For weeks now I've been scouring the internet and online forums to try to dig up some sort of information on work permits in Costa Rica. The closest thing I could come to was a list of things Colombians needed to get a permit to work in CR. I tried calling the US embassy here, but never got an answer. Well, finally my SO called Migracion (immigration) for me and it turns out... CR is not giving out work permits right now.

Instead of work permits, they are giving out temporary residency. But the thing is, you can't work with temporary residency, and I only know of 4 temp res categories-- pensionado (retiree), rentista (retiree), investor (putting $200,000 into a CR company), and permanent (married) which I am none of. I just got sent information on what seems to be a residency for a student who is studying here...

Laws have recently changed so that you have to have 3 years of temp residency before getting permanent residency. They did this to "crack down" on sham marriages. But I guess lots of these temp residencies are being given "condition free" and people are taking that to mean they can work. Which is stupid because then what was the point of the new law anyways?

I'm not too worried about applying for residency, I think it may actually be easier to get than a work permit. Also, once I'm a resident I won't have to pay foreigner fees to get into National Parks! But I also think the whole process is a lot more expensive and I'll need to do a lot more stuff. Oh well, it's what I gotta do!