The importance of diplomatic representation when living in Costa Rica

Anne-Lise wrote:

Is your home country represented in Costa Rica? And if it is not, do you find this is a problem?

We have just posted online a piece about the importance of diplomatic representation in your host country while living abroad. Do let us know whether you think it is absolutely essential and share your experience about diplomacy in Costa Rica.

Have a great week,
AL

It certainly helps to have an Embassy. If you are collecting social security from the United States you can use it in order to submit a document every 2 years, form 7162, called "Report to the United States" which says you still live in Costa Rica. If you do not submit this form when it is due, they will cut off your social security payment(s) until you do.

What happens is the SSA mails you this form to Costa Rica. If it is mailed to the wrong address or lost or stolen you're screwed.

This happened to me. I never got the form, knew nothing about the form, and suddenly did not get my social security check which I need to buy food and everything else, to live.

So in this case the thing is to call the US Embassy, arrange to get the form to them, and then they fix it. At the time it happened to me, 4 years ago, they did not allow me to fax or send the form via email. In the end I got my home state in the USA to help me with it but that is not always possible. Of course I could have physically gone to the Embassy but I was trying very hard to not do that as it is far away and inconvenient and costly for me to get there.

Anyway, from what I understand now, you can send Form 7162 which you can download to the US Embassy via email, whereas before you could not. I'm not sure but this may depend on WHO you talk to and what the phase of the moon is on that day, if you get my meaning. So the US Embassy in Costa Rica can help you with social security issues such as this.

Another thing is when you need proof of social security income (like for Residency renewal) the Embassy can provide this. However this is not such an issue now because you can get that form via email. Before you actually had to go there in person to get it.

By the way, make note on a calendar on which years your Form 7162 is due, and make sure you get it to the social security dept or embassy or you'll get cut off. On that note let me say this, the US Social Security office is not always helpful and not a very well run bureaucracy. They COULD have notified me via email before cutting off my soc. sec. payment. But they did not. They COULD allow you to submit your form securely online via https and encrypted connection via fax or message via my.socialsecurity. But they don't.  Moving on...

Here is the current link to the US Embassy page re Form 7161 and Form 7162:
https://cr.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-se … -security/

Many many years ago I lost my passport and had to go to the Embassy to get a new one. It took hours, had to start out early in the morning, but at least I was able to do it.

So my experience is that it is worthwhile to have an Embassy or Consulate where you live. Though you may only need to use it once in a blue moon, or perhaps never. If you're super organized and never lose anything and know what forms you need to submit to Social Security and do so, then you may never need the Embassy.

I've heard they can also help you if you are accused of a crime or have a legal issue. However I have never needed them for that so I'm not sure.

One more thing you can do there - though expensive and inconvenient unless you live near the Embassy - is have something notarized USA style for a USA document. The one time I needed such a notarization the bank who needed it from me did accept a Costa Rica notarization from a Costa Rican attorney, which was much easier and cheaper for me to get. 

If you don't know about form 7162 which basically is a form saying, Yes, I still live in [another country],  make sure you are on top of it!

I'm going to send mine this coming year to a friend in the USA by mail. Then he will send it to the SSA for me, and once he has mailed it I feel very confident due to the reliability of the US Postal Service, that it will arrive there.

I do NOT recommend using the Costa Rican mail to mail anything important to the USA. or vice versa. O have at times not received things I know my family mailed me here from the USA and I know I did not receive 2 forms the Social Security sent me.

However they have a service at the CR Correo that is a lot more securefor sending documents to the USA,  and has a tracking number that you can use to see if it got there. But it costs about $20-25 as I recall for one document to arrive in 5-7 days. I prefer my method. I mail it early to my friend in the USA and he tells me when he gets it and mails it on to the SSA for me. If for some reason he doesn't get it I can send a 2nd one and if he doesn't get that, I can use the expensive Correo service. (You can use FedEx for this as well but depending on where you live in Costa Rica, a FedEx office may be far away.

Here is a link to the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica:
https://cr.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-se … -security/