We are old subscribers to your paper and are glad to see that you have an information service for the problems of retirees and other readers.
In our old U.S. passports, we have stamps from Costa Rican Immigration to authenticate our status as pensionados (one of the categories of foreign residency in Costa Rica).We wish to have the same stamp in our new U.S. passports.
Unfortunately, neither the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) nor Costa Rica’s Immigration Administration could tell us if this passport stamp is necessary or exactly where to obtain it.
Can you provide any information?
Andrew and Bernadine Bodor
Curridabat
Getting a new stamp is not necessary, according to Norma Ibarra, assistant to Immigration Director Mario Zamora. She told The Tico Times that your cédula, the identity card that certifies your residency in Costa Rica, is all you need to prove your pensionado status.
However, should you wish to get a new stamp for your passport, simply visit Immigration’s Foreigner Services Section (Sección de Extranjería) with your passport and cédula, and officials with provide the new stamp, Ibarra said. No appointment is necessary, though given The Tico Times’ past experiences at Immigration, you should leave a few hours open for your visit, as lines and wait times tend to be lengthy.
The Foreign Services Section is open 8 a.m.-4 p.m.,Monday through Friday. As a service to Tico Times readers, “Get Action” will answer questions, solve problems, bridge language gaps and just generally help wherever it can. Please send your queries to “Get Action” at The Tico Times by mail, fax or e-mail. We can’t promise miracles, but we’ll do the best we can.
