WORK IN COSTA RICA

The short answer is that. . .

it depends

on whether you want to work for somebody else or for yourself.

Many times, vacations in Costa Rica evoke a desire to pack up one's things and move to the beautiful Central America country.

Lots of people think that they can come to Costa Rica, get a job, and live happily ever after.

Well. . . not so fast.

Like the U.S. and many, many other countries, immigrants normally need to go through certain procedures to work in Costa Rica.

In this section, I'll discuss a number of options for those readers who want to work in Costa Rica.

Working For Someone Else In Costa Rica

Golly, you've worked for so many years doing the same thing, are you

too old

too settled

for something new?

To Work In Costa Rica For Someone Else You Need a Permit or Residency

A couple of weeks later, we ran into one another again. He was becoming concerned because he had not realized that he'd have so many expenses and the bus ride back and forth to work took an hour and a half each way. His enthusiasm was tempered.

Perhaps 15 days after, I came across him in an internet cafe. He was discouraged, so disenchanted he was thinking of changing his return plane reservation to that day. Indeed, he left that day, licking his wounds.

What had happened? Turns out his employer changed the rules and informed him he'd only get paid a set amount each day per staff person who showed up for class, which was voluntary. Some days nobody would be there but him---after a long bus ride.

Lots of teachers and students fall for the myth that they can work in Costa Rica because there's a good job waiting for English teachers. Some come believing the the promises they've gotten from language schools, only to discover that the reality is very different.

Here are some of the facts:

1. Unless you have legal residency status or a special work permit (say, to teach English or to work for a particular company) you will not be able to legally work for somebody else in Costa Rica.

If you find work "under-the-table" you'll be rewarded equally---and if your employer cheats you, who are you going to call? Ghostbusters?

2. The average Costa Rican earns between $500 and $800 a month. Sure, there are lots of people who make more but who's your competition going to be? Can you live on that? And, what makes you think (other than an unenforceable promise) that somebody'd pay you more than a local?

3. My Spanish language school charges me $6.40 an hour for lessons. My teachers, fluent in two languages, probably get paid about $3.00 an hour or so but they never have a 40 hour week.

4. Students and teachers are particularly susceptible to costly errors because they think, like the fellow I described above, that they'll get paid to have adventure.

Sorry for the tough love lecture but better to hear it from me than find out the hard way.

The lesson: before you hop a plane to work in Costa Rica, take the time to learn the rules and, in particular, Rule 1: normally, to work for somebody else you need to have Costa Rica legal residency or find work with a company that can get you a work permit.

Find Work In Costa Rica With American Companies

Here's a representative idea of the American companies for which you might work in Costa Rica:

Intel, Baxter Healthcare, Motorola, Cisco, Boston Scientific, Fiserv, Equifax, Experian, Western Union, Marriott, 3M, UPS, Walmart, and hundreds more.

HP employs more than 2,000 employees and IBM is expanding its Costa Rica workforce by another 1,000 souls (primarily to work with cloud computing).

Many international companies are always looking for qualified English speaking employees with Costa Rica legal residency. And many are significantly increasing their Costa Rica presence.

Want to see an extensive list of sources to help your research for work opportunties? Click to go to Costa Rica Jobs.

First, while your pay might not come up to American standards, you will probably find that your expenses don't either. Click for info about Costa Rica cost of living.

Second, earnings for work in Costa Rica aren't taxed by Uncle Sam until they get pretty steep---about $85,000.

How To Become A Costa Rica Legal Resident

Fortunately, it's not impossible to become a legal resident of Costa Rica.

There are tens of thousands of Americans, Canadians, Brits and others living in Costa Rica. Many have become legal residents.

Click here to learn the four ways to become a resident under Costa Rica immigration.

Working For Yourself Without Legal Residency

I. Own A Costa Rica Business

Or, you might not be itching to move to Costa Rica simply to work full time.

Perhaps you've never liked working for somebody else.

Are there other options?

Yep!

There are actually two opportunities to make money in Costa Rica without becoming a legal resident.

First, you can set up a Costa Rica corporation and invest in or own your own Costa Rica business (like a store, B & B, restaurant).

Click to learn about the benefits of and rules of how to incorporate your Costa Rica business, click.

II. Work For Yourself At Home

Though it seems to have been with us forever, the world-wide web---and particularly business opportunities---is still in its infancy. Today, unlike just a handful of years ago, anyone, living anywhere on the globe, can make money like I do.

From home.

Working for myself.

Setting my own hours.

Contributing to my own economic future.

And, you can, too. Whether you are living in tropical Costa Rica or anywhere else on the planet.

Interested in knowing how? Click here to find out about working for yourself.

Go to Costa Rica Retirement page here

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