Want to move to Costa Rica? Here is the information about Visas and Residency part 1 – that will be the topic of today’s article.
Before introducing this article, if you are interested in our core services which are expat financial, insurance and mortgages, you can contact me here.
The best time to consider your financial situation is when you are moving to a new country.
Introduction
General information:
Costa Rica is a country located in Central America, which is popular for its rainforests, recreational activities, great biodiversity, tourist destinations, and much more.
It has the highest literacy rate among the countries of Latin America and also has the highest workforce in the Central American region.
There are some exquisite tax benefits such as no taxes on social security income, pension, or investment income. Apart from that, the tax system is territorial, which means you don’t have to pay taxes on the income earned from sources abroad.
For example, if you have a business in your country of origin while you are living in Costa Rica, or if you have an online business, or if you are a freelancer, you will be exempt from taxes.
This is quite beneficial for digital nomads or expats who earn income from their country of origin.
The currency of Costa Rica is called Costa Rican colón, which is represented as ‘CRC’ or ₡, which is further divided into centimos, i.e., 1 CRC = 100 centimos.
By the time of writing this article, 1 CRC is equivalent to USD 0.0016.
When it comes to the cost of living, it has been estimated that an average of $1,500 to $2,000 is enough for a single person to live comfortably in Costa Rica.
For a family of 4 people, somewhere around $2,000 to $3,000 should suffice. Most retired couples who live in Costa Rica get on with their lives comfortably under just $2,000.
However, the expenses related to the cost of living may vary depending on the lifestyle of the individual, couple, or family.
Now, let us discuss the different types of visa programs and residency requirements for individuals.
Visas:
There are different types of visas for people who wish to move to Costa Rica, which have been listed below.
- Tourist Visa:
First of all, let us begin with the Tourist visa as most people who visit Costa Rica usually go there as a tourist.
People might require a tourist visa when they are visiting Costa Rica depending on their nationality, purpose for their visit, duration of the stay, etc.
The requirements for a visa are dependent on the international agreements or treaties made by other countries with Costa Rica. The visa, however, will not ensure entry into the country because the entry depends on the immigration officer upon arrival similar to the situation in the United States.
To know more details regarding the tourist requirements depending on your country, please click this link.
People from the United States won’t be requiring an entry visa for going to Costa Rica, yet they should possess a valid current passport along with a return ticket from Costa Rica (before 90 days of arrival).
The individuals should either return to their country or go to another country after these 90 days and if they intend to stay longer, then they should acquire a residence permit.
Individuals from other countries may or may not require an entry visa, and the information regarding that can be found with the help of the link we’ve provided earlier.
- Provisional Visa:
There are 4 types of provisional visas in Costa Rica, which have been given below.
- Special category for individuals who are students, volunteers, researchers, or academics.
- Provisional visa for rentiers
- Provisional visa for retired individuals
- Provisional visa for the people who are closely related family members of a Costa Rican National
- Special category for individuals who are students, volunteers, researchers, or academics:
Individuals who are students, volunteers, academics, or researchers should obtain this provisional visa from the Costa Rica consulate by presenting some documents.
An application letter for a provisional visa is required under the special category of student, academic, volunteer, or researcher along with information such as full name, nationality, passport information, employment information, current address, address where they intend to stay when they enter Costa Rica, date of birth, fax number to get notifications, date, and signature.
Other documents necessary for getting a provisional visa under this special category are as follows:
- Birth certificate
- Federal criminal background certificate (must be no longer than 4 months) that has been issued by the NCIC (National Crime Information Center) Interstate identification index.
- Original and a copy of the passport or the travel document, which is valid for at least 6 months.
- Proof related to economic viability so as to be in the country for the intended period.
- Three passport-sized photos (color)
Along with these documents, the person should pay the necessary fees for the process and after completion, a provisional visa shall be offered.
All the documents will be returned to the applicant, and these should be submitted to the Costa Rica immigration office where the applicant has to finalize the process.
- Provisional visa for rentiers:
An application letter for a residence permit is required while stating the reason for applying, which consists of information such as full name, nationality, passport information, information related to occupation, current address, address where they intend to stay when they enter Costa Rica, date of birth, date, and signature.
Other documents necessary for getting a provisional visa under this category are as follows:
- Birth certificate
- Federal criminal background certificate (must be no longer than 4 months) that has been issued by the NCIC (National Crime Information Center) Interstate identification index.
- Original and a copy of the passport or the travel document, which is valid for at least 6 months.
- Three passport-sized photos (color)
- Document ensuring that the person has been receiving a stable and permanent monthly rental income of at least USD 2,500 or the amount equivalent to it in colones. This certificate should have been issued at least 3 months before the application.
If the income is received from abroad, the document determining this information should be apostilled.
Along with these documents, the person should pay the necessary fees for the process and after completion, a provisional visa shall be offered.
All the documents will be returned to the applicant, and these should be submitted to the Costa Rica immigration office where the applicant has to finalize the process.
- Provisional visa for retired individuals:
All the documents required under this category as the same as above except for the document proving the monthly rental income.
Instead of that, the individuals are required to submit a document ensuring that the individual will receive a permanent pension of at least USD 1,000 per month or the amount equivalent to it in colones as per the rate determined by the Central Bank of Costa Rica.
If the certificate is being acquired from abroad, then it must be apostilled.
This certificate should be issued at least 3 months before applying for this type of provisional visa.
Other than this, the process of applying for the provisional visa is the same as the process for rentiers.
- Provisional visa for the people who are closely related family members of a Costa Rican National
Only the parents or the children of a Costa Rican national can apply for this type of provisional visa. The children who are applying for this type of provisional visa must either be under the age of 18 years or should have been suffering from a disability.
An application letter for a residence permit is required while stating the reason for applying, which consists of information such as full name, nationality, passport information, information related to occupation, current address, address where they intend to stay when they enter Costa Rica, date of birth, date, and signature.
Other documents necessary for getting a provisional visa under this category are as follows:
- Birth certificate
- Federal criminal background certificate (must be no longer than 4 months) that has been issued by the NCIC (National Crime Information Center) Interstate identification index.
- Original and a copy of the passport or the travel document, which is valid for at least 6 months.
- Three passport-sized photos (color)
- Birth certificate of the Costa Rican relative, which has been issued by the Costa Rican Civil Registry.
Along with these documents, the person should pay the necessary fees for the process and after completion, a provisional visa shall be offered.
All the documents will be returned to the applicant, and these should be submitted to the Costa Rica immigration office where the applicant has to finalize the process.
Important Information (for all provisional visas):
- For the people belonging to the United States, all the necessary documentation should have been obtained apostille legalization from the Secretary of State based on the state from where they apply.
- The Spanish translation of the documentation can be done with the help of services offered by the official translators in the United States, and while doing so, the documents should be translated before being apostilled.
Otherwise, it can be done by the official translators, who are recognized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica.
- All the certificates and documents should be valid, and they must have been acquired by the individuals within the required timeframes.
- The documentation for these residence permits should be presented to the immigration office while staying there.
- If the person who applied for these permits enters as a tourist, then he or she would be charged a fee of USD 200 for the change of status.
