benefits of naturalization

[bigj]

what are the benefits of being a naturalized citizen in costa rica?

having lived as a 'viritual tourist' for 6.5 years, i forgot what its like to be a citizen lol.

some benefits ive considered:

1) no exit ticket when entering
2) legal to work
2) banking convenience
3) home/car loans?
4) visiting cuba?
5) messing with immigration officers heads? "passport? i dont need no stinkin passport .. heres my cedula" lol

any others?

any consequences?

 

[wolfie_cr]

exit ticket and legal to work , correct
about banks, don't count on it, banks are being a royal pain in the neck....no matter where you are from
home/car loans yes but you can also get them if you have decent credit score in the US and can show income
visiting cuba? big deal......it doesnt matter if you have an US passport.....lots of gringos go...they know how to deal with you in Cuba so that it doesn't create problems to you

about number 5 I wouldn't do that......it will simply delay your entry into the country

a few more

you can't be deported if you are a citizen, no matter what you did

passport that may be useful in case you want to visit countries that are not friendly to the US

no need to renew your cedula every 2 years (which is the current scenario), you would get one like ours which is good for ten

one more I forgot, no need of a visa to go to Brazil,saves 130 dollars or so

you may also save some $ if you visit other central american countries that ask foreigners to buy 'tourism cards' .....Panama comes to mind


consequence: if you get arrested HERE.....the US Embassy will provide minimum (or may be nothing at all) assistance.....since you are......by all frames of reference....a local.

 

[bigj]

a buddy of mine told me that about cuba right after i wrote the post, didnt know that, pretty cool.

i was thinking more along the lines of random immigration raids, or fureza policia that may try and score a few extra bucks of me thinking im illegal.

 

[wolfie_cr]

that's probably right.....I have always thought that we must be one of the stupidest countries on Earth just because of that 'eternal tourist' crap........they should just GET RID OF IT ...and at the same time introduce some sort of 'if you want to live here.......then do this ......show us this amount of $........pay this........$$$$$$$ and gl ' kind of immigration category

 

[AdamSelene]

1) no exit ticket when entering

For the 1 in 200 times they ask for it. Citizenship is more expensive than a bus ticket, but yeah.

2) legal to work

You can always legally work for your own S.A., and otherwise job salaries suck, so YMMV if you find this useful at all.

2) banking convenience

Sucks for Costa Rican citizens equally as foreigners, opening and maintenance requirements are the same for both. But least you won't get your bank account frozen when your passport number changes.

Actually a Costa Rican passport is a bigger benefit for banking in *other* countries, like Panama and Switzerland who often won't accept U.S. citizens.

3) home/car loans?

I guess. Not sure how hard this is to do with a cedula residencia versus a citizenship cedula.

4) visiting cuba?

They won't stamp your U.S. passport, no problem. Illegal too as a dual citizen anyway AFAIK.

5) messing with immigration officers heads? "passport? i dont need no stinkin passport .. heres my cedula" lol

There's a separate line, so the only mess is you getting in the wrong line.

any others? any consequences?

6) You cannot be deported. However they can just revoke your naturalized citizenship and deport you anyway; they've done that before, I don't recall the guy's name offhand.

Also unless you hide here and don't travel, the U.S. will either just grab your ass off an airplane while in transit with a sealed indictment (as they did David Carruthers on route from London to San Jose), or kidnap you and throw your ass on a DEA plane in the middle of the night (like they did Marc Harris in Nicaragua).

 

[NES]

Nice topic, am working on this myself. Would love more info.

 

[fuzebox]

The only real benefit to someone like me is the ability to apply for a carry permit.

 

[AdamSelene]

The only real benefit to someone like me is the ability to apply for a carry permit.

You don't need citizenship to get a carry permit.

I think y'all are confusing citizenship (naturalization) with permanent residency. #1 and #5 are also no different for naturalized citizens than permanent residents, and I'm not sure #3 is either.

 

[wolfie_cr]

6) You cannot be deported. However they can just revoke your naturalized citizenship and deport you anyway; they've done that before, I don't recall the guy's name offhand.

Pure speculation (that there was an actual reason for revoking the citizenship) but they can of course revoke it if they find out for instance that you were a criminal before you applied for citizenship.

In a separate note, for years it was actually more expensive to be a resident than a 'perpetual tourist' as they hit residents with a 20 dollar surcharge everytime they left CR via plane............this can add up (really) quickly...........

 

[wolfie_cr]

actually I wanted to kill the lawyer that sent me the wrong way, I could have gotten the wife citizenship status ..........around 2003........

there is a link in tse.go.cr that explains the process......so you can do it all yourself

I found out about it here in therx

it would have saved us......literally 10 hours /year in the last 6 years....thats how long it took to renew the stupid resident cedula

NOW you go to Banco de Costa Rica for 10 minutes....and pick up the cedula 3 weeks later in the post office you say....and thats it

 

[bigj]

i was the guy that shared the tse.go.cr link for ya ... i just finished that process and will be taking the oath next month on the 28th.

overall it was very simple, just took 1 year and 10 months from when i applied until i receive my certificate of naturalization.

given that my wife and daughter/stepson are ticos, it was important to obtain and im very happy i did.

dual citizenship isnt illegal btw. my daughter has it as well, she got her US citizenship after she was born.

if you want i can pm you the steps i went thru nes, just let me know.

 

[AdamSelene]

dual citizenship isnt illegal btw. my daughter has it as well, she got her US citizenship after she was born.

If you're referring to my comment, I meant it's still illegal for US/CR dual citizens to visit Cuba.

Just as US/CR dual citizens must also still report foreign bank accounts, report foreign corporations, and pay U.S. income taxes on global income. Of course you ought to know the worlds-biggest tax loophole for U.S. citizens (file separately).

How many years did you have residency before applying?

 

[AdamSelene]

if you want i can pm you the steps i went thru nes, just let me know.

PM me the steps if you will, I'll be applying soon. Although I'll probably just pay my overpaid lawyer to do it.

 

[NES]

Supposably I have someone that is going to help me through it for free, one of the benefits of marrying into a family full of lawyers, but I would love to get the info, and thanks in advance for being helpful BigJ.

 

[AdamSelene]

6) You cannot be deported. However they can just revoke your naturalized citizenship and deport you anyway; they've done that before, I don't recall the guy's name offhand.

Found it. Keith Anderson in 2002. They claimed the decision to grant him citizenship was "in error". In any case it was clear he was in trouble before he got citizenship.

You'll also recall Figueres gave Robert Vesco asylum; although he never got citizenship, and left town when Figueres' party lost the presidency.

In 1996, Anderson and his brother, Lowell Wayne Anderson, formed an organization called Anderson's Ark and Associates ("AAA") to assist United States taxpayers in avoiding income taxes. Anderson then lived in the State of Washington. In 1999, he moved to Costa Rica and established AAA's Costa Rican headquarters. On October 9, 2001, Anderson petitioned for naturalized Costa Rican citizenship. Just over a month later, the United States government filed a criminal complaint against Anderson in the Western District of Washington, charging him with conspiracy to defraud the United States under 18 U.S.C. § 371 in connection with his AAA activities. The government also obtained a warrant for Anderson's arrest.

In early February 2002, Anderson was detained in Costa Rica at the United States' behest. The United States filed a formal request for extradition with the Costa Rican government in March 2002. Then, on July 3, 2002, Anderson's Costa Rican citizenship petition was granted; three weeks later, a Costa Rican criminal trial court granted the United States' extradition request. Shortly thereafter, the Costa Rican government annulled Anderson's Costa Rican citizenship.

 

[wolfie_cr]

ah I forgot

by being a citizen you can vote of course and after being citizen for 10 years you can even run for diputado

 

[degengambler]

citizens of c r will not be extradicted to another country. residents
not so protected

 

[VIEJODINOSAUR]

Supposably I have someone that is going to help me through it for free, one of the benefits of marrying into a family full of lawyers, but I would love to get the info, and thanks in advance for being helpful BigJ.

Go shoot yourself in the head...

 

[Tortillera]

citizens of c r will not be extradicted to another country. residents
not so protected

Wanna bet..................

 

[bigj]

If you're referring to my comment, I meant it's still illegal for US/CR dual citizens to visit Cuba.

Just as US/CR dual citizens must also still report foreign bank accounts, report foreign corporations, and pay U.S. income taxes on global income. Of course you ought to know the worlds-biggest tax loophole for U.S. citizens (file separately).

How many years did you have residency before applying?

0 years of residency .. started the process after i was already married for 3 years, i had the option of residency or naturalization, opted for naturalization.

so this is big for me, virtual tourist > citizen.