SIGN UP FOR OUR By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica
Since 2017, the quality of service from the DGME has steadily deteriorated. Ironically, with the Immigration front gates closed to the public last week until May 18th, things might improve.
Up to the end of 2017, and sporadically to the middle of 2018, my submitted residency applications were getting approved in 5 to 8 months on average, depending on the type. A small percentage went longer due to complexities. By the end of 2018, approval times slowed to an average of 9 to 12 months. Currently, the standard is now at 15 to 24 months.
In early 2018, tensions were rising in Nicaragua. Right about that time, there was an uptick in Nicaraguans showing up at the Department of Immigration seeking asylum, and I noticed the daily crowds at Immigration growing. That is also when my application approval times started to get longer.
In July of 2018, things ramped up in Nicaragua with mass protests and violence. Immediately following, the crowds or asylum seekers from Nicaragua at the Department of Immigration grew to an unmanageable size. The same Immigration staff had to handle all that overflow resulting in an average of 200 claims per day. A 100 chair tent was erected on the center patio just in front of the “Refugees” door to provide comfort for the daily hopefuls. At that point, the Costa Rica government sought assistance from the UN to cope with this onslaught.
Immigration has used the resources to rent a facility off-site along with the addition of 60 new staff, including ten new lawyers, to help process up to 500 claims per day. With the added assistance from the UN, the capacity has supposedly increased to 500 asylum claims per day. Only a fraction will ever be approved. Costa Rica could never absorb them all. Even less so following this current crisis.
One would assume that once the primary Immigration Center was relieved of all this refugee congestion, things would get back to normal. Yet the time it takes for Immigration to process and approve regular residency applications continues to increase.
It seems that Immigration didn’t get the memo from the government to restore the usual quality of service.
Further, the number of foreign ex-pats seeking residency and citizenship has dropped since 2017, which should have resulted in even less pressure on Immigration and significantly lowered approval times. The latter has not materialized, and things continue to move in the opposite direction.
Why?
It is hard to say precisely amid all the conjecture and internal denials. But it is quite clear from my face to face interactions as well as communications through DGME emails that there are significant internal challenges. I’ve noticed a steady increase in empty cubicles since mid-2018 and the steady disappearance of staff I had seen for years. Likely those who have either quit, retired, or been fired and not replaced. Not surprisingly, this has taken place since the election of a new government in 2018, which would soon usher in much-needed austerity measures given the current national debt and annual budget shortfalls. Same story as most governments in the Western Hemisphere.
There has also been a noticeable deterioration in staff morale since these cutbacks. Much of is still caused by one overriding factor: 80% of all submitted applications are either incomplete, incorrect, or fraudulent.
Deterioration of morale also coincides with a change in upper management at Immigration. No doubt, they have had to make tough decisions that staff finds hard to accept and respond to with work-to-rule attitudes and outputs. This has also given way to an increase in incompetence and inconsistent application of the rules. A comprehensive list would be overkill here. Two examples should suffice for the reader to have an idea:
I had submitted residency applications for a family of four in December of 2018. In November 2019, I received approvals on Dad and the children. Nothing on Mom, the principal applicant in this case. On my third expediting inquiry in January, I discovered that Mom’s application had mistakenly been sent to the Refugee department. I was instructed to wait two months for its eventual return. Three weeks later, I met with a different staffer with more initiative. They physically went looking for Mom’s application and found it. Approved. Had I not asked, it would still be sitting there. In another case of a couple submitted in early 2019, both the wife and husband submitted state background reports with their applications. The wife was approved in January this year, but the husband was made to obtain an FBI report. No explanation as to the inconsistency.
Suffice to say that the only way to deal with this is persistent expediting of approvals. This can only be done in person. Often, I am not notified by email (standard procedure) of approval, and only through a face to face inquiry do I get the approval Resolucion in hand. Some had been sitting approved for two months with no notifications to me. Judging by very audible grumblings by my on-site competition, I’m not alone.
While there is a formal procedure to complain through a letter request to expedite an approval, I fear that such complaints can draw undue negative attention. There is quite an aggressive attitude amongst management in Immigration, and this has no doubt exacerbated the office atmosphere. On a positive note, I have met some new staffers who seem to have a great attitude and more initiative than those they replaced. Their numbers are increasing, so perhaps management is making headway with needed changes.
Bottom Line.
Long approval times have resulted in enormous inconvenience and frustration for those awaiting approvals for clients who had made logistics plans around anticipated shorter approval times.
When I submit a residency claim, the applicants receive an Expediente to carry with them at all times. This is proof of application submission. It overrides the 90-day visa restriction and allows applicants to STAY in Costa Rica indefinitely without any issues.
However, if the applicants wish to drive in Costa Rica while they wait for the approvals, they are still forced to use their foreign driver’s licenses. The validity of those licenses is tied to the last 90-day visa stamp received on their passport. This means they have to do border runs to get a fresh stamp and keep their foreign drivers’ licenses valid.
The irony is that elimination of border runs was one of many good reasons most decided to apply for residency. If they have been waiting for 18 months to be approved, that equates to 6 border runs. However, when a client shows up at the border with the Expediente and shows it to Costa Rica border police, they are granted new 90-day visas without any issues. Police can see they are serious about getting residency.
Changes since Covid19 closing to the public:
The Department of Immigration is now closed to the public and all legal representatives until May 18th. This may get extended. I drove over to the DGME this morning (March 23rd) and spoke with security staff with whom I am familiar. The May 18th re-open date still stands. But I also noted that the employees’ parking lot was full, and all hands seem to be on deck. One would think that with no new business to process daily, the backlog of overdue approvals should be cleared by May 18th. I will still be getting emails from the DGME on approvals throughout this time, and when I do, clients will be notified of their next steps to getting their cards in hand.
For those awaiting submissions, assuming the May 18th re-opening stands, all documents will remain valid and will not expire. Submissions will be scheduled for after May 18th.
For more detailed information and updates, I have advised each of my clients to visit my website at www.costaricaresidencycard.com and if dealing with complicated travel logistics to please email me.
