Expert: Lic.Gregory Kearney Lawson. - 5/29/2011

Question
Thank you so much for giving your time to us. I am a disabled vet with a monthly stipend from the VA. My wife and I are hoping to go to CR with our 3 kids and have our 4th. Am I understanding this correctly:

A. must enter country with passport and round trip airfare, "planning to stay 3 months"
B. pay cash for birth
C. register birth with CR and US embassy
D. apply for citizenship for myself, my wife, and my 3 other kids.
E. pay "the equivalent of a one-way airfare (for each person) as guarantee"?
F. within 6 mos- 1 year get all of us to be citizen residents.

After we achieve citizenship, there are no restrictions on whether I can work, right?
Also, will we all have to leave the country after the 3-month travel visa expires? Does using that initial return-trip ticket mess up the process? Do we just "miss the flight" and lose the money (spent on the return ticket)
Aside from all of our birth certificates, marriage license, passports, what other documentation would we want to get before we come down, knowing that we want to stay there? I read about a clean criminal record form... where can I find info on "unacceptable crimes" to make sure I'm clear? Thank you so much!!

Answer
A- Correct
B- Correct, credit cards, debit cards etc are also usually accepted
C- The birth will be automatcaaly registered in Costa Rica, You will or should register the child at the amercian embassy at Cnsular services.
D- You will apply for Permanent Residency through a Lawyer in Costa Rica, for yourself and for each member of your family, each person has a seperate file, although only one will need to qualify.
E- It is cheaper to pay for a round trip ticket to Costa Rica for each person, the return trip will be your guarantee.  
F- Normally it takes from 6 months to a year for the residency to be approved, after 7 years of being a resident you may apply for citizenship.

After being a resident you ahve all the rights of any citizen with the exception of the right to vote, after bieng a citizen then you can vote.
You may work after obtaining permanent residency or if you have another type of residecy you may work through your own corporation.

After you have applied for residency you will not need to leave the country unless it is rejected, but during the process you may stay in the country.
You will need a letter from the police department stating that you have not been convicted of felonies, small crimes or misdemeanors are not a problem.
The birth certificate, marriage certificate and police record will have to be sent to the State department to be autenticated by them in the same state that has issued the document, then sent to the consulate nearest you by Fedex with a prepaid envelope to be returned to you or to my office in Costa Rica and $40 for each document that will be stamped at the embassy, I believe the state department also charges a similer fee.
To begin it is best to start with the paperwork in Costa Rica and send the Lawyer photocopies of the certificates, documents and information to begin doing the paperwork here.

Your welcome,

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