Costa Rica permanent residence

The DGME lists several routes. A foreigner, their spouse and their first-degree blood relatives who have enjoyed temporary residence for three consecutive years may apply; this covers pensioners, rentistas, investors and other temporary residents. A foreign spouse of a Costa Rican who has held temporary residence through the marriage, proved cohabitation year by year and renewed it for three years can change to permanent residence.

First-degree relatives of a Costa Rican citizen, meaning the parents, children who are minors or adults with a disability, and siblings who are minors or adults with a disability, can apply without a prior period of temporary residence, proving the link with a Civil Registry certificate issued no more than two months before filing. Recognised refugees, asylees and stateless people can request permanent residence three years after their status was recognised; this does not mean giving up refugee status unless the person expressly says so.

Applicants file the DGME general requirements and state in the application that they seek permanent residence: a signed application with personal details and a means for notifications, two passport photos, a legalised or apostilled birth certificate, a legalised or apostilled criminal record from the country of origin or of legal residence during the last three years, certified copies of the passport pages with the entry stamp and any visa, the fingerprint receipt and the consular registration receipt. Foreign documents need an official Spanish translation.

Applicants through a Costa Rican relative add the Civil Registry certificate showing the link. A spouse of a permanent resident whose marriage took place abroad supplies it legalised or apostilled, issued no more than two months earlier.

The permanent residence application costs USD 50, paid in dollars or colones at the BCCR reference rate into Banco de Costa Rica account 242480-0 in the applicant's name. A change of migration category costs USD 200. When the change is from temporary to permanent residence, the USD 50 application fee is not charged, so a temporary resident pays the USD 200 change fee only.

Permanent residence allows the foreigner to carry out any paid work or intellectual activity in Costa Rica. A rentista who moves to permanent residence must, in addition to the requirements, ask for the release of the stable monthly income deposit on which the temporary residence was granted, if it was made in a state bank.

Relatives of permanent residents who do not qualify themselves can use special categories: the spouse or court-recognised partner, parents, minor children and dependent children up to 25 of a permanent resident can obtain a special category based on that link.