Life as a Tourist living in Costa Rica

I have been effectively living in Costa Rica for 5 years nearly and i have been coming as a tourist as getting the paperwork completed for residency is a nightmare. My application has been in the ministry for 2 years now and there is no indication as to when it is going to be completed. So i have to carry with me a copy of my passport showing the entry date, I have 90 days entry here. So occasionally when i go through the regular police check points, they have them along the toursit routes to stop people smuggling wildlife and animals in their cars and trucks, also trying to stop drugs being shipped to San Jose, doesnt stop anything actually. So when i hand over my pink driving licence from the UK they really have a long look at it, plus the card is stamped UK, for united Kingdom, and one officer asked if i was from Ukraine, very funny actually, he was handed the passport scan and he wasnt even interested as he was so taken with the driving licence.