IL Postcard

Marriage Visas for Sale…As Per Costa Rica Supreme Court

Date: 06/21/2007

Marriage is now one option for anyone seeking entry to Costa Rica. Costa Rica's Sala IV-the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court-has ruled against the General Immigration Administration (DGME) for denying visas to non-nationals suspected of marrying Costa Rican nationals for residency.

In a ruling issued last week, the court ordered the Director of Immigration, Mario Zamora, to pay damages from his own pocket to a Cuban woman. The would-be immigrant had married a Costa Rican through power of attorney, but was denied entry by local immigration officials. According to the court, it is not within the DGME's power to judge the validity of a marriage.

On Tuesday, the DGME had no choice but to authorize 118 visas that had previously been denied because officials believed the applicants were in "marriages of convenience." Zamora said that another 1,700 visas could be authorized in the coming days.

According to Zamora, a group of five attorneys in Costa Rica have dedicated their practice to setting up marriages between Costa Ricans and foreigners-mainly from Cuba, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and China. The lawyers act on behalf of the foreigners via power of attorney, finding Costa Ricans who are willing to marry complete strangers.

"It's a big business: they charge each one $10,000 for the paperwork, including the appeal. Then they pay a ridiculous sum of money to the Costa Rican man or woman," Zamora said.

For example, a single mother of three from the low-income neighborhood of Pavas, in San José, reported to the DGME this week that she had allowed an attorney to marry her to a Cuban she has never met for 40,000 Costa Rican colones (about $80).

Public Security Minister Fernando Berrocal denounced the ruling, saying it compromised Costa Rica's security. "Criminals that have gotten rich for years by trafficking humans are celebrating the Sala IV ruling against the Director of Immigration," Berrocal said.

Berrocal referred to the arrest last year of Héctor Quinto, a Colombian with direct ties to the guerrilla army known as the "Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia" (FARC). Quinto was accused of trafficking weapons and drugs through Costa Rica and wanted for alleged participation in atrocities in his country. When arrested, he was living in the Costa Rican province of Puntarenas; he had married a prostitute to obtain his visa.

Zamora said the ruling left his department with no other option than to routinely authorize visas for anyone married to a Costa Rican.

Your Latin America Insider,

Suzan Haskins
for International Living

P.S. You don't have to marry a local to live in Costa Rica. Join us in this beautiful Central American nation in November for our Live & Prosper in Costa Rica Seminar. Our in-country experts and residents will brief you on the ins and outs of living and doing business in Costa Rica-including much easier visa options. E-mail Events@InternationalLiving.com and be the first to receive details once they are finalized.