Becoming A Legal Resident of Costa Rica
U.S Citizens can legally stay in Costa Rica for up to three months (90 days). They then must leave for a period of 72 hours. They can then return for another three months. There are no limitations on the number of times you can leave and return as long as you comply with the 3 month rule.
If you would like to become a legal resident of Costa Rica there are a number of options available.
The Benefits of Legal Residency
Some of the benefits of attaining residency in Costa Rica as a foreigner are:
1. Freedom from worries about immigration checkpoints and possible deportation
2. Qualification to own personally beach front concession land after a minimum term of five years of residency in the country
3. Possibility to qualify for citizenship once requirements are met
4. Right to purchase telephone lines from ICE (Costa Rican state owned telecommunications company).
5. Access to checking accounts and credit service from some banks
6. Exclusion from penalties for extended stays beyond the 90 day tourist visa term
Types of Resident Status
Below is a list of the ways legal residency in Costa Rica can be achieved. Also included is a comprehensive overview of the process and of documents you must file. You must hire a lawyer registered with the Costa Rican bar association. A good lawyer will charge from $1000 to $1500 for the process.
Residency for Retirees (Pensionados)
You may acquire this status if you can prove that you have a guaranteed monthly income of at least $600 per month from a qualified source, such as a government pension such as Social Security. You will be required to exchange this amount each month into Costa Rican currency via the state banking system, to show proof of the exchange, and to live in Costa Rica for at least four months per year.
Resident with Interest or Dividend Income (Rentistas)
You may acquire this status, if you can prove that you are receiving income from interest or dividends of at least $1,000 US dollars per month from a foreign or national bank. The bank must issue a letter certifying that you will receive such money and that you will exchange them into Costa Rican currency. The bank must renew its certified letter every five years. You will be required to exchange this amount each month into Costa Rican currency via the state banking system, to show proof of the exchange, and to live in Costa Rica for at least four months per year.
Investor Status (Inversionista)
You may acquire this status if you invest in a local business in Costa Rica. According to the Center for the Promotion of Exports and Investments (PROCOMER), the current priority investment areas of business are ornamental plants, leather articles, spices, fruits and vegetables, processed foods, wood products, and tourism. You will be required to invest at least $50,000 US dollars in one of these areas. If you prefer an area of investment not listed by PROCOMER, you must invest $200,000 US dollars in that business. You must live in Costa Rica for six months per year and will not be required to maintain a minimum monthly income.
Qualified Business Representative or Technician, Domestic Servant
If you are a qualified business executive or a qualified technician from an accredited institution, a qualified worker in an educational center with a special contract, or a domestic servant, you can get a work permit or temporary residency. At the end of your contract you must leave the country. The institution will be held responsible for the applications before the General Direction of Immigration Department. The Immigration Department of Costa Rica determines the requirements for a specific job category at its own discretion.
Procedures for retirees to become a Costa Rican permanent resident
Your lawyer will guide you through this process. You may need to file other documents and applications, according to the regulation under which you will be qualifying. But here you have a comprehensive overview of the process and the majority of documents you will need to obtain and file.
Prior to your arrival in Costa Rica, you must authenticate these documents at a Costa Rican Consulate:
- Birth Certificate
- Police record Note: Police record must be issued by a competent authority in the country where you and your dependents over 16 years have resided for the last 6 months before entering Costa Rica. This document will only have 6 months validity after the date of issuance; if it expires during the processing of the application, a new one must be submitted.
- Marriage certificate (if applicable)
- Academic degrees or equivalent
- Certified copy of your passport including all pages
- Birth certificate for each dependent (if applicable)
- Letter from your prospective employer stating the terms and conditions of your contract, the salary you will earn, and your job description.
The Costa Rican consulate's web page says: "Permanent & Temporary Residents We strongly recommend that you enter Costa Rica as a tourist. Then, you may file a petition to change your tourist status to any of the following permanent resident status." Once you are in Costa Rica, you have 30 days to file your application to change your non-immigrant status. If you want to change your status as a Retiree, you must file the documents with the Department of Tourism (Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT)), which will submit your application to the Immigration Department.
If you are filing an application as an investor or Resident with Interest and/or dividends income, you must file the documents directly with the Immigration Department of Costa Rica.
Application Form (includes, but not limited to: Full name, citizenship, marital status, occupation, passport information, number of dependents - who must provide the same kind of information-, oath stating your desire to obtain Costa Rican residency, income source and the monthly amount, provisional or permanent address of your country of origin and/or Costa Rica, official mailing address for notifications)
Note: This application must be duly authenticated by a notary public.
Legal Representative you will be required to hire a lawyer who will be your representative in Costa Rica and who will state the reasons why you want to live in Costa Rica and who will provide a mailing address in San Jose, Costa Rica where notifications may be sent.
Foreign Documents The documents listed above authenticated by the Costa Rican Consulate:
Costa Rican Documents:
- Four recent passport sized photos.
- Five sheets of official legal sized paper. (papel oficio)
- Police record issued by the Judicial Criminal Registry of Costa Rica.
- Certification of entries and departures from Immigration (mecanizado)
- Photocopy of Costa Rican ID, if married to a Costa Rican citizen.
- Payment of the legal fees and stamps required by law.
- Medical exams required by Health Department ( HIV test, venereal diseases, tuberculosis, among others)
Additional documents required to obtain temporary resident status.
- Application form of the Department of Foreigners, authenticated by an attorney and presented to the General Direction of the Immigration Department.
- Fingerprints.
- Guarantee deposit.
- Persons working for companies mentioned above must present a document from the company designating them in their pertinent position. Note: Domestic servants must include a letter of guarantee from the employer, authenticated by a notary lawyer.
- Income Source Certification Requirements
General Information
Income certification must be issued by the financial institution that provides you with your money. If you are filing to obtain a Resident with interest and/or dividend income status, the certification must state that you will receive a minimum monthly income of $1,000 U.S. dollars in a permanent, stable, and irrevocable way during a period of five years. If you are filing as a retiree, the certification must state that you will receive a minimum monthly income of $600 U.S. dollars in a permanent, stable, and irrevocable way.
Income from Companies
If your source of income is from an established foreign company, you must provide the following documents:
- A letter from your company stating your full name, your title, your qualifications, and that the company will allocate at least $1,000 US dollars per month for you in Costa Rica. (The letter must be signed by the manager or the president or the legal representative of the company.)
- A certification of legal capacity or equivalent document for the representative of the company who signed the letter.
- A registered certification or equivalent document stating that the company has been in business for at least three years
- Registration issued by a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) who is not the company's accountant. The CPA must state the same information as the representative of the company, attesting to the validity length of time the company has been in business; moreover, the CPA must ratify that the monthly $1,000 US dollars will be sent in a permanent, stable and irrevocable way. (In case the irrevocable term can not be used, please state "not subject to conditions." Provided that it is revocable, it must state that "ICT will be informed")
- A certification stating that the CPA is legally authorized to issue such registration, either by the city's College or Registry Office.
- Three bank references showing the funds available to the company
Income from Foreign Banks
A certification from the Bank stating that it will send you $1,000 U.S. dollars per month for a five year period in a permanent, stable, and irrevocable way. Including your name and your relationship to the bank.
A certification stating the existence, performance, and location of the bank, or equivalent document issued by the official of the public organization
NATURALIZATION (CITIZENSHIP):
Even though, foreigners are granted the same rights that the Costa Rican citizens are given, naturalization has some strategically potential applications. Due to the universal and compulsory social security system, the impossibility of extradition of Costa Rican citizens, the mutual visa exemption agreements between Costa Rica and all the European Union countries, Scandinavia, Canada, Japan and Russia, and some low profile and tax policy considerations, many foreign residents of Costa Rica may benefit by obtaining the Costa Rican citizenship.
Naturalization (citizenship) applications are processed and granted by the Supreme Electoral and Civil Records Tribunal (Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones y del Registro Civil), the Costa Rican electoral and civil records institution with constitutional rank that many specialists consider a “fourth power” of the Republic.
Similarly to residency application procedures, this is a rather accurate and very formal procedure that the interested resident does not want to expose to risk. Qualified and professional counsel is strongly advised for the same reasons stated in the earlier residency case. Average processing term ranges from 8 to 18 months depending on the case.
Applicants must have lived in Costa Rica, at least four months each year, for a term of seven years under a legal resident status. A Spanish language and a Costa Rican abridged history test have to be taken before the quality control department of the Ministry of Education, this exam is equivalent to a sixth grade primary school exam. An exception exists for spouses of Costa Rican citizens, whose term of legal residency in the country is two years and they don’t have to take the tests. The application has to be submitted together with: a certification from Immigration Council of Costa Rica about the applicant’s legal resident status, a certification from Computer Department (Mecanizada) of Immigration about applicants’ entrances and exits to and from the country, an affidavit, two Costa Rican witnesses who will testify about the applicant moral capacity to obtain citizenship, certified copies of the applicants’ passport, residency card, birth certificate and some legal stamps.