Permanent residency allows the person who obtains it to remain in the country indefinitely with the freedom to work.

Those with Costa Rican parents or children qualify for this type of residency, as do those with Costa Rican brothers or sisters under twenty-five years of age.

For this type of residency, the relationship with the Costa Rican citizen must be verified through certification from the Costa Rican Civil Registry.

Additionally, residents holding temporary residency for three consecutive years can opt for permanent residency free of conditions.

This type of residency is an option for those able to show documents issued by the relevant authority in their countries that they are the beneficiaries of a lifetime pension of no less than one thousand dollars (US$ 1000) per month.

The pension must be certified in the country in which it is granted and then duly legalized and authenticated or apostilled.

Holders of this type of residency can claim their spouse and children of under twenty-five years of age, or who are duly medically certified as disabled dependents.

Applicants must comply with the general requirements for all Residency types, which can be found in the General Requirements section of the page.

Executives or technicians who are employed by companies that are registered or recognized by the Costa Rican Immigration authorities may choose this category by presenting a duly authenticated copy of their employment contract indicating the monthly wage received, which should be increased by 25% with respect to the statutory minimum wage for the same job. The company must be registered in any of the special categories and must comply with the requirements applicable to its category.

Legal representatives of operating companies can opt for residency. They must prove the existence of the business through the accreditation of patents and operating licenses, registration with the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, CCSS), the holding of a Labor Risk Policy, registration with Direct Taxation, and by submitting the company’s financial statements with the certification of a Certified Public Accountant. This type of residency allows you to claim your spouse and children.

You can opt for this category by opening a business and investing ten thousand United States dollars (US$ 10,000). The residency permit must be renewed every year by proving the existence of the business. This is demonstrated with the business license, operating permit, tax payment records, labor risk policy and registration with the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, CCSS). For this type of residency, you can operate all kinds of business and services without exception, including hotels and tourism businesses, restaurants and stores, and all kinds of services in general.

It does not allow the claiming of a spouse or children.

They must submit requirements such as a copy of their degrees or corresponding accreditation demonstrating the holding of the qualifications required to exercise their profession. Degrees and certifications issued abroad must be legalized or apostilled.

A certificate of registration to the General Directorate of Direct Taxation must be presented.

If the business is constituted as a corporation, it is necessary to present its constitution, its legal status, patent, operating permit from the Ministry of Health, and certification of revenue by a Certified Public Accountant.

An affidavit signed by the employer certifying the worker’s experience and specifying the specialized functions and knowledge required by the position must be submitted to the immigration authorities.

It is therefore very important to have degrees and certifications demonstrating the applicant’s training and experience duly authenticated.

Additionally, the company should establish its existence and operation through its Municipal license, sanitary operation permit, and proof of tax payments.

The Costa Rican Department of Immigration (Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería) authorizes work permits for foreign persons.  To grant this authorization, the Department takes into account the recommendations of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. These recommendations contain the list of professions and trades of which there is deficiency in the country, excluding those for which sufficient national workforce exists.

Additionally, permissions for students and people entering the country to perform temporary or specified roles in international or educational organizations or institutions are established.

In the case of teachers and researchers, a job offer indicating duties, hours, and salary to be earned must be submitted, which must be signed by the employer and duly authenticated.

In the case of students, these must demonstrate financial solvency by means of a certification issued by a Certified Public Accountant, with indication made of the origin of said funds. If the student has been awarded a scholarship, certification must be submitted of the institution providing the scholarship, indicating its amount, term and the expenses it covers.

Volunteers must present certification issued by the institution in charge of the volunteer program, which must be signed by its legal representative, and must describe the volunteer project in detail, indicating the work to be performed by the foreign person, the length of stay in the country and financing details.

To this effect,  they must prove the relationship through a birth or marriage certificate which is duly legalized and authenticated or apostilled. In the case of minor children, the application must be carried out by the parents.

In every case, demonstration of economic solvency to cover living expenses in the country through the presentation of an affidavit or certification of income issued by a Certified Public Accountant is required.

Students’ dependents are not authorized to carry out paid work. If they wish to do so, they must request a change of category.

Requirements for this are the presentation of an application indicating the reasons for requesting the stay permit, payment of one hundred dollars and a letter from the company indicating the functions to be performed by the foreign person in the country, with express indication that said person will not receive the payment of a salary or fees in the country.

If the time of stay exceeds six months, it is necessary to submit criminal record and birth certificates, duly certified and authenticated or apostilled.

A foreign person whose stay has been authorized may enter and exit the country as often as necessary so long as the term of the stay permit has not expired.

To do so, they must submit an application with a medical certificate indicating the state of the patient and the duration of the treatment.

Certification of the public or private hospital center where the medical care is given, showing that this has the operating authorization of the Ministry of Health.

If the time of stay exceeds six months, it is necessary to submit criminal record and birth certificates, duly certified and authenticated or apostilled.

People wishing to obtain permits as domestic employees may do so by submitting an application to the Immigration Department and enclosing a duly signed and authenticated employment contract.

The general requirements established for all residencies must be met, such as submitting a birth certificate and a police certificate of good conduct or a criminal record, which are duly authenticated and apostilled.

Certificación de ingresos emitida por Contador Público Autorizado.

Constancia de salario.

Orden patronal vigente o cartas de los empleadores con membrete y sello de la empresa que indique salario bruto y neto, años de servicio y puesto.

Las personas jubiladas deberán aportar prueba de la pensión, presentando recibos, o certificación emitida por autoridad competente que indique el monto y tiempo de jubilación.

Classification A companies are those that operate or will start operations under special schemes for export promotion. These regimes are administered by the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica (Ministerio de Comercio Exterior de Costa Rica, COMEX) and the Costa Rican Promoter of Foreign Trade (Promotora del Comercio Exterior de Costa Rica, PROCOMER).

Classification B companies are those that export goods or services outside of special export promotion regimes or which conduct research and development activities in the country.

Classification C companies are those that are operate in the tourism sector in Costa Rica, specifically in the areas of tourist accommodation. These must have a Declaration of Tourism Suitability and a four star or higher classification according to Executive Decree No. 25226-MEIC-TUR of March 15, 1996. Similarly, the enrollment of airlines registered in the Association of Airlines, both for the transportation of passengers and cargo is authorized, although the latter is only authorized for those categorized as operators.

Classification D companies are those that operate in the financial area in Costa Rica and are supervised or registered with the General Superintendent of Financial Institutions (Superintendencia General de Entidades Financieras, SUGEF) as entities in the banking sector, or are registered as non-banking financial institutions by  the Pension Superintendent (Superintendencia de Pensiones, SUPEN) and the General Superintendent of Costa Rican Securities (Superintendencia General de Valores de Costa Rica, SUGEVAL), and those that are in the process of installation or that operate in the area of insurance in Costa Rica and are supervised by or registered with the General Superintendent for Insurance (Superintendencia General de Seguros, SUGESE).

Classification E companies are those that are in the process of installation or that operate in the area of telecommunications in Costa Rica and are supervised or registered with the Telecommunications Superintendent (Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones, SUTEL).

Classification F companies are those that do not fall into any of the classifications described above and are multinationals whose parent company has decided to install a subsidiary branch in Costa Rica with operations in the areas of the production and marketing of goods and services. Multinational is understood to mean any company with operations in at least three countries other than Costa Rica. 

Classification G companies are those local or foreign companies that operate or will initiate operations in Costa Rica and are awarded a contract promoted by a Public Administration entity or organization, provided that the term of the contract exceeds one calendar year. Also included in this category are those companies that are contractually linked to public bodies.