Visiting
Australian citizens need no visa as tourists. The immigration officer at entry decides how long you can stay, up to 180 days. Only a stay under 90 days can be extended, by up to 90 days. We found nothing saying a visitor may work remotely.
- Smartraveller says a tourist visit under 90 days needs no visa, which is shorter than the visa guidelines. Ask the officer to confirm the stay you are given.
- At entry you can be asked for a return or onward ticket and proof of more than US$200 for each month of your stay.
- You pay a departure tax to leave, which may be in your airline ticket.
Sources: Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Smartraveller). Checked 11 October 2026.
Staying a year or longer
The digital nomad stay is for people paid from abroad by a person or company outside Costa Rica. It lasts up to one year and can be renewed once if you spent at least 180 days in the country. The income test is more than US$3,100 a month, and it has to keep arriving while you are outside your home country.
- With family members, plan for more than US$4,100 a month. The figure can combine your income with a spouse's or another family member's.
- Pensioner residence asks for a lifelong pension of more than US$1,100 a month. Rentista residence asks for stable income of more than US$2,600 a month for at least two years.
- Both are written for pensions and passive income, so check whether salary or freelance fees would count.
More detail
The investor category lists a minimum of more than US$160,000 under Law 9996. That law's benefits are limited to people who opted in within five years of it taking effect, a window that closed in July 2026. We found no text that ends the minimum with the window.
Confirm the current requirements, fees and filing method with the immigration authority (DGME) before you apply.
Sources: Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME), Procuraduría General de la República. Checked 15 October 2026.
Documents, fees and timing
You show your income with a year of bank statements and a sworn statement, or a certificate from a public accountant or notary. You also need health insurance for your whole stay with at least US$50,000 of medical cover. The law gives immigration 15 calendar days to decide, and the application fee is US$100.
- You also send a signed application form and informed-consent form, and a copy of your passport photo page. Documents not in Spanish need an official translation.
- Only the accountant's or notary's certificate needs an apostille. Immigration runs the police record checks itself.
- The pensioner and rentista routes ask for an apostilled birth certificate and criminal record certificate. In Australia, a National Police Certificate costs A$57 online, or A$114 with fingerprints, and a DFAT apostille costs A$105 per document.
More detail
The US$100 fee must arrive net of bank charges, and the receiving bank charges US$15. Once approved, you have three months to get your identity document (DIMEX), which costs US$90 plus a guarantee deposit. The deposit amount is set in a separate decree and we did not find it, so it is unknown.
The AFP says a digital police certificate usually arrives within a few days, and fingerprint checks take at least 15 working days. DFAT publishes no apostille processing time. We found no processing times for residence in Costa Rica, so they are unknown.
Sources: Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME), Procuraduría General de la República, DFAT (Smartraveller), Australian Federal Police (AFP). Checked 15 October 2026.
Tax
Costa Rica taxes income earned in Costa Rica, whatever your nationality or residence. Digital nomad beneficiaries are fully exempt: they are never treated as tax resident and their income from abroad is not Costa Rican-source. Outside that status, whether remote work done from Costa Rica for a foreign payer is taxable is an open question for a Costa Rican adviser. A year away does not by itself end Australian tax residence.
- In Costa Rica you are tax resident if you spend more than 183 days there in the tax year.
- If you stop being an Australian tax resident, you are taken to have sold your capital gains tax assets at market value, except taxable Australian property such as real estate.
- Australian citizens are not eligible for the departing Australia superannuation payment, so super stays in your fund.
More detail
The ATO says you are generally an Australian resident if you go overseas temporarily and do not set up a permanent home in another country. Residents declare income from Australia and overseas, with a possible foreign income tax offset.
Costa Rica is not on Treasury's table of income tax treaties. A separate agreement, in force since 4 February 2013, lets the two tax authorities exchange information. Costa Rica is not on Australia's list of 32 social security agreement countries.
If you get the Age Pension, you move to the outside-Australia rate when you leave to live elsewhere. After 26 weeks, the rate depends on your years of Australian residence.
We did not check whether an Australian employer must keep paying super while you work from Costa Rica, so that is unknown. We could not confirm Costa Rica's current personal income tax rates from an official source, so they are not covered here.
Sources: Procuraduría General de la República, Australian Taxation Office, Federal Register of Legislation (Australian Government), Australian Treasury, Department of Social Services, Services Australia. Checked 15 October 2026.
Setting up
As a digital nomad you need private health insurance for your whole stay. Medicare does not cover you overseas, and Costa Rica has no Australian reciprocal health care agreement. After approval you have three months to get your DIMEX, the identity document for foreigners, by appointment through the immigration call centre (1311) or the Banco de Costa Rica.
- Smartraveller says private clinics and hospitals are well equipped but very expensive. You will likely pay up front, and doctors may speak only Spanish.
- Digital nomads can open savings accounts at Costa Rican banks, subject to anti-money-laundering checks, so expect to explain the source of your income.
- A valid home-country licence can be used while you hold the status. You cannot exchange Australian money in Costa Rica, but you can exchange US dollars.
More detail
Renewing your DIMEX for a second year needs fresh bank statements, proof of 180 days in the country, the fees and insurance covering the new period.
Residents must enrol with the CCSS, the public health and pension fund, once residence is approved.
Sources: Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME), Procuraduría General de la República, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Smartraveller), Services Australia, Victorian Department of Health. Checked 15 October 2026.
Living in Heredia
Heredia is in the Central Valley, which the national weather service describes as temperate. The dry season runs from December to March and the rainy season from May to October. Smartraveller advises a high degree of caution across Costa Rica and does not name Heredia. We found no official source for rents or other living costs there, so they are unknown here.
- Violent crime, including carjackings and express kidnappings, is increasingly common, and petty crime is common.
- Costa Rica has earthquakes, active volcanoes and possible tsunamis.
- Driving can be dangerous, and Smartraveller advises avoiding driving at night. Landslides and flooding are possible in the rainy season.
More detail
The weather service's 1961 to 1990 normals give the western valley average highs of 26.7°C and around 148 rain days a year, against 163 in the eastern valley.
Smartraveller lists home invasions among the common violent crimes and advises making sure your accommodation is secure.
Sources: Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Smartraveller). Checked 11 October 2026.
Other places we looked at
The research also looked at Escazú and Tamarindo, for contrast. The Escazú hills mark the southern edge of the Central Valley, and Escazú is in San José province. Tamarindo is a beach town in Guanacaste. We found no official source for rents in either place, so they are unknown here.
- Escazú: Smartraveller advises taking care in San José, particularly after dark, and does not name Escazú.
- Tamarindo: strong currents and rip tides occur on the Pacific coast, public beaches may have no lifeguards, and crocodile attacks have been reported. The rainy season runs from June to November.
Sources: Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Smartraveller). Checked 11 October 2026.
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