The 4 Main Categories When Applying for Your Residency in Costa Rica

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We will assume that the readers of this article are conscientious individuals who have come to the realization that life in Costa Rica is best lived as a legal resident. You have also read previous articles about the folly of perpetual tourism. (Border runs as a way of living under the radar.) It also assumes 95% of you will be from the U.S., Canada, or the E.U.
This article covers the four most common categories under which to apply for a Costa Rica Residency. And for those “frugal” types allergic to wisely investing in a legal representative to aid significantly in the process, you will be disappointed in not finding herein, all the devilish details one needs to mindful of for a successful experience. Those who attempt this process on their own will find themselves on the road to hell, A.K.A., the Department of Immigration (Dirección de Migración y Extranjería de Costa Rica.)
If you think government bureaucracies in your home state, province or country are aggravating, be advised that they are all rank amateurs compared to the occupants of most Costa Rican government offices when it comes to delivering tear-your-hair-out frustrations.
Never the less, a Pura Vida existence in this beautiful country will entail doing business with these entities as part of your immigration process. A competent and honest legal representative experienced in dealing with The Department of Immigration will prove invaluable.
Who Administers Costa Rica Residency:
There is only one processing center in Costa Rica. It is centrally located in Uruca, San Jose.
The official name is The Department of Immigration (Dirección de Migración y Extranjería de Costa Rica.) Since it is overseen by the Ministry of Public Security and Police (Ministerio de Seguridad Publica) they are charged with confirming these essential aspects of each residency applicant:
1) Are you who you say you are?
2) Are you law-abiding and pose no threat to Costa Rica society?
3) Do you have the financial resources to support yourself and your family?
4) Are you mentally and physically healthy and pose no health threat to Costa Rica society?
The paperwork required with the application for residency addresses each of those very basic questions. The rules and procedures are non-negotiable.
The basics:
Everyone who applies for Residency in Costa Rica must possess a valid, up to date passport. Those from the countries mentioned above are automatically granted 90-day visas when entering Costa Rica. If you are from a country not listed above, check with your nearest Costa Rica Embassy abroad for your requirements. To renew that 90-day visa, you must by law leave Costa Rica and return again with an outward-bound travel ticket until you obtain a residency card (DIMEX). (It is also possible to apply for a visa extension for a fee, but few bother with this.)
Qualification for Residency requires that you do not have a criminal record, or if you do, it is more than 10 years since completion of your sentence, did not involve drugs or arms dealing, sexual crimes, offenses against children or violence against anyone. Misdemeanors are generally overlooked. Criminal record reports are part of the required documents needed to apply, so no sense trying to withhold any unsavory information. It will all show up.
On the day your residency application is submitted to Immigration, you will receive an Expediente (proof of application submission). It allows you to stay in Costa Rica indefinitely until you get notification of your application approval. This privilege DOES NOT apply to a foreign driver’s license validity. Those are still only valid for 90 days. Therefore, you will need to return to your home country or do border runs for the duration as a means to keep those driver’s licenses valid. Border runs pose no issues when you have those Expediente’s in hand.
The four most common categories:
1) Pensionado Category (Pension)
This is the least intrusive category to apply under. You must show proof of a permanent pension (for life) of a minimum of USD $1,000 per month. Most U.S. Pensionado applicants apply with their Social Security benefits. Applicants from Canada show proof of Canada Pension Plan (C.P.P.) and Old Age Security (O.A.S.) and E.U. applicants apply with their various government pension proofs.


If applicants have private pensions of substantially higher benefits in addition to government pensions, it is advisable to apply with the lower of the two. Part of the requirements of Costa Rica Residency is joining CAJA, which is Costa Rica’s version of Universal Healthcare. For Ticos, that system also includes a portion of their monthly CAJA premium contribution being assigned to their old age Pension in addition to health benefits.
This is not the case with ex-pat applicants. They will only be charged for health benefits. Those premiums will be calculated based on the amount used to qualify for Residency. Therefore, it is prudent for those with two or more pension sources to apply with the lowest pension. Also, if a wife has a lower pension than a husband or vice-versa, use the lesser of the two. It will have a beneficial economic impact on your CAJA premiums. If an individual has pensions lower than USD 1K/month, but the combination of the two (or three) adds up to more than 1K/month, they can be combined. But you cannot combine a husband and wife pension to reach that USD 1K/month threshold.
2) Rentista Category: (Income-based Residency)
This category is for those not yet receiving a permanent pension. Immigration law sets the minimum monthly requirement at $2,500 for the first two years of a Temporary Residency ($60,000). Proof of this must come in a very explicitly worded letter from the applicant’s bank of choice indicating the applicant will receive an income of at least $2,500/month from their own account at the bank in a permanent and stable manner for at least 2 years. Your legal representative will have templates of that letter for you to print out and bring to the bank, so that everyone is crystal clear as to the required wording. Once the applicant is approved, they will be required to send that minimum 2.5K/month to their Costa Rican bank account.
At the time of renewal for year 3 of the Temporary Residency, the applicant will be asked for bank statements to prove they followed through. No bank statements showing follow through – no renewal. Some U.S. and Canadian banks balk at issuing these letters prompted by their legal department’s imagined risks to the bank. Many applicants simply shop banks until they get a compliant manager.
An alternative for applicants is to transfer USD 60K to a Costa Rican bank who will issue them a Certificate of Deposit. That same bank will then set up transfers of 2.5K/month to a savings account. You then have a paper trail that can then be used to show proof of compliance at the time of renewal for year 3 or the Temporary Residency. That Costa Rican bank will then also issue the letter in Spanish, worded by the template demanded by Immigration. Seek guidance on this sometime tedious part of the process from your legal representative who will usually know which banks to avoid and which are compliant.
3) Inversionista (Investor):
Applicants in this category must pay very close attention to currency exchange rates established by the Central Bank of Costa Rica. Keep that top of mind. Immigration law requires the applicant to own assets in Costa Rica of at least $200,000. Applicants might get their residency application declined if the currency exchange at the time results in the value of your assets dropping below USD 200K. So, a safe margin might be a minimum of USD 210K in assets.
In most cases, the assets used are in the form of property, and often the home lived in by the applicant(s). Such assets are owned by a corporation of which the applicant is a shareholder. When that is the case, the shares of that corporation owned by the applicant must be equal to or greater than the stipulated $200,000. You cannot have a husband and wife sharing 50/50 ownership of $350,000 in shares of a corporation that owns the home. Immigration wants the main applicant to own at least 200K worth of those shares. So, in this example, the applicant would come up short in the assessment of Immigration. ($350,000 ÷ 2 = $175,000 – Short 25K.)
Therefore, one must take care to set up the corporation share structure with the residency application in mind. There must be documentation describing the investment of that property, certification of its registration in the National Registry (Registro Nacional), show the value, and also that the property is registered with that same value with the local municipality or Department of Revenue (Hacienda).
The applicant must also furnish proof that all taxes on that property are paid up. The tax receipt must show both the taxes paid and the value of the asset/property those taxes are calculated on.
Prompted by the lawyer assisting with the acquisition of the property, the applicant may have chosen to list the value much lower than actual as a means to pay lower taxes. This will only come to bite the owner when it comes time to sell. If lower than 200K, then you also have a problem with residency qualification.
Initiatives by Hacienda are now underway where properties are being inspected and re-assessed as to the actual value and, or if it is being rented. (Hello AirBnB). Therefore, applicants have several things to pay very close attention to. Immigration is the left hand looking for the proper documentation while Hacienda can be counted on to act as the right hand. They speak to each other.
There is more detail to this category, but those are the broad strokes.
4) Vinculo (Married to a Costa Rican)
In recent years, due to sham marriages (surprise, surprise), the regulations have tightened up for this category. Permanent Residency used to be granted at the outset. This is no longer allowed. The applicant (ex-pat spouse) must apply for one year of Temporary Residency, then do two successive renewals for a total of three years of Temporary Residency. If Immigration is satisfied that the marriage is for real, (and they are still together!), the applicant is free to apply for Permanent Residency. Proof of a wedding in the form of no less than ten photographs depicting the courtship and wedding is part of the required documentation.
As the overused saying goes, the devil is in the details. Hire a competent guardian angel to be sure you can qualify and under the most advantageous category. Without procrastination or tightly constrained travel logistics in and out of Costa Rica, follow directions as to the WHAT, WHERE, and HOW for your part of the preparations. Then let your legal representative take it from there into underfunded, understaffed and chaotic Immigration Center.
The Costa Rica Star would once again like to thank Residency and citizenship expert Laura B. Gutiérrez from Immigration Help CR for her input to our staff writers on this very detailed residency article.
If your in need of immigration assistance Laura can be reached by clicking here, toll free at 1-833-733-6337 or by sending a email to laura@immigrationhelpcr.com.
 

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