LatinNews Daily Report - 24 September 2012

MIGRATION | Costa Rica to cross-reference immigration applications with US criminal records. On 23 September Costa Rica’s directorate for migration and immigration issues revealed it had filed a formal petition with the local Interpol office to serve as liaison with its US counterpart, so that the Costa Rican government can cross-reference the information provided by permanent residency applicants to Costa Rica with US criminal records. Deputy Director of Migration Freddy Montero Mora said the exchange of information would only take place within Interpol and that Costa Rican authorities would not have direct access to personal criminal records; the information sharing process will take between 24 and 48 hours and will begin on 1 October. He said that the sharing of information is important due to the number of US citizens who request permanent residency in Costa Rica, but it may also play a part in combating transnational criminal groups such as narco traffickers who may use Central Americans residing in the US to launder assets in Costa Rica.

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