- Costa Rica Residency
Residency in
A good Costa Rica residency professional is essential and will make it as easy for you as possible. The cost for this service is normally between $1000 to $2000, 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
Any request for residency in
General Requirements
1. An application addressed to the Director General of Migration by the person concerned. If the applicant is not going to be able to go 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.
2. The applicant should grant special authority to a representative (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
3. Full Birth Certificate which includes full parent names this is required for applicant, spouse and all dependent children up to 18 years or up to 25 if you’re a university student - proof of enrollment is required.
4. Police Certificate (not older than six months) issued by the State/Province where the applicant has lived for the past two years (required for applicant, spouse and any dependent children age 18 to 25)
5. Marriage Certificate (if the applicant is married)
6. Photocopy of the passport certified and notarized by the Costa Rican Consulate of your home country, but in this last case, the copies will also have to be authenticated. (This is required for applicant, spouse and any dependent children).
7. Four 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.
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 going 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, since you are not going personally to the Consulate, the power of attorney should be already signed by you, and it should be notarized and authenticated.
The documents will be sent to Migration in
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
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)
A good Costa Rica residency professional is essential and will make it as easy for you as possible, and will charge you anywhere between $1000 to $2000, 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
Type of residencies, requirements and benefits
TYPE OF RESIDENCY: PENSIONADO (Retired)
REQUIRES: Proof of US$600 per month income from permanent pension source or retirement fund
STAY: Must remain in the country at least 4 months per year.
FAMILY: Can claim spouse and dependants under 18 years of age.
WORK: Can work as an employee
BUSINESS: Can own a company and receive income.
TYPE OF RESIDENCY: RENTISTA (Renter)
REQUIRES: Proof of US$1,000 per month for at least five years, guaranteed by a banking institution, or a US$60,000 deposit in an approved Costa Rican bank. Double income for spouse
STAY: Must remain in the country at least 4 months per year.
FAMILY: Can claim spouse and dependants under 18 years of age.
WORK: Cannot work as an employee.
BUSINESS: Can own a company and receive income.
WORK: Income allowed from the project.
BUSINESS: Can own a company and receive income.
TYPE OF RESIDENCY: 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.
TYPE OF RESIDENCY: PERMANENTE (Permanent)
REQUIRES: There must be a first degree relative status with a Costa Rican Citizen (married to a citizen or by having a Costa Rican baby) or may apply after 3 years in another residency type.
STAY: Must visit the country (
FAMILY: Cannot claim spouse and dependants under 18 years of age.
WORK: Can work
BUSINESS: Can own a company and receive income.
TYPE OF RESIDENCY: INVERSIONISTA (Investor)
Invest at least US$50,000 with an approved organization in a field such as tourism or export businesses; US$100,000 in a reforestation project; or US$200,000 in another type of business.
REQUIRES: $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 per year.
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
Permanent Residency Status
1. After two 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, 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 32 Banco de Costa Rica offices all over the country.
The Dirección General de Migración and the bank went online with the service Tuesday with a ceremony at Casa Presidencial. The immigration department has adopted a single format for all types of residencies, so this means that rentistas, pensionados, permanent residents and others holding a different type of residency can renew at the bank. They will get an identical cédula.
Those applying for their first cédula still will have to make their appointments directly with the immigration department.
The renewal service begins with a call to 800-BCR-CITA (800-227-2482). This is the same number Costa Ricans call to make an appointment for passport or driver’s license renewal, other services offered by the bank.
During and after the telephone call, the appointments clerk checks the residency status of the caller with the immigration department. So when the foreigner shows up at the designated bank branch for the appointment, much of the paperwork already is done. At the appointment, the bank clerk collects the $48 fee and a $5 fee for delivery of the cédula via Correos de Costa Rica. The foreigner submits prints of both index fingers and poses for a photo.
The cédula is made at the immigration department based on the data collected at the bank. Janina del Vecchio, the security minister who also supervises the immigration department, said that the finished cédula should be delivered in 22 days.
She said that the new procedure would reduce lines at the immigration department in La Uruca and save foreigners money because they would not have to travel to the
Bank officials estimate that its clerks could handle 500 appointments a day. They expect each appointment to last about 20 minutes.
There will be four bank offices accepting appointments in Guanacaste and one in Limón centro. The others are distributed across the country.
The bank program also is designed to reduce the infamous immigration backlog. At one point, said Ms. del Vecchio, some 300,000 foreigners were awaiting immigration appointments but the department could handle just 300 a day. Some appointments were put off for more than a year, forcing foreigners to conduct their lives and businesses with expired cédulas.
The bank has experience in issuing documents. Clerks have handled 137,167 appointments for passports and 228,385 driver’s license renewals, Ms. del Vecchio said.
During the afternoon ceremony a televised conferencing link showed two individuals giving their data and paying for cédulas at different Banco de Costa Rica offices.
These are the cédulas provided by the
Ms. del Vecchio said that the new cédulas are the most secure in
These are the improved LaserCard products. The first set of cédulas provided by the company through a Costa Rican intermediary two years ago suffered from ink that rubbed off. The new contract is valued at about $1.9 million.
The cédula carries on its face the type of residency awarded to the bearer.
The info on this page is from Direccion General de Migracion y Extranjeria (Governmental Migration Department) Dic, 2008
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.
Call Johanna at 8373 2085
or email her at
Johanna@gapinvestors.com
