Costa Rica Ministry of Exterior Relations: Translation and Authentication

December 16, 2009 | expatcostarica | Comments 0

Ministry of Exterior Relations or "Casa Amarilla"

A visit to the Ministry of Exterior Relations or Casa Amarilla is the last step in the process to authenticate documents for Residency Application. Attorneys or other professionals that handle applications in Costa Rica typically handle this step, however those handling their application personally need to come here. Fortunately the process is simple, costs very little, and normally does not require more than an hour or two of waiting.

The documents in question must have been previously authenticated by a Costa Rica Embassy in the country of origin and have been translated by a professional that is recognized by the ministry. According to the ministry website there are 192 official translators for the English language in Costa Rica. The typical fee for translating two documents is about $15. It may be necessary to leave the documents for several days with the translator.

The location of the ministry office is just north of Parque Espana, however the entrance is around the back on Avenida 9. The ministry is open to the public in the morning, and upon arrival take a number. Some tax stamps are required, however there are for sale at the corner window, and should cost less than $1.

The ministry officer will sign and stamp the embassy authentication page for each document, which is the final step to make the documents acceptable for presentation at immigration.

Special Note About Counsel Stamp

The embassy normally charges $40 for each document and places stamps to that effect on the authentication page. If these stamps are missing, then the ministry officer will require a payment to the local branch of the Banco de Costa Rica. The bank is in the INS building, which is next door to the ministry.

A separate deposit must be made for each document as the bank receipt will be pasted onto the back of the authentication page in lieu of the $40 stamp. A counter is available at the back of the ministry office to paste the receipts to the documents. It is important to understand exactly where to paste the receipts on the authentication page and take care because the glue dries quickly and can easily ruin the documents.