New on the BLOG - video with interview transcript: http://blog.pokerrefugees.com/2014/0...ker-playa.html

At Poker Refugees, we have spoken with thousands of poker players and heard many stories. We felt that Shane's story represented many players in similar situations. We hope that if you are thinking of moving for online poker, whether from the US or any other country, watching this video and reading about/listening to Shane's experience can help.

Poker Refugees launches all-inclusive travel packages to Mexico for SCOOP 2014.

http://pokerrefugees.com/scoop2014

http://blog.pokerrefugees.com/2014/0...inclusive.html

New Blog and YouTube video about a poker player turned yoga teacher turned "Poker Refugee" who moved to Costa Rica after getting deported from UK (he had somewhat of a bad run):

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wesle...08356439253068

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JdrLiD06kU

Where will you be playing SCOOP from this year? Join us in Mexico!

How do you go about staying in Panama long term? I believe US tourists can only stay for 90 days without an easy extension. Can you gain residency somehow?

Hi there, the typical visa term for US & EU residents is 180 days.

Once that 180 day period has expired, countries like Panama, Mexico and Costa Rica (90 days) allow re-entry if you leave the country and come back in.

This is contrasting to most countries including Canada and the EU, where foreigners can only stay 180 days per calendar year and in some cases 90 days in, 90 days out at a time.

We think that the reason that visa policies are more flexible in Latin America is because the tourism supports their developing economies.

In that sense, some "perpetual tourists" can "live" in countries where they are a tourist for many years if they continue exiting and entering every 90-180 days. If you're sure you want to stay long term, we can refer you to a residency lawyer in Panama. It's not very difficult or expensive to apply for official residency.

Hope this helps!

Here is a link with more info from the US State Dept:
TOURIST VISA REQUIRED:
Not required for stays under 180 days, but airlines charge an additional $5.00 as a tourist surcharge.

http://travel.state.gov/content/pass...ry/panama.html

^K

Hey everyone, thought I would comment on my recent experience with Poker Refugees.
I recently used them to facilitate a relocation to Costa Rica. I had high expectations of their service going in, and those expectations were exceeded. The process was incredibly smooth and easy; they had me up and running with a bank account, a Neteller account, a Skrill account, and my poker sites within 2 days of my arrival. I highly recommend their service to anyone considering a relocation, and in particular to anyone relocating to a country where there is a language barrier. The process of getting a bank account in Costa Rica is not easy, both because of the language barrier, and because of various hoops customers are forced to jump through, and it would have been close to impossible to accomplish on my own. Kristin's company took care of all the red tape for me, and made opening my account totally painless. I would rate her service 10/10, and urge anyone considering a relocation to give her a call. Please contact me if you have any questions about their service.

Hello PR.


l am very interested in your services, although it would actually take place for 6-12 months for me. l guess l just have some general questions regarding cost of living, in Canada, Mexico, and CR. l currently live in the Northern US and l feel like Canada would be most convenient for me. However it seems that the cost of living in Canada is too high.

Also, lve heard that amsterdam is very expensive to live. Hope to hear from you.

- AJP

Hi AJP,

6-12 months is a very common period of time for players to plan their initial relocation. Some come for 3 months+ and other stay for years or move permanently. Every player is different. Most of our players sign up with us from 1-6 months prior to the anticipated relocation date.

We agree that the cost of living in Canada is amongst the highest in the Americas. If you live in the smaller towns instead of the cities, for example: Windsor, Sarnia, Niagra and other border towns, the cost of living is significantly lower and mirrors the cost of living in small US towns. However, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver are quite expensive. The different in rent for a 1BR in a town versus a city can be significant. It's reasonable to find properties for $500-1,000 in the towns while a studio, 1BR or loft in the city can be from $1500-4000 furnished.

Europe also has a high cost of living and high taxes, which are required even for foreigners in places like Amsterdam.

For players on a budget, we recommend starting out in either a small town in Canada, Mexico or Costa Rica at first. The main benefits to living in Costa Rica or Mexico versus Canada is that it's easier to deposit and cash out. There are no restrictions on using E-Wallets like Skrill or Neteller in most Latin American Countries.

Does this answer all your initial questions? Also feel free to email us anytime at info@pokerrefugees.com

^Kristin

Room available in 2BR condo - Playa del Carmen. $750/mo. Inquire with us for details! Available now

Checked you website, it shows London as an option but I comber this whole thread and didn't find any information on it. Can you tell me The Visa situation and immigration details as well as your experience with setting people up for London

Hi there, there isn't that much public info out there about each destination unless people inquire about something specific on the thread. Because all of our relocations are customized to each player, we provide all the necessary info during the relocation process and can also help players decide which destination is right for them based on various factors we analyze. The goal is to help players move to a country that is compatible with their goals, lifestyle and budget.

The the visa and immigration situation varies widely depending on which country you are from. For example, if you are from the EU, you can stay as long as you want, but if you are from the US or Canada, the maximum days on a tourist visa is 180. Popular global destinations like the UK tend to have very high restrictions because so many people are trying to go there. To obtain permanent residency or a work/study permit is very tough and can be expensive.

For the most part, we end up helping primarily EU players move to London and other parts of the UK specifically because they can stay long term.

We also help US players move almost anywhere, but most US players will stay in 1 location for 3-6 months before moving on, because most of them want to stay on tourist visas since it's usually an expensive commitment to stay longer, and once they are relocated the 1st time they can travel pretty freely to any country where online poker is legal and live/play from different places. So if you are a US citizen you can go to Europe for 3-6 months at a time depending on where you are going.

Overall, the average tourist visa for US citizens is 3-6 months in most countries in the world. In some Asia-Pacific countries and in the Caribbean it can be 30 days at a time with renewal restrictions.

Also note that moving to London, your visa time is not guaranteed. When you get to customs at the airport, the agents who stamp your passport can decide how long to let you in for. Please let us know if you'd like any clarification!

^Kristin

What would be an alternative to returning to US after 6 month visa expires(if there is one)?

Most of our players tend to "country hop", which means they will stay 3-6 months in 1 destination then change to another one. So they may start in the EU for 3-6 months then Canada for 6 months. Or, they move to Central America where they can continually renew their tourist visa by simply exiting and re-entering. Some countries will let you stay 90-180 days then leave for the equivalent amount of time while others will let you renew back-to-back. For example, in Costa Rica "perpetual tourists" come in and out 1 time every 90 days. In Mexico they come in and out 1 time every 180 days then re-enter.

In countries in the EU where you can come in for 90 days then leave for 90 days, they may go back after a few months or a year to re-enter.

Does that make sense? Again, if you are looking for a long term solution; obtaining permanent residency status is possible for foreigners in most countries. The only difference is the cost can vary from a few thousand to a few hundred thousand to 7-figures depending on the country and its policies.

Hey, I just wanted to give another excellent review to Kristin and the whole PokerRefugees gang.

I just did a relocation to Costa Rica with the primary purpose of opening a bank account. After I did my own research, I realized how difficult it is to open an account there and that is when I found out about PokerRefugees. I also heard bad stories of people dealing with the realtors down there.

With PokerRefugees I saved an abundance of time on both the bank account and housing aspect of my trip. It may not have even been feasible to open a bank account there on my own without their service. I also had no headaches when it came to finding a lease or any anxiety that I could get scammed.

Kristin was extremely thorough with handling my situation and literally every small detail of the trip was outlined. This even included the best places to eat, bars, entertainment, etc, pertaining to my location.

I was picked up at the airport by their driver, Minor. He was a great guy and even took me grocery shopping before dropping me off at my apartment. The next day, Mau took me to the bank with all the necessary documents and I had an account opened in literally 30-45 minutes. He then took me to the nearby mall where I was able to purchase a backup internet stick and a cell phone with the help of his translation. So I had all this accomplished within a day of arrival. I also was able to get my Skrill and Neteller running again and with instant VIP status on both thanks to Krstin's reference.

Again, the whole process is totally smooth and painless. I had a few doubts going in, but my expectations were exceeded and was very happy with the service.

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience!

^K

Can you post some info about costs for Rosarito? For 1 person or 2 as well.

Thanks

Hi Rudi,

Do you mean cost-of-living? If that is the case, it would be very similar for 1 or 2 people as you can share an apartment.

Rosarito is known for having a very low cost-of-living. Depending on your property requirements, rent can be anywhere from $250/mo for a small studio or apartment up to $2,500/mo for a luxury ocean view penthouse.

I would estimate that poker players probably live on $1.5-3k/month there and some maybe $1k/mo or less, but this varies widely depending on their rent, utilities consumption, internet plans, entertainment/food budget and transportation (if they have a car or not). When 2 players are sharing rent and expenses it's easier to save money.

Locals are living on much less and also raising families on very low salaries, sometimes just a few hundred per month, but the lifestyles are much different.

Overall, it's possible to live in Rosarito with almost any budget.

Does this answer your question?

^K

Thanks a lot....that definitely helps....
I guess I would fall into the ' lets try to live on less than 1K' starting out atleast. Initially was wondering if this was at all doable at that low of a budget...

Considering that rent could be split and end up costing ~$250-$500 that only leaves $500 for everything else....so I guess my fellow up question would be if this is enough for a comfortable (defo not a balla) lifestyle.

Thanks again.

Yes I think that would be fine. We know a lot of players who relocated for online poker and are living on strict budgets down there. Quite a few have reported that they live on $1k/mo - both our clients and other players I've met while living there.

It would be important to plan your expenses, budget out things like groceries, live and eat simply and monitor your electricity consumption but it's certainly do-able.

The other thing about Rosa is that it's not a super popular tourism destination compared to other places in Mexico, so there aren't really too many distractions. It's actually a really good place to focus on grinding and building your bank roll while saving money comparative to other destinations. Eat/sleep/poker/repeat

^K

Amazing...what would be my next steps if I wanted to explore this idea and location a bit more?

The best way to proceed with our consultation regarding an online poker relocation is to fill out our contact form here: http://pokerrefugees.com/contact

This way we will get a better base understanding of your personal situation and goals for the relocation, as well as a timeline.

Then we will send you a link to book a phone or Skype consultation if desired.

Best,

Kristin

How come you guys don't do any asian countries? (none listed on your website anyway)

That is a great question and something that we have been researching with more depth recently. Before launching Poker Refugees, I decided to start with the countries that were closest to the US and provided the optimal mix of proximity, safety, infrastructure, climate and openness/legality of the online gambling industry. Tourist visa terms and requirements were also important. The initial challenges we faced with Asia were that it's far away, the time zone can be difficult for online poker, infrastructure and internet consistency varies widely and in some countries online poker is illegal or restricted or there are limited deposit/withdrawal/banking options.

So the above factors are the reasoning behind the countries we chose at first. We started with Canada, Costa Rica and Panama then added Mexico and have continued expanding since then. These are also all countries I have personally spent many years living and working in and am fluent in the local language.

Over the past 3.5 years, a greater percent of our clientele have been from non-US regions, primarily throughout the EU and Russia since many players are moving for climate, tax and cost-of-living reasons or just traveling for fun (versus American players who move more out of necessity). We have even relocated players from the Middle East and receive inquiries from India, Japan, South Africa, etc.

We have continued adding destinations that the players ask for (such as UK, Malta, Budapest, etc) because the service is completely customized based on what you guys want and where you want to go, although the process is quite lengthy for adding each new country, so it just takes time. Extensive planning goes into qualifying a destination, living there ourselves and setting up a structure for seamless relocations. In addition, we need to have local partners we can trust in each city to help our players on the ground.

I am actually planning on spending the first few months of 2015 in SE Asia and the SW Pacific to gauge the viability of offering services in Asia-Pacific countries next. I hope this provides some insight into how we select countries and the process to ensure quality control across the world. Please let us know any other questions!

^K

Awesome Poker Refugees, i really hope you do get to spend some time in Asia, such as China, Korea, Thailand, etc. Recently moved to China, and having the hardest time trying to set up a bank account, and haven't been able to play online. (Partially because of the language restrictions/online gambling is in the gray area in a some asian countries, such as China.)

I decided to take a break from everything poker related, and decided to come to china to finish up school, and learn Mandarin (thinking of taking the entrepreneurial route, definitely less stressful). Haven't played poker in the past 4 months, except a couple trips to Macau.

Anyways, as i said before, really hoping you explore asia, and hoping to hear about your experience, and thoughts on whether or not asia is a viable place to offer your services!