Costa Rica in 2026: who it suits and how the process works

Costa Rica is a calm country with a stable democracy that has had no army since 1949. Tax here is charged only on locally sourced income. The Central Valley has a climate of "eternal spring". The investor residence permit starts at $150,000; the rentista confirms an income of $2,500 a month or places a $60,000 deposit; for the pensionado a lifetime pension from $1,000 a month is enough. Permanent residence is arranged after 3 years, citizenship after 7 years of living in the country.

How to get the residence permit, and what it gives you

There are four routes, and all of them lead to a temporary residence permit for 2 years, renewable for another 2. After 3 years you can apply for permanent residence; after 7 years of genuine residence you can apply for citizenship (for citizens of Spain and Ibero-American countries the term is reduced to 5 years). Naturalization requires passing exams in Spanish and in the country's history. The Costa Rican passport is strong: it gives visa-free entry to roughly 145 destinations, including the Schengen area, the UK and Japan. Dual citizenship is allowed.

The requirement attached to the resident status itself is minimal: to keep the residence permit, formally it is enough to enter the country once a year. That is why Costa Rica is often chosen by people who need status for the future without moving.

The four routes of the program

You can apply under one of four categories.

The reduced threshold of $150,000 applied under a temporary rule until July 2026; if it was not extended, the base threshold of $200,000 applies. We will confirm the amount currently in force at a consultation.

The property is registered in the applicant's personal name: as a general rule, buying through a company does not qualify. The family is included in one application: a spouse and children under 25 (older — in the case of a disability); no separate amounts are required for family members.

How the process works

1. Collecting the documents takes 1–3 months: apostilled birth and marriage certificates, police clearance certificates from the countries of residence over the past 3 years, translations into Spanish. Police clearance certificates lose their validity quickly, so the order in which they are collected is planned in advance.
2. Filing with the immigration service is done in person in San José or through a lawyer under a power of attorney. The documents can be filed while you are in the country on tourist status.
3. Review officially takes up to 3 months; in practice, with a complete package, 6–12 months: the service is overloaded, and incomplete files wait longer.
4. After approval a guarantee deposit is paid, state medical insurance is arranged, and fingerprinting is carried out.
5. The resident card is issued another 2–4 months later.

While the application is under review, you can stay in the country legally on the filing receipt. On top of the main requirements come mandatory payments for processing the application and issuing the documents; their size depends on who is in the family, and we will make an exact calculation for your family at a free consultation.

Taxes

Costa Rica taxes only income from local sources. Foreign pensions, dividends, salaries from foreign companies and income from investments abroad are not taxed. Local income is taxed on a progressive scale of up to 25%, dividends and interest of local origin are taxed at 15%, and the annual property tax is 0.25% of the registered value.

You become a tax resident if you live in the country for at least 183 days a year, and the residence permit by itself does not release you from tax obligations in the country where you actually live.

A separate expense item is the mandatory state medical insurance. Contributions are calculated from declared income (a benchmark of 8–12% of it per month) and are paid even by those who only use private clinics (without them the status will not be renewed).

Life in the country: housing, schools, healthcare

Families most often settle in Escazú and Santa Ana, the western suburbs of San José that are popular with expats: international schools and private hospitals are nearby. Those who choose the ocean look at Guanacaste and the south of the Pacific coast. The budget for a family of four is $3,000–6,000 a month; the final figure is set by housing and school. Renting a two-bedroom apartment costs $1,000–2,000 a month depending on the neighborhood.

International schools cost from $9,000 to $22,000 a year. Among the best known are Country Day School and Lincoln School. There are also British, French and German schools.

Public healthcare is covered by the mandatory insurance contributions, but there can be queues for an appointment with a doctor. Private clinics charge prices noticeably below American ones, and an appointment can be arranged faster. The climate in the Central Valley stays around +20–27°C all year. The rainy season runs from May to November. Spanish comes in useful for daily life. In the areas where foreigners live, you can get by with English.

Downsides and risks

1. Slow bureaucracy. Official review times stretch out in practice, so plan on a year and a half to two years for the whole cycle.
2. High prices. Duties on cars can exceed 50%, and imported goods and restaurants are comparable in price to the US.
3. Crime has risen. The problem areas are concentrated in the port provinces, far from the expat neighborhoods; for newcomers the main risk is theft.
4. Salaried employment is not allowed until permanent residence is obtained.
5. Infrastructure: the roads outside the Central Valley, the season of heavy rains, interruptions to water and power in the coastal areas.

Who it suits and who it does not

It suits: families with remote income or a business abroad — foreign income is not taxed, and the ban on local employment does not get in the way; retirees with a lifetime pension from $1,000 a month; people who want a fallback option in a neutral country with no requirement to live there permanently; people who love nature and a calm pace, and entrepreneurs who want to start an eco-business.

It does not suit: people who need a passport quickly; people planning a career with a local employer; people counting on low prices; people for whom developed infrastructure matters.

What's next

If the Costa Rica scenario looks like yours, book a free Migronis consultation: migronis.com/consultation — we will go through your situation and tell you whether it is your option or not.