The applicant must demonstrate that he/she owns real estate in Costa Rica with a value equal or higher than US$200,000.00.

In order to prove the value of the property, the applicant must provide a Municipal Property Certification showing a value of at least US$200,000.00.

If the property is owned by a company, ownership can be proven by the means of ownership of such company’s shares.

If the shares are not owned entirely by the main applicant, the value of the land will be prorated corresponding to his/her share ownership percentage.

A clean criminal record certificate for the applicant and for its dependents twelve years or older to be included in the regime, if any, is required.

It must be issued by the applicable authorities of the country where the applicant has lived during the last three years before the application. The above certification shall state that they have no criminal record in the country where the document was issued.

If the certificate is from the United States, it must be Federal Criminal Record issued by the FBI. This document is valid only for six months after its issue date and must be authenticated by the Costa Rican Consulate nearest to the place of issue or apostilled in the country of issue if such country is part of the Hague Convention.

A birth certificate for the applicant and his/her dependents (if any) is required. This document must be issued by the appropriate authorities at the place of birth. This document is valid only for six months after its issue date and must be authenticated by the Costa Rican Consulate nearest to the place of issue or apostilled in the country of issue if such country is part of the Hague Convention.

Required only for applicants that wish to include their spouse under the regime. This document must be issued by the corresponding authorities in the place where the marriage took place and is valid only for six months after its issue date. The document must be authenticated by the Costa Rican Consulate nearest to the place of issue or apostilled in the country of issue if such country is part of the Hague Convention.

This is required for both the applicant and his/her dependents to be included in the regime. It must comprise all pages (including blank pages).

Six front passport-size photographs with white background are required.

All applicants must register before the Consulate of their country of citizenship in Costa Rica. Each Consulate has its own requirements for this registration and they change from time to time so it is recommendable to establish direct contact to be informed of current applicable conditions.

If the country of citizenship of the applicant does not have a Consulate in Costa Rica, this requirement can be met with a letter issued by the Costa Rican Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirming such situation.

Once the applications are filed before the Immigration Authorities, the applicant and its dependents –if any- need to be fingerprinted at the Ministry of Security. This requirement applies to the main applicant and its dependents twelve years or older.

Fingerprinting starts a local investigation to check that the applicant has a clean criminal record, and a request for INTERPOL to conduct an international search as well.

The request for fingerprints is made in a form which must be pre-approved by the Ministry of Security. Our firm will guide you through this step at the Police Headquarters.

All applicants must register before CCSS after the residency application is approved. This registration will require a meeting with a CCSS inspector, the determination and payment of a monthly fee and obtaining social security cards with the local clinic (EBAIS). Specific requirements vary from the CCSS branch on which the registration is made and from time to time so we suggest to consult with us upon the specific moment of registration for current conditions.

All documents originating abroad require authentication by the Costa Rican Consulate located in the country of issue or apostilled in the country of issue if such country is part of the Hague Convention. Documents must then be sent to Costa Rica for authentication by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs if they are not apostilled (this step is met through our Firm).

Costa Rican Consulates are divided into jurisdictions. In the majority of cases, Consuls will not legalize or authenticate documents issued by authorities out of their jurisdiction. In the United States, specific Consulates serve certain States and the one in Washington DC has jurisdiction over the whole country. Consult the Consulate nearest to the place of issue of the document for procedures, office hours and fees for each specific document.

All documents in languages other than Spanish must be translated in Costa Rica by an official translator (this step is met through our Firm).

After granting of residency, the beneficiary must not be absent from the country for more than six consecutive months in order to maintain the status.

After granting of residency, the beneficiary must prove that the required income (US$1,000.00) was converted into Colones in one of the National Banking System banks before the end of each anniversary of the granting of the residency. In practical terms, it is feasible and recommended to make one conversion per year, for the full amount corresponding to twelve months.