International Cooperation for Modernising the System of Renewal of Residence Permits for the Beneficiaries of the Migratory Amnesty in San Jose

This contribution has assisted the Government of Costa Rica in modernising and computerising the process of renewal of residence permits. The Costa Rican Government implemented an Amnesty in 1999 with the goal of regularising the numerous irregular Central American migrants residing in Costa Rica. This amnesty led to a substantial increase in the workload of administrative services dealing with residence permits in San Jose, due in part to the fact that the beneficiaries needed to have their permits renewed each year. Under this project, a commission was set up and charged to assess the current procedures of renewal of work permits and to propose new procedures for offering migrants better services, as well as to propose reforms in the administrative system to enable their implementation. The activities carried out included inter alia:
- automation of the administrative procedures of renewal of residence permits
- strengthening of the Department in charge of residence permits by providing human resources and relevant IT material.
- creation of a unique format for the documen, certifying the permanent status of the migrant.

These changes by their nature will benefit not only migrants regularised under the Amnesty, but all the migrants residing in San Jose.