Costa Rica investor residence (Inversionista)

The DGME accepts an investment of no less than USD 150,000 in any of these forms: real estate or registrable movable property, shares, securities, productive projects, projects of national interest, venture capital funds and sustainable tourism infrastructure projects. The amount is a single threshold; the DGME page does not list a different minimum for each asset class.

The documents that prove the investment depend on its type, for example registry certificates for property or accounting certifications for a business. The DGME refers applicants to the regulation to Law 9996 (Law to attract investors, rentistas and pensioners) for the exact list, so read it before collecting papers.

Besides the investment evidence, the general requirements apply: a signed application with your details and address for notifications, two passport photos, a legalised or apostilled birth certificate, a legalised or apostilled criminal record from your country of origin or of legal residence in the last three years, certified copies of the passport pages with the entry stamp, the fingerprint receipt and the consular registration receipt. Foreign-language documents require an official Spanish translation.

Each applicant pays USD 50 for the temporary residence application into Banco de Costa Rica account 242480-0, in their own name. A person who is already in the country as a non-resident and changes category pays an extra USD 200. Opening the file on Trámite Ya costs a one-off USD 11 platform charge.

Investor residence is granted for two years and can be renewed as long as the investment is kept. After three consecutive years of temporary residence the investor, spouse and first-degree relatives can request permanent residence, which allows any paid work.

The spouse, minor children, adult children with a declared disability and single children under 25 who depend economically on an investor can request the Dependiente category, either together with the investor or after the investor's residence is approved. A spouse proves the link with a legalised or apostilled marriage certificate, parents file for minor children and a medical report proves a disability.