Getting a legal status in Costa Rica is SIMPLE
We can guide you through the very important process of relocating to Costa Rica. We provide top legal advise within a fix budget and a friendly approach to help you fulfil your dreams.
The first thing to understand is the different categories in which a foreigner entering into Costa Rica can opt for:
Tourist - For those who stay in the country to maximum of 90 days. The only obligation that a tourist have during the immigration process at the frontier (land or airport) is to show the immigration officer that it has a return ticket and a valid medical insurance that would cover any incident during his stay.
Some tourist will opt to stay after the 90 days period, but this exposes them to legal consequences that ranges from penalties to being forcefully expelled of the country. Some will be banned to re-enter the country again. That is why is better to opt for a residency or a special VISA (like the digital nomad one, is totally worth it).
Residents. For those who intend to stay for a longer period of 90 days and have an intention to settle in Costa Rica. There are two types of residencies: temporal and permanent. The permanent category is acquired after 3-5 years of being a temporal resident. So how do you acquire the temporal resident status? Simple, depends of the different available categories that exist. We can further divide this type of residency: a) investors: for those who have the capacity to invest at least USD$150,000, b)rentista: for those who can proove income of at least $2500 for a period of 2 years; 3)Specialised workers, that can prove, according to the Minister of Labor criteria, that are not displacing local workforce; 4) special categories: such as students and religious, among others.
What is common in all categories is the need to have certain documentation such as an inscription at the local embassy or consulate, birth certificate and criminal records. Depending on the type of residency selected you will need to show economical means or academic degrees that back-up the specialised knowledge.
The process involves at least the following institutions: Migration authority, Police Department (for inscription purposes, after the filing is done), Labour Minister (to assure that there is no locals displaced) and Social Security (enrollment is mandatory aswell). In some cases, it also involves the tax authority. It is important to mention that those with the categories of investors and rentists have an exception of NOT PAYING any INCOME TAX for the money they bring into the country, for a 5 year window period, that starts with July 2021. Learn more about the rentist and investor category.In any case, do not stress about it and send us an email instead. We can guide you from the first moment in recollecting all the necessary documentation and filing.
Special Visa. On the 11th of august 2021, the DIGITAL NOMADs Law* was signed by the executive power as a law. This law aims to facilitate the process for digital nomads to relocate to Costa Rica for a shorter stay than residencies, eliminating the participation of several public entities and getting an answer in 15 days.
The extremely agile process that this special VISA to reside in Costa Rica - targeting the talented digital nomads - grants the following rights: (i) a valid and legal permit to stay within the territory of Costa Rica for a period of 12 months, with the right to extend it up to 24 months; (ii) the right to open bank accounts; (iii) the right to have their license driver recognised as valid during the period that the VISA is extended.
Digital Nomads will also have special tributary benefits such as: the exception to NOT PAY any INCOME TAX during the time of their VISA and that they will not be obliged to pay social security fees, ranging between 12%-36% of the net income.In order to receive the benefits, Digital Nomads need to prove a monthly income that comes from outside the country of at least $3000 (or $4000 for couples) and medical insurance. It is important to highlight that part of the benefits include that they will not have any TAX obligations regarding that income.
So what are the differences between getting a residency permit and a special Visa (Digital Nomad)?
Probatory elements: So the first difference relates to the standard of probatory elements that need to be submitted to the Migration authority, as a residency requires to prove that the foreigner will not displace local workforce, but the contrary, that comes to create jobs for costaricans.
Opt to become a national: Permanent residents can opt to Costarican citizens as every year you have a residency permit counts and accumulates to apply for citizenship, which is something a special VISA does not grant.
Legal right to get CR clients: The idea of digital nomads is that their income will come from outside the country, so this is an important aspect to consider, as digital nomads are not allowed to look for clients in Costa Rica. In order to do that, they must register before the tax authority and tribute the income generated.
Time to get an answer: The time to get an answer gives us an additional difference, as a residency permit could take up to 1-2 years; the digital nomad visa is expected to last 15 days.
No matter what is your current situation, if you are thinking about relocating to Costa Rica, it would be my pleasure to explore the possibility to become your lawyer and help you with the different matters that relocating to Costa Rica implicates, from deciding in which part of the country to live (city, beach, mountain), identifying the best schools for your family, setting up your company/corporation, help you with due diligence matters for property/land investment to filing your residency.
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I have enjoyed the privilege of remote working, although my work base is in San José, Costa Rica I have travelled and worked at: Puerto Viejo de Talamanca in Limón; Santa Teresa in Puntarenas; San Salvador; Tulum and Ciudad de México.
I would love to help you do the same. Herman Duarte, Simple Legal Consulting (SLC).