5 ms·

That’s a feature not a bug, I think.

by admjs 5y ago

sgjohnson 5y ago
How is it not? It’s not even a long-term visa, it’s a 180 day one. You can buy permanent residence in Costa Rica for $5000-ish. And all of this is for an activity that most countries would be fine with you doing on a tourist visa. It’s pointless.
- micromacrofoot 5y ago
  It's twice as long as their standard visa
  - sgjohnson 5y ago
    So?
    - kgin 5y ago
      So you get to stay twice as long.
    - malermeister 5y ago
      It's made for rich knowledge workers to spend a few months there while working remotely and dump a bunch of money into their economy.
      - Scoundreller 5y ago
        because nobody would do that on a tourist visa. Never happened. Only real difference is you can pay to do it for longer than 90 days.
        malermeister 5y ago
        Yup, that's exactly the point. Not sure why that would be a bad thing?
        sgjohnson 5y ago
        Because the only people eligible for this visa are the people who don’t require a regular tourist visa in the first place. And it’s literally just a tourist visa that lets you stay for twice as long. I don’t see the appeal. It seems completely pointless to me. It’s basically targetting only wealthy countries outside of the EU, like Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand. And in that case, why would I bother with visa and the paperwork just to be able to stay for 90 days longer? It’s basically like applying for a B1/B2 visa for the US if you’re from a VWP country. You can do it, but why in the gods name would you?
        malermeister 5y ago
        Let's say you're an outdoorsy software engineer and want to enjoy the beautiful nature of Iceland for half a year while working remotely. That doesn't sound too far-fetched (I know several people personally that scenario would be appealing to). Well, now you can do that.
        emj 5y ago
        When you work it's really annoying to move every 90 days, the double is a lot more interesting. I'm guessing it's 180 because of tax reasons, that is a limit that many countries have for "you do not need to pay taxes anymore". Looking at the paper work this visa seems realitively easy get, and well worth the time. I do not see this as a competition with other countries, just away to make it easier to live there.
        sgjohnson 5y ago
        To be fair, at that salary you could move countries every 120 days and not pay taxes anywhere, and it would definitely be worth it. Some countries of citizenship will require you to declare your domicile elsewhere, but in virtually all of those cases a post box in Costa Rica and registering a business there will suffice. Also doesn’t work for US nationals, because US taxes all green card holders and citizens irrespective of actual residence
- dahfizz 5y ago
  Is Iceland all that depserate for new residents / tourists? Being choosy about who you let move into your country is their prerogative. If they can attract a few high income people, that is a win.
  - Scoundreller 5y ago
    I’d assume various covid requirements (vaccines and testing) have hurt tourism a bit. Their airline was quite popular as a cheap route between Europe and North America, and again, lots of otherwise passengers can’t/won’t make that journey.

That’s a feature not a bug, I think.

by admjs 5y ago

That’s a feature not a bug, I think.

How is it not? It’s not even a long-term visa, it’s a 180 day one. You can buy permanent residence in Costa Rica for $5000-ish. And all of this is for an activity that most countries would be fine with you doing on a tourist visa. It’s pointless.

micromacrofoot 5y ago
It's twice as long as their standard visa
- sgjohnson 5y ago
  So?
  - kgin 5y ago
    So you get to stay twice as long.
  - malermeister 5y ago
    It's made for rich knowledge workers to spend a few months there while working remotely and dump a bunch of money into their economy.
    - Scoundreller 5y ago
      because nobody would do that on a tourist visa. Never happened. Only real difference is you can pay to do it for longer than 90 days.
      - malermeister 5y ago
        Yup, that's exactly the point. Not sure why that would be a bad thing?
        sgjohnson 5y ago
        Because the only people eligible for this visa are the people who don’t require a regular tourist visa in the first place. And it’s literally just a tourist visa that lets you stay for twice as long. I don’t see the appeal. It seems completely pointless to me. It’s basically targetting only wealthy countries outside of the EU, like Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand. And in that case, why would I bother with visa and the paperwork just to be able to stay for 90 days longer? It’s basically like applying for a B1/B2 visa for the US if you’re from a VWP country. You can do it, but why in the gods name would you?
        malermeister 5y ago
        Let's say you're an outdoorsy software engineer and want to enjoy the beautiful nature of Iceland for half a year while working remotely. That doesn't sound too far-fetched (I know several people personally that scenario would be appealing to). Well, now you can do that.
        emj 5y ago
        When you work it's really annoying to move every 90 days, the double is a lot more interesting. I'm guessing it's 180 because of tax reasons, that is a limit that many countries have for "you do not need to pay taxes anymore". Looking at the paper work this visa seems realitively easy get, and well worth the time. I do not see this as a competition with other countries, just away to make it easier to live there.
        sgjohnson 5y ago
        To be fair, at that salary you could move countries every 120 days and not pay taxes anywhere, and it would definitely be worth it. Some countries of citizenship will require you to declare your domicile elsewhere, but in virtually all of those cases a post box in Costa Rica and registering a business there will suffice. Also doesn’t work for US nationals, because US taxes all green card holders and citizens irrespective of actual residence
dahfizz 5y ago
Is Iceland all that depserate for new residents / tourists? Being choosy about who you let move into your country is their prerogative. If they can attract a few high income people, that is a win.
- Scoundreller 5y ago
  I’d assume various covid requirements (vaccines and testing) have hurt tourism a bit. Their airline was quite popular as a cheap route between Europe and North America, and again, lots of otherwise passengers can’t/won’t make that journey.