Residence and Immigration in Costa Rica

There are several options if you are considering applying for residency in Costa Rica. Migratory categories and their specific requirements are described below, however, general requirements (1-11) are applicable to all of them. Any request for residency in Costa Rica should be submitted to the Costa Rican Consulate in the country of origin or residency. In the case of retirees, rentistas and foreign relatives of a Costa Rican citizen, these requests can be submitted in Costa Rica.

General Requirements

1. An application addressed to the Director General of Migration by the person concerned. If the applicant is not going to be able to go in person,he/she should grant a special power of attorney to a representative inthe USA, who will submit the documents at the Consulate. This power ofattorney should be in Spanish, notarized and follow the authenticationprocedures.
2. The applicant should grant special authority to a representative (apoderado).This document could be either signed or authenticated in the Consulate.It should indicate the personal particulars of the representative (apoderado)and the address where to receive notifications, both within the judicialperimeter of San Jose
3. Birth Certificate (required for applicant, spouse and all dependentchildren up to 18 years or up to 25 if a university student – proof of enrollment is required) * Every certificate should have the parents' name.
4. Police Certificate (not older than six months) issued by the State/lastplace where the applicant has lived for the past two years (requiredfor applicant, spouse and any dependent children aged 18 to 25) *
   
5. Marriage Certificate (if the applicant is married)*
6. Photocopy of the passport certified by the Consul, Costa Rican NotaryPublic or by an American Notary Public, but in this last case, the copieswill also have to be authenticated. (This is required for applicant,spouse and any dependent children).
7. Four recent forehead passport size photographs (required for applicant,spouse and any dependent children).
8. Eligible individuals can claim their spouses and children under 18,as dependents, as well as older children with disabilities. A son ordaughter between 18 and 25 can be included as dependent if he or sheis enrolled in a University.
9. In the case of a family group, an individual file is required permember. Parents should sign applications on behalf of minor children.
10. In order to practice a profession, the individual concerned shouldprovide his or her diplomas. Concerning other professional activities,relevant documentation such as courses and studies undertaken shouldbe submitted.

* NB: All documents listed in paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 must be authenticatedby the Costa Rican Consul and translated to Spanish language. (A CostaRican Consulate will charge US$ 40 in official stamps for authenticationof each document). Once you have all the required documents, send themFIRST to the Consulate of your jurisdiction, where they will be checked.If documents are complete, you will be asked to go to the Consulate foran interview and sign the application you have already sent, as wellas the power of attorney. As mentioned in point 1., if you are not goingto appear in person, you should grant a power of attorney to someonein the USA who will submit the documents to the Consulate. In this case,since you are not going personally to the Consulate, the power of attorneymentioned on point 2. should be already signed by you, and it shouldbe notarized and authenticated. The documents will be sent to Migrationin Costa Rica, who will contact your representative in Costa Rica. Forthis purpose, you will have to pay for the courier service. Additionallyto points 1-10, you should fulfill the following requirements dependingon your immigration category. Those documents do not need to be senttogether with the ones mentioned in points 1-10, but if they are missing,your representative will be notified once Migration receives and processesthe documents sent by the Consulate. He/she will have 10 days to completethose documents which are issued in Costa Rica, or 30 days if they areissued abroad. Please consider that some need to be authenticated bythe Costa Rican Consulate first.