Perpetual tourists might be able to benefit
The following was taken from the popular Costa Rica news website, amcostarica.com January 25th, 2007.
There is a new immigration bill that would grant illegals amnesty.
The government’s new immigration proposals would grant amnesty to thousands of illegal residents by letting them pay into a fund each month or perform community service. Although the measure is meant to help Nicaraguans and other Latins here, so-called perpetual tourists might be able to take advantage of the stipulation.
In addition, the measure would require foreign residents here to also pay into such a fund perhaps at a rate higher than other immigrants.
Central government officials said Tuesday that it was ready to present a redrawn immigration bill to the Asemblea Legislativa, but Casa Presidencial was unable to provide a copy. Instead, the government issued a press release in which it listed the high points.
Mario Zamora, director general de Migración, said there were more than 60 changes in the new legislation when compared to the immigration bill that became law in August. Among those changes is a system to let illegal immigrants stay in the country as long as they pay into a fund to support the education and health systems. This amount is supposed to be about $20 a month.
However, officials said the amount would vary depending on the type of residency. That suggests that pensionados, rentistas and inversionistas who are here legally mainly from North America and Europe would pay more. Officials have not addressed that point directly, although the text of the bill probably would clarify the issue.
There are about 300,000 Nicaraguans here and many of them are here illegally.
The existing immigration bill that went into effect in August contains no concessions for persons living illegally here. President Óscar Arias Sánchez opposed the new legislation that was passed by the previous legislature. He asked the current lawmakers to stop the law from going into force, but with the glacial speed with which the legislature moves, lawmakers were unable to do so.
Church and social groups have opposed the legislation that is now in effect as draconian.
Casa Presidencial said that the new proposal would penalize human trafficking, something the current law does not do. The proposal also would create a commission to study the cases of foreigners from so-called restricted countries.
Now visas are awarded by the director general, but Zamora said two weeks ago that he turned down a $2.5 million bribe offered by those trafficking Chinese. Putting the visas through a committee would make decisions less prone to private influence.
The new proposal would require foreigners who marry Costa Ricans outside the country to wait three years before being able to get residency.
That is an effort to prevent fake marriages or so-called marriages of convenience. The effect on North Americans who marry Costa Ricans here or outside the country is not clear.
The proposal also would allow foreigners to apply for legal residency inside Costa Rica and not only at the Costa Rican consulate in their home country. Work permits would be made easier, too, said the Casa Presidencial release.
Perpetual tourists are those who live in Costa Rica but travel outside the county every 90 days to renew their tourism visa. The government has not cracked down on that process.
Typically, perpetual tourists do not want or are unable to apply for one of several residency categories. Some have criminal records. Others do not have the funds to be a pensionado or rentista.