Costa Rican Residency
The United States Embassy does not have jurisdiction or influence over the Costa Rican residency process for American citizens. However, below is basic information about the process. This information, translated from documents provided by Costa Rica's immigration office, is only intended as an English language introduction to the process. For complete information, please visit the official Costa Rican government website.
4 Basic Types of Residency (There are other more specific types)
- Family relationship to a Costa Rican
- Pensioner -- must show evidence of a monthly pension of $1000 or more
- Rentista -- must show evidence of a permanent monthly income from a source outside Costa Rica of $2500 or more
- Investor -- must invest $200,000 in an approved sector of the Costa Rican economy
Required Documentation (all documents must be translated into Spanish by an offical translator)
- letter addressed to Director of Immigration explaining residency application
- digital fingerprints taken by the Ministry of Public Security
- certified copy of all pages of current passport
- proof of registration with the United States Embassy (Costa Rican immigration will only accept a notarized verification of registration, for which there is a notarial fee of $50.)
- proof of registration with the Costa Rican Social Security system (CCSS)
- three passport-size photos
- birth certificate
- certificate of arrest records
- certification fees
- bank receipt for application fee
- bank receipt for change of immigration category fee
In addition to the above documents, each type of residency will require documents specific to that category. For more detailed information, please visit migracion.go.cr.