Costa Rica Assistance For Foreigners

Our mission is to provide legal service solutions to inbound business people and international investors moving to or doing business in Costa Rica. Learn more about our firm, philosophy, and the kinds of services we provide.

About our firm

We offer the following services to assist you in the process of obtaining residency in Costa Rica. Immigration laws in Costa Rica offer numerous options for people to relocate to the country.

Residency for Retired People (Pensionados)

This option is available to people who are currently retired and receive retirement income of at least $1,000 per month.

Residency for People on a Fixed Income (Rentistas)

Under this option, it is required to demonstrate that you receive at least $2,500 per month.

Residency for Investors

This category is available for people who invest at least $200,000 USD in Costa Rica. The investment can be in a business, or in assets such as real estate.

Residency for Self-employed People or Entrepreneurs

This category is available for people who desire to work for themselves or to open their own business in Costa Rica. There is no minimum amount of money required, only to have a business.

General Immigration Requirements

Verification of the main requirement: Depending on the category you will be applying for, documentation will be required to confirm eligibility under that category. For instance, people applying under the retirement category must produce a letter providing confirmation of the retirement income; people applying under the investment category must provide certifications of the investment regardless of whether the investment is in real estate or in a business; people applying for residency through marriage must produce a marriage certificate from Costa Rica.
Background check: This document should be issued by a national authority. In the case of US nationals, for instance, it should be from the FBI. In the case of Canadian nationals, it should be issued by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In the case of UK nationals, it should be issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers.
Birth certificate: A new copy of your birth certificate is required, not over six months old.

Application form: We complete this for our clients.
Cover letter: We complete this for our clients as well. It contains certain information about you.
Fingerprints: Obtained at a police department. We will coordinate with you in order to receive these, assisting in San José or Liberia by driving you from our office to the location concerned and handling the corresponding forms.
Certified passport copy: We certify your passport copy.
Consular registration: Registration with your country’s consulate is required, we also complete this for our clients.
Passport-size photographs.
Government fees: Initially, it is required to pay $251 USD in application fees. At the end of the process, it is required to pay an additional $433 USD in government fees.

Processing Time

Document Procurement

8 weeks

We will dedicate this period of time to make sure that you get the documents you will need to bring to Costa Rica, as well as preparing the rest of the documents required for the application. Generally, it takes about two months to obtain all the required documents.

Analysis & Decision by the DGME

9 months

Once the required documents have been obtained, we will file the application with the Immigration Department (DGME) By law, the DGME should process the application within 90 days. However, based on recent processing times, the DGME is currently taking about 12 months for processing an application.

Registration

4 weeks

Once the application has been approved, We will proceed with your mandatory registration with the CCSS for the Social Security system (also known as CAJA). In addition, we will obtain the ID for foreigners (DIMEX aka cédula). This last step completes the process.

Free Consultation
506-4106-3382