Information about Residency in Costa Rica

Why become a Costa Rica resident? This is the most basic question which begins the process of establishing residency.

Many reasons bring foreigners to Costa Rica, but even more reasons exist to remain in this exuberant land, where natural treasures awaits the visitors, great surf can be found in its beaches, amazing sights in it’s active volcanoes, great weather year round will make for a perfect vacation place, and it’s friendly people just makes this a desirable place to live. Here are some of the reasons people want Costa Rican Residency we hear at Coldwell Banker Jaco:

You are retired or planning for your retirement
You want to make an investment in this fast developing country
You have been offered a great employment opportunity
You want to get away from the cold weather for long periods of time
You have fallen in love with that special someone in this country.

Now that you decided you want to live in Costa Rica First you must choose which type of Costa Rican Residency you want or which you can qualify for.Here are the types of Costa Rican residencies offered to foreigners:

 

• Retired (Pensionado)
• Investment income based residency (Rentista)
• Investor (Inversionista)
• Costa Rican relative (Familiar costarricense)
• Marriage with a Costa Rican (Matrimonio con costarricense)
• Work executive (Trabajador ejecutivo)

In most cases, the easiest way to obtain the Costa Rica Residency is by using either “Pensionado” or “Rentista”. The Rentista is granted to those individuals than can prove that they will receive at least $1000 a month for 5 consecutive years. This can easily be achieved by opening a personal bank account with $60K, and making a monthly withdraw of $1000. For the Pensionado, a monthly pension of at least $600* will need to be demonstrated.

Becoming a Costa Rica Resident

Here is a summary of the process for obtaining your Costa Rica Residency.

The person seeking residency will need to present the initial request before the General Consulate of Costa Rica in their country of origin. For a list of the Costa Rican consulates visit this site. The documents to be submitted in the General Direction of Immigration and Foreign Affairs, in the initial residency request, must have been issued during the prior three months of the actual submission date.

After the initial residency request has been filed in the country of origin, it will take the Immigration Authorities around two and half months to include it into their database.
Afterwards, it will be reviewed by the Legal Department, and later on, by the Approval Committee, for final evaluation. Once the residency is approved, the applicant will have to go to the Immigration authority to retrieve the Residency Identification Card.

VERY IMPORTANT: Be advised that the approval of the residency is a discretionary matter of the Department of Immigration, therefore NOBODY can guarantee the successful results. Using a reputable lawyer is paramount if you want to avoid problems during this process. Usually, a reference is the best way for obtaining a good lawyer.

Basic Documentation Required for Costa Rican Residency

Birth Certificate

Criminal Record.

Marriage Certificate

Complete passport copy.

Sworn Statement or Affidavit: Which states the applicant will establish permanent residence in Costa Rica and that in case the residence status changes; applicant will notify the Immigration Authorities.

Photographs: Four recent passport sized photographs of the applicant.

All documents need to be notarized by the Costa Rican Consulate from the applicant’s country of origin. Those document that are in English, will need to be translated to Spanish by an authorized translator. This list is not finite as other requirements might be needed, according to the type of residency chosen.

The residency cannot be accomplished by yourself or even another “Tico,” it must be done with a Costa Rican attorney. We suggest you use this law firm which Coldwell Banker Jaco uses for its transactions and its legal services. What they can do for you is help you through the process of becoming a Costa Rica resident, assisting you with the most up to date information, providing all the required documentation, filing of forms, and visits to the immigration authorities to makes this as hassle free as possible.

*This is the latest legal information available and the residency rules are being changed by the Costa Rican congress, therefore a competent attorney is the best place to get correct and up to date information or this firm can help you.