Expert: Lic.Gregory Kearney Lawson. - 12/29/2011

Question
My brother is interested in relocating to Costa Rica and practicing medicine.  He is a board certified Family Medicine physician with an active medical license in California. He graduated from the Universidad Autonoma Medical School in Guadalajara, Mexico and completed his residency in the United States.
What is the process to obtain a medical license in Costa Rica and be able to practice medicine? Are there entry exams? certificates required?
What is the time frame and who would he contact to start the process?
Are there practice opportunities there and if so, in what communities?
How is medicine organized in Costa Rica? Government sponsored, private practice, a combination?

Answer
To begin he will first need to apply for residency in Costa Rica, for this he will need his original birth certificate, police record certificate,diplomas, grades and proof of stable, permanent income. After he can then apply to join the Medical Association.
The rest of the documents and everything else is done through an Attorney such as myself.
Realistically the process takes about 6 months - year for residency after everything has been completed, although many will wrongly say it takes 3 months. For the medical association process it takes about 6 more months.
There is sometimes a 2 year required practice in rural communities and entry exams and there are practice opportunities in most all rural communities.
The practice of medicine is done as private or public hospitals, many do a combination of both.


Lic.Gregory Kearney Lawson.:
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http://attorneykearney.com
attorneykearney@yahoo.com