Union in fact sufficient for residency, court says
November 25th, 2008 | by admin |The Sala IV constitutional court has ruled that a foreigner does not have to be legally married to a Costa Rican to avoid deportation. Simply living together will do the trick.
The court threw out a section of immigration law that said a union in fact has no legal effect and cannot be used to evade deportation or to seek permanent residency. The law was challenged by the Fundación Centro de Derechos Sociales del Inmigrante.
The ruling is retroactive.
The Costa Rican Constitution says that the family is to be protected, and the Sala IV said that the word family must be interpreted broadly, not just as a product of matrimony.
The court also said that the immigration law discriminated against foreigners because a union in fact is recognized in many ways in Costa Rican law
