Residency

A good Costa Rica residency professional is essential, and will make the process as easy and worry-free for you as possible. The cost for this service is normally between $1500 to $2500, plus government fee’s and stamps depending on your circumstances. My recommendation to you would be Johanna from Gap Real Estate. She is extremely efficient and she can assist you with the preparation, organization and submission of the documents required to obtain either permanent or temporary residency in Costa Rica.

Call Johanna at 8373 2085 and or email her at johanna@gapinvestors.com.

There are several options if you are considering applying for residency in Costa Rica. Migratory categories and their specific requirements are described below; however, general requirements are applicable to all of them.

Any request for residency in Costa Rica should be submitted to the Costa Rican Consulate in the country of origin or residency. In the case of retirees, rentistas and foreign relatives of a Costa Rican citizen, these requests can be submitted in Costa Rica.

General Requirements:

1. Residency Application An application addressed to the Director General of Migration by the applicant concerned, and duly authenticated by a Costa Rican Attorney. If the applicant is not able to apply in person, he/she should grant a special power of attorney to a representative in your country, who will submit the documents at the Consulate. This power of attorney should be in Spanish, notarized and follow the authentication procedures. The representative shall be refered to as “apoderado”.

This document could be either signed or authenticated in the Consulate. It should indicate the personal particulars of the representative (apoderado) and the address where to receive notifications, both within the judicial perimeter of San Jose.

2. Proof of Consular Registration of intention to apply for residency in Costa Rica. Please note that the consular registration is waived if the country of origin does not have a consulate or embassy in Costa Rica.

3. Full Birth Certificate Required for all applicants, including any spouse or dependants. This document must be issued by the appropriate authorities in the place of applicants’ birth, submitted to the Secretary of State or the competent authority, and finally legalized in the corresponding Costa Rican Consulate in the country where the document was originally issued.

4. Criminal Records (not older than six months, with the exception that the document explicitly indicates a different expiration date.) issued by the State/Province where the applicant has lived for the past two years (required for applicant, spouse and any dependent children over the age of 15.)

Fingerprinting: It is necessary to come to Costa Rica, to the Police Record, which is located in front of “Centro Comercial del Sur” in San José. This procedure must be done personally by the applicant(s).

In all cases our staff facilitates the fingerprinting procedures to our customers.

5. Marriage Certificate (if the applicant is married and wishes to include his or her spouse as a dependent.)

6. Photocopy of the passport (all pages) certified and notarized by the Costa Rican Consulate of your home country. All applicants, including minors, must comply with this requirement. In addition, the first page of the passport must be properly translated into Spanish by an official translator or lawyer with knowledge of the origin language.

7. Eight recent passport sized photographs (required for applicant, spouse and any dependent children).

8. Eligible individuals can claim their spouses and children under 18, as dependents, as well as older children with disabilities. A son or daughter between 18 and 25 can be included as dependent if he or she is enrolled in a University.

9. In the case of a family group, an individual file is required per member. Parents should sign applications on behalf of minor children.

10. In order to practice a profession, the individual concerned should provide his or her diplomas. Concerning other professional activities, relevant documentation such as courses and studies undertaken should be submitted.

An affidavit stating a reason of impossibility may be submitted in the case that that there is a sufficient reason that justifies the impossibility of the presentation of certain requirements, i.e. birth certificate, criminal records, etc.

All documents must be authenticated by the Costa Rican Consulate in your home town and translated to Spanish. (A Costa Rican Consulate will charge around $40 dollars in official stamps for authentication of each document).

Once you have all the required documents, send them FIRST to the Consulate of your jurisdiction, where they will be checked. If documents are complete, you will be asked to go to the Consulate for an interview and sign the application you have already sent, as well as the power of attorney. If you are not to appear in person, you should grant a power of attorney to someone in your country who will submit the documents to the Consulate. In this case, the documentation should be already signed by you, and it should be notarized and authenticated.

The documents will be sent to Migration in Costa Rica, who will contact your representative in Costa Rica. For this purpose, you will have to pay for the courier service.

You should fulfill the following requirements depending on your immigration category. Those documents do not need to be sent together but if they are missing, your representative will be notified once Migration receives and processes the documents sent by the Consulate. He/she will have 10 days to complete those documents which are issued in Costa Rica, or 30 days if they are issued abroad. Please consider that some need to be authenticated by the Costa Rican Consulate first.

First of all you need to find out how you can qualify as a legal resident.

MIGRATORY CATEGORIES

PERMANENT RESIDENTS:

* IMMIGRANTS

* RETIREES (Pensionados)

* RENTISTS (Rentistas)

* INVESTORS (Inversionistas)

* FOREIGN RELATIVES OF A COSTA RICAN CITIZEN

TEMPORARY RESIDENTS:

* STUDENTS

* TEMPORARY WORKERS (Work visa)

Types of residencies, requirements and benefits:

-PENSIONADO (Retiree)

REQUIRES: Must show proof of monthly income from a qualified pension plan of at least US$1,000 per month.

STAY: Must remain in the country at least 4 months (121 days) per year, however, these days do not have to be lived in the country consecutively.

FAMILY: Only one monthly pension is needed with married couples.

NOTE: The resident can apply for permanent residency after being a temporary resident for three (3) years.

-RENTISTA (Renter)

REQUIRES: Proof of income of US$2,500, regardless of civil status or number of dependants, as well as proof that the $2,500 monthly payment to the applicant is guaranteed for the next 60 months (5 years).

STAY: Must remain in the country at least 4 months (121 days) per year, however, these days do not have to be lived in the country consecutively.

FAMILY: Can claim spouse and dependants under 18 years of age.

BUSINESS: Can own a company and receive income.

-REPRESENTANTE (Representative)

REQUIRES: The one that applies should be a director of a company with certain requirements, such as employing a minimum number of local workers as established by the labor law, with financial statements certified by a Public Accountant.

STAY: Must remain in the country at least 6 months per year.

FAMILY: Cannot claim spouse and dependants under 18 years of age. It must be a separate process.

WORK: Can earn an income from the company.

BUSINESS: Can own a company and receive income.

-PERMANENTE (Permanent)

REQUIRES: A first degree relative status with a Costa Rican Citizen (married to a citizen or by having a Costa Rican baby), or one may apply after 3 years in another residency type.

STAY: Must visit the country (Costa Rica) at least once a year.

FAMILY: Cannot claim spouse and dependants under 18 years of age.

BUSINESS: Can work as an employee, own a company, and receive income.

-INVERSIONISTA (Investor)

REQUIRES: Investment of at least US$200,000 in any business or a specified amount of investment in certain government approved sectors.

STAY: Must remain in the country at least 6 months (183 days) per year. These days do not have to be consecutive.

FAMILY: Cannot claim spouse and dependants under 18 years of age. It must be a separate process.

Please note that there are additional requirements to qualify for each of these residency categories, and in particular for applications under the Inversionista (investor) Program.

For qualified business executives and qualified technicians who are from an accredited company or institution, an educator with a special contract in some educational center or school, or a domestic servant, a work permit or temporary residency will be given. You will be expected to leave the country at the end of the contract. The employer or institution is responsible for all paper work, such as applications to the Immigration office.

Once you know you qualify, your lawyer can take it from there. This may require several trips to the Immigration office in San Jose or simply signing documents as they come. As with most things in Costa Rica, the paperwork will take a while, so the best advice is to be patient. While in the process of applying for residency, you are safe to be in the country as long as you carry proof with you.

Permanent Residency Status

1. After three (3) years of pensionado, rentista, or inversionista status, application can be made for permanent residency in Costa Rica. This is usually unrestricted, and working is permitted.

2. Citizens of Spain can apply for permanent residency right away.

3. Permanent residents must visit Costa Rica at least once each year.

4. $US300 must be deposited with the Government of Costa Rica as a guarantee.

Permanent residency can also be applied for if you have first-degree family members (parents, siblings, spouses, and children) who are citizens of Costa Rica. OR Marry a citizen of Costa Rica.

Residency cédula renewals now available at BCR- Legal residents can now renew or replace their identity cédulas at any of the 32 Banco de Costa Rica offices all over the country.

Johanna from Gap Real Estate can assist you with the preparation, organization and submission of the documents required to obtain either permanent or temporary residency in Costa Rica.