Costa Rica Relocation Blog

I have written about this many times before but some things bear repeating time and time again . There is so much bad information out there!!! Just this weekend I learned of another poor animal dying because someone received BAD information, information they received from an airline.

This poor cat came into Costa Rica last week from Canada. After many hours in flight and many more unnecessary hours in the customs warehouse because the paperwork was not in order. The cat was finally released to the owner but it was too late. The cat was severely dehydrated. It was rushed to the veterinarian but passed away the following day.

ALL pets coming as manifest cargo MUST have an import permit!!!  This permit must be applied for 4 business days prior to the pet arriving with the Senasa.  In order to apply, the Senasa must have a copy of the pets vaccination records.  Any pet over 3 months old must have a current rabies vaccination that is under one year.  No exceptions under any circumstances to this rabies law.  No puppies under 3 months and no dogs with rabies over one year old will be permitted entry into the country.

The permit cannot be applied for by an individual.  It must be applied for through a broker and there is a process that must be followed.  The original is held by the agency that is clearing the pet through customs.  The owner cannot do this themselves without the pet spending much unnecessary time sitting on pallets in the customs warehouse.

This is only a brief outline of some of what you need to know when moving to Costa Rica with pets.  For more information, contact our pet moving division at World Pet Travel.

You can read of some of their moves at testimonials and you can also learn here how to contact them directly.

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Filed under: Animals, Moving pets to Costa Rica, Moving to Costa Rica

Costa Rica is becoming the mecca for North Americans and others who need reasonable health care. The president of Costa Rica has put out the welcome map for foreigners who want to come here to take advantage of the lower-cost medical care.

The president, Nobel-Peace Prize winner Óscar Arias Sánchez, issued a formal decree to assist those local clinics, medical professionals and the foreigners who wish to come here.

Among other actions, the president said the country would promote international accreditation of hospitals and clinics which specialize in foreign patients. Already Costa Rica has hospitals that are highly respected. One even is associated with Southern Methodist University.

Accreditation will give visitors a guarantee that highly trained professionals from elsewhere have studied the education, facilities, practices and philosophies of those organizations offering health care.

Arias already has told the educational ministry to make sure high school graduates are functional in English within a few years. That goes double for the health professions, because many physicians, dentists and nurses have studied in the United States, Canada and Great Britain.

Arias also said that his government would work with foreign insurance providers to make certain that medical care here will be covered by  companies in the home country.

In 2007 some 8,500 foreigners, mostly U.S. citizens, came to Costa Rica for health care. Costa Rica has a dynamic system covering most of its citizens, and many practitioners share their time between private and public hospitals and clinics. So they have the advantages of both.

Why is health care so reasonable here? A lot has to do with the bureaucracy of the U.S. system. Some sources estimated that fully 40 percent of the money spent on medical care in the United states goes to administration.  Costa Rica is a country that is not known for its high insurance rates on medical professional. Plus the overall cost of living is much lower.

Costa Rica is convenient and just a few hours by air from most of the United states. And as a recovery spot nothing can beat the great climate, the great service and the many possibilities a medical vacationer can find in Costa Rica.

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Filed under: Health care in Costa Rica, Living in Costa Rica, Uncategorized

New transit or driving laws are about to pass this September 23rd.  As usual the government of Costa Rica is rushing around trying to piece together all of the last minute changes before the deadline.

A couple of the changes that are coming about are the following:

1. All children 12 and under MUST be in a car seat
2. All vehicles MUST have a first aid kit

There is much controversy on just these two items.  The first being that most families cannot afford car seats for their smaller children nor do they have room in their car for one car seat let alone car seats for the older children.  If you have not been to Costa Rica to see how families pack 5 or 6 small children into the back seat of a car you cannot fully appreciate this statement.

The second concern is the first aid kit contains liquids that go bad if the temperature exceeds 85 degrees.  Again, if you have been to Costa Rica, you understand that this is the case most days so the first aid salves don’t do you much good.

Then there is the issue of the fines…. I have not actually seen the breakdown of the fees but from preliminary reports and what I have seen so far, it is not looking good for the average Costa Rica family.  The fines are higher than what some will make in a week and more than what many will be able to pay.

I hope that in this case the people will not lose.

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Taking a pet to Costa Rica has it’s upside and downside depending on how you go about doing it.  It you want to travel with your pet on the same plane it is a relatively simple process.  But during the summer months and going back into the United States this gets a little more difficult.

The TSA has made it impossible for an individual to book one’s own pet on a flight entering the US as manifest cargo which is the only way pets that are over 70 lbs (crate and pet’s weight combined) can travel.  They must use a licensed broker or a registered and licensed IPATA agent to book the flight for them.

If you have a smaller pet and the temperature is not over 85 degrees at any point of your travel or in the winter months below 40 degrees you can take your pet as checked baggage.  Provided of course it does not exceed the weight limit.

If you take a pet into Costa Rica as manifest cargo and you are NOT on the same plane, you have a whole other mess if you have not taken efforts to get an import permit well in advance of your pets arrival.  It is guaranteed that your pet will spend at least one night in the customs warehouse (off-site of the airport) in wait of an import permit.

Then there is the paperwork that is required to enter and exit Costa Rica.  Government approved and state USDA/MAG stamped and sealed paperwork.

Taking a pet into or out of Costa Rica is not as simple as taking a child.  Do not take this lightly or your pet will be the one to suffer and you will be unduly stressed with the process.

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So you want to bring your beloved bird with you to Costa Rica?  Do you know what all is involved in this endeavor?  Lots of paperwork and permissions from your home country and Costa Rica’s government agency’s.

This month we brought in a bird from Honduras.  Birds from Central and South America are not permitted entry to Costa Rica but we did it and Phoenix is with her mother on the Pacific Coast, both very happy.

If you are coming out of the United States, you must first get the permission of the US Fish & Wildlife Agency in the form of what they call a CITES permit.  This is the first step towards getting your bird OUT of the US.  You must then get a CITES from the Costa Rican Ministry of Agriculture and approval from the MINAE.

After you have all of this, you must get your bird to Costa Rica within 30 days of the issuance of the Costa Rican CITES or your window of opportunity is gone.

This is not a process that is simple by any means.  You must know who to talk to and truthfully, have a little pull with them or it never gets done.

This year so far, we have brought 4 birds into the country.  We are now working on 3 more.

Do NOT try to bring your bird with you on the plane as it WILL be taken away from you when you arrive at the airport in San Jose and you might never see your bird again.

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Filed under: Animals, Moving pets to Costa Rica, Moving to Costa Rica