By Daniela Diaz Polo, Legal Manager, Costa Rica
For different reasons such as legal security, natural beauty, democracy, education, access to infrastructure, health services, among others, Costa Rica has become not only a tourist destination, but also a home for a large number of foreigners who decide to move temporarily or permanently.
Immigration Process for Costa Rica
It is at the moment of making this decision when it is very important to be properly advised to ensure that this entire process is carried out according to and covering each and every one of the requirements.
Specifically, with respect to Migration, there are general immigration requirements, which apply to all the different categories of residencies established in our legislation. These requirements are:
- Residence application
- Affiliation form
- Birth certificate duly apostilled or legalized
- Certificate of criminal record duly apostilled or legalized. Such certificate will be valid for six months unless the document expressly indicates another period of validity
- Marriage certificate duly apostilled or legalized. This requirement applies only in cases where the applicant wishes to cover his/her spouse as a dependent. If there are minor children, the birth certificate of each of them must also be presented
- Fingerprints
- Six recent passport-size photographs
- Consular Registration
- Certified copy of all passport pages
- Proof of government payments
- Official translation of all those documents that are issued in a language other than Spanish
To apply for the category of Temporary Rentier Resident, the applicant must also have:
- Certification of deposit for the sum of USD $60,000.00 in a National or foreign bank, having to withdraw and deposit in a Costa Rican bank account, the monthly sum of USD $2,500.00. For renewal purposes, the Bank Certificate must also be updated to reach the original amount.
- Certification of income in the amount of USD $2,500.00 per month. It is important to clarify that this amount cannot be completed with money earned from a salary, but from permanent, stable, and verifiable income such as bank interest, annuities, dividends, for at least 2 years.
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