
nd expats living in the country during the Covid-19 pandemic?” Many topics were covered but two things stood out to me during this meeting.
- It’s a complicated process to get residence.
- People who overstay a visa can be DEPORTED by immigrations.
People Overstaying A Costa Rica Visa
I have heard many stories about people overstaying visas and never having a problem; however, I have a couple of friends who had overstayed and were deported. I would like to think that Costa Rica will continue to extend visas and not deport anyone during the Covid-19 crises. Yet, the fact of the matter is, I’m a guest in this country it’s my responsibility to make sure that I abide by the laws of the country that I’m visiting. That means I need to make sure I have an up-to-date visa and my crap is taken care of if I need to live the country.
Some might be willing to take the chance, I’m not. And 52 days is not a lot of time. Prior to the extension, I had four days to make up my mind on my rental or take the chance of forfeiting my security deposit if the visa were not extended. In addition, I have stuff like cars that I would not be taking back to my home country which would need to be sold.
The Wait
Knowing if the Costa Rica government did not extend my visa it could cost me a lot of money. I decided to risk the security deposit and not book the overprice flights home.
Last night I was finally able to breathe easy. With 41 days left on my visa, I received a message from OutlierLegal Services. It stated that Costa Rica tourist visas have been extended again. This time until November 18, 2020. This does not surprise me it’s now the third time since the Covid-19 pandemic started.
The point is, we all know the laws around the world are changing daily. It's everyone's responsibility to know what applies to them. As a traveler and an expat, you should always be aware of your rights in the country that you are visiting. Although the common practice may be more lenient, it is the government's prerogative to enforce any laws they have in place at any time. I’m so thankful that the Costa Rica government has extended my tourist visa for 132 days. It will be interesting to see where the world is when my visa is up.
I highly recommend registering with your country's embassy and the Safe Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).
