Author Archive for expatcostarica
“Costa Risa” Video mocks Chinchilla Government
A group of clowns running around in circus is symbolic of the administration of Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla and her government’s plan to impose substantially higher taxes to offset deficit spending. Throughout the creative use of painted midgets, slapstick and sarcastic commentary deals with issues of government corruption, high taxes and criminal impunity. Chinchilla [...]
United States obligates foreign banks to sign agreement with IRS
Foreign banks worldwide that fail to sign an agreement with the Internal Revenue Service by June 30, 2013 will be subject to stiff sanctions. Expats also face new requirements when filing tax returns if their foreign assets exceed $50,000. A recent article in La Nacion quotes Franco Naranjo, President of the Costa Rican Banking Association [...]
Public Security and Future of Central American Youth in Peril
President Laura Chinchilla appeared before the United Nations General Assembly last week and woefully declared that the Republic of Costa Rica is seriously threatened by the problem of narcotics related crime and violence. The statement is a bold one coming from the leader of a nation that is uncomfortable airing its dirty laundry on the [...]
Catholic Church, Sex and Reproductive Freedom in Costa Rica
Slogans like, “Get your rosary beads out of my ovaries”, “illuminate the Catholic Church by burning it”, and “Jesus loves prostitutes” are a few examples of themes repeated Sunday in front of the metropolitan cathedral of San Jose. Ambivalence toward the official state religion of Catholicism is nothing new in Costa Rica, and a protest [...]
U.S. Embassy Produces Video with Travel Warning
Employees of the United States embassy in Costa Rica put together a video on the topic of personal safety in Costa Rica. Anyone who has ever lost their U.S. Passport in Costa Rica has to deal with paying a visit to the consular services embassy in order to get a replacement. The folks at the [...]
Independence Day Celebration in Costa Rica
The annual celebration of United States Independence Day for expatriates living in Costa Rica will be held this year at a new venue, Avenida Escazú and will start at 3pm on Monday, July 4th. The event is taking place later in the afternoon in order to accommodate a fireworks display at 7:30pm in the evening. [...]
Citizenship Not Automatic Right for Foreign Born Children
Decisions made by parents with respect to the education and direction of their expatriate children can influence the nationality of grand children. The United States Supreme Court on Monday denied citizenship for a Mexican born man who is the son of a United States citizen. Justices in the case, Flores-Villar v. United States No. 09–5801, [...]
Cell Phone Rental In Costa Rica No Longer Necessary
Private companies market cell phone rental to English speaking travelers despite the fact the local telephone company sells a five dollar prepaid phone plan. Anyone can pick up the SIM card at the airport in San Jose and be able to make local calls for seven cents a minute. Sending text messages costs less than [...]
Costa Rica Invites Intel to Expand
President Laura Chinchilla recently returned from a trip to the United States, and the first item on her agenda was to pay tribute to the Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel Corporation. The company’s manufacturing facility in Heredia is responsible for producing 20 percent of the value of Costa Rica’s export market, and is considered vital to [...]
President Chinchilla Honors Juan Santamaría
Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla on Monday honored Costa Rica’s favorite hero Juan Santamaría while presenting a speech to bolster support for the territorial dispute between Costa Rica and Nicaragua over the Rio San Juan and Isla Calero. Chinchilla gave the speech in the Alajuela park named for Juan Santamaría, which has been remodeled in [...]
