It is a well-known law that limits the amount of time that a non-resident can stay in Costa Rica to no more than 90 days. So, for those that like to visit for longer than that, or for those that migrate and spend say, half the year hear, listen up, er… read up!
I just received a call from my buddy in Immigration. He told me about a law that was going to be put into effect on the 27th of this month. It goes like this: if you over-stay your time here, you will be fined $100 per month. Now this is getting a bit serious.
Juan went on to explain more by means of an imaginary situation. Let’s say that you are 3 months over your 90 days, and you go to cross the border into Panama in Paso Canoas. You give the gal behind the window at Immigration your passport. She sees that you are 3 months over. She says, you need to pay the $300 dollars.
Now, you weren’t expecting this, and you may not have the $300 dollars. So you explain this to her. She says, well then fine, just go on into Panama. You can come back into Costa Rica in 9 months.
That is the gist of what Juan told me. I’ll be getting more details on this and posting them shortly.