Costa Rica Tourism and Retirement Guide
Residence in Costa Rica
Four ways to legal residence In Costa Rica
On a tourist visa
Residents of most countries are allowed to stay for 90 days in Costa Rica. After this you have to leave the country for 72 hours. Officially you cannot do this forever but in practice up to now there has not been a problem with this.
2 As an investor
Resident Investor Status. Individuals who invest at least US$50,000 in project which has been approved by the Center For the Promotion of Exports (PROCOMER) as a priority investment area may apply for resident investor status. If the investment is in a non priority investment area then the investment required is US$200,000.
The first is to qualify the investment by PROCOMER to determine if it falls within the priority area. Once this initial process has been completed and the certification issued then you can begin the application process which is done directly before the Department of Immigration.
3 Pensionado
Pensionado status is available to those who can prove a permanent and stable income from pension or retirement benefits.of at least US$600 per month. The typical applicant in this category has a government, private sector pension or social security retirement benefits.
Prove on an annual basis that the required funds were deposited in Costa Rica and exchanged into local currency.
Must reside a minimum of 4 months per year in the country.
The Pensionado Application Process
The application for Pensionado status is filed with the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (I.C.T.) Before the application can be prepared you must gather in your country of residence all the documentation that is required.
1. A certified copy of your birth certificate and that of your dependents.
2. A certified copy of a marriage certificate if applicable.
3. If your source is a government pension then obtain a letter from your government certifying the income. If the pension is from another source it must issue the letter.
4. You must obtain a Certificate of Good Conduct from the police department where you last resided. This certificate is only valid for 6 months from the date it is issued. It has to be valid until the date when your apoderado submits the application to the ICT.
5. Have twenty front facing passport photos taken. You will need some when you deliver the documents to the consulate and some later in Costa Rica.
You must have an apoderado in Costa Rica and you must have his address, phone and fax number before going to the consulate. The apoderado can be an attorney but does not have to be one. The apoderado acts with power-of-attorney on your behalf to receive and deliver correspondence to the ICT. This person will accompany you through all the required steps in Costa Rica.
All the documents that you present to the consulate must be certified by a representative of your country first.
Hand over all these certified documents to the consulate for verification.
When you have received the documents back and/or when they have been sent to your apoderado in Costa Rica you start the rest of the application process in Costa Rica. This is the easy part. While you are at it you may want to get a Costa Rican drivers license since you are going to be spending a day in San Jose anyway. Once you have residence you have to have a Costa Rican drivers license if you plan to drive.
Your apoderado will have you get a copy of all the pages(including front and back ) of your passport. Interpol Background Check. You will be fingerprinted. The check will take a month or so. All documents which are not in Spanish must be translated into Spanish. This procedure can generally be handled by the apoderado that you have retained to process your application. This may cost another $300 to $400. You appear before a Costa Rican Notary Public and issue a sworn statement stating that you agree to abide by the Pensionado/Rentista law. This statement can be prepared by your apoderado.
Once you have all the documentation set forth above your apoderado will submit your application to I.C.T. At that point your Certificate of Good Conduct cannot become out-of-date anymore and your application will be handled according to how the laws are at the date of submission. All the documents that you submit become the property of I.C.T. and they will not be returned to you. The application then goes to the Legal Department within I.C.T. which will review all the documentation for compliance. If all is in order the Legal Department will forward the application to the approval committee. If there are problems in the application, the Legal Department will notify your apoderado of the defect and request that it be corrected before it will submit the application for approval. If approved the I.C.T. will issue a formal resolution indicating the date on which the application was approved. The procedures that follow approval are related to obtaining the actual picture residency card and are done directly before the Department of Immigration. It requires a prior deposit of US$ 100 for each applicant and dependent to pay for your residency identification card. Your apoderado will assist you at the day you pick up the residency card. After receiving the residency card you pay him whatever you owe him (no sooner).
4 Rentista
Rentista status is available to those who can prove a permanent and stable income from investments. The applicant must demonstrate a permanent fixed income of at least US$1,000 per month. Generally, those who seek the Rentista category have investment income. To apply for this category it is neccessary to provide proof of the investment and it will generate the US$1,000 per month required under this program. As such the applicant must provide a letter from the bank or financial institution where the investment funds are deposited certifying the existence of that income. It is not required that the funds be held in Costa Rica. The letter can be issued by international banks (note the bank must be registered in Polk's directory) as well as Costa Rican banks. The ideal letter issued by the financial institution should state the following: (a) That the recipient will receive at least US$1,000 per month in Costa Rica (b) That the investment generates US$1,000 per month in a stable, permanent and irrevocable manner for at least five years. (c) That the financial institution issuing the letter will notify the Costa Rican Tourism Insitute (I.C.T.) if the condition changes.
Prove on an annual basis that the required funds were deposited in Costa Rica and exchanged into local currency.
Must reside a minimum of 4 months per year in the country.
The Rentista Application Process
The application for Rentista status is filed directly with the Pensionado/Rentista Department at the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (I.C.T.) Before the application can be prepared you must gather in your country of residence all the documentation that is required.
1. A certified copy of your birth certificate and that of your dependents.
2. A certified copy of a marriage certificate if applicable.
3. Proof of Income from a Bank or Financial Institution then it must issue the letter. If you are applying for rentista satus it is generally easiest to open a special bank account in Costa Rica in which you deposit $60,000. You will receive $1000 plus the interest every month for five years. In that case you can wait with this step until you are in Costa Rica. This will then be the last step you take in your application process (step )
4. A Certificate of Good Conduct from the police department where you last resided. This certificate is only valid for 6 months from the date it is issued.
5. Have twenty front facing passport photos taken. You will need some when you deliver the documents to the consulate and some later in Costa Rica.
You must have an apoderado in Costa Rica and you must have his address, phone and fax number before going to the consulate. The apoderado can be an attorney but does not have to be one. The apoderado acts with power-of-attorney on your behalf to receive and deliver correspondence to the ICT. This person will accompany you through all the required steps in Costa Rica.
All the documents that you present to the consulate must be certified by a representative of your country first.
Hand over all these certified documents to the consulate for verification. When you have received the documents back and/or when they have been sent to your apoderado in Costa Rica you start the rest of the application process in Costa Rica. This is the easy part. While you are at it you may want to get a Costa Rican drivers license since you are going to be spending a day in San Jose anyway. Once you have residence you have to have a Costa Rican drivers license if you plan to drive.
Your apoderado will have you get a copy of all the pages(including front and back ) of your passport. Interpol Background Check. You will be fingerprinted. The check will take a month or so. All documents which are not in Spanish must be translated into Spanish. This procedure can generally be handled by the apoderado that you have retained to process your application. This may cost another $300 to $400. You appear before a Costa Rican Notary Public and issue a sworn statement stating that you agree to abide by the Pensionado/Rentista law. This statement can be prepared by your apoderado. You appear before a Costa Rican Notary Public and issue a sworn statement stating that you agree to abide by the Pensionado/Rentista law. This statement can be prepared by your apoderado.
In case you applied for rentista status and want to do it the easy way you will put $60,000 in a special account at the BNCR. The BNCR will charge you several hundred dollars for this. If you already have verified proof from the consulate that you have sufficient income you do not need to do this anymore.
Once you have all the documentation set forth above your apoderado will submit your application to I.C.T. At that point your Certificate of Good Conduct cannot become out-of-date anymore and your application will be handled according to how the laws are at the date of submission. All the documents that you submit become the property of I.C.T. and they will not be returned to you. The application then goes to the Legal Department within I.C.T. which will review all the documentation for compliance. If all is in order the Legal Department will forward the application to the approval committee. If there are problems in the application, the Legal Department will notify your apoderado of the defect and request that it be corrected before it will submit the application for approval. If approved the I.C.T. will issue a formal resolution indicating the date on which the application was approved. The procedures that follow approval are related to obtaining the actual picture residency card and are done directly before the Department of Immigration. It requires a prior deposit of US$ 100 for each applicant and dependent to pay for your residency identification card. Your apoderado will assist you at the day you pick up the residency card. After receiving the residency card you pay him whatever you owe him (no sooner).
Steps to retirement in Costa Rica Page