Visiting
US citizens need no visa as tourists. The immigration officer at entry decides how long you can stay, up to 180 days. Only a stay granted for under 90 days can be extended, by up to 90 days. We found no source saying a visitor may work remotely.
- 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.
- The US State Department warns that overstaying can lead to a fine, delays and deportation, and that Costa Rica can deny you entry in the future.
- If you plan to work for a year, research the remote-worker stay.
Sources: Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería, US Department of State. Checked 16 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. You cannot take paid work in Costa Rica.
- 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, certified by a bank.
- Both are written for pensions and passive income, so check whether salary or freelance fees would count.
More detail
Before the nomad stay ends you may apply to change category.
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 criminal and police record checks itself.
- The pensioner and rentista routes ask for an apostilled birth certificate and criminal record certificate, plus the income certificate.
More detail
The 15 days pause if immigration asks you once for missing documents. You then have eight working days to send them.
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 latest immigration page we could read, from August 2025, said digital filing was disabled until further notice and applications were made in person by appointment. We could not confirm the current filing method, so check it with DGME.
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. 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. The United States keeps its claim on you either way.
- In Costa Rica you are tax resident if you spend more than 183 days there in the tax year, counting arrival and departure days.
- US citizens abroad generally file a US return on worldwide income. The 2026 foreign earned income exclusion is up to $132,900, and the physical presence test needs 330 full days abroad within 12 months.
- Foreign accounts that together exceed $10,000 at any time in the year must be reported on an FBAR. A Costa Rican account counts.
More detail
Costa Rica's tax authority counts a trip abroad of up to 30 continuous calendar days as days in Costa Rica unless you prove tax residence elsewhere with a certificate. It does not count a longer absence.
You cannot take a US foreign tax credit for tax on income you exclude. The IRS list of US income tax treaties does not include Costa Rica, so there is no treaty tie-breaker.
Costa Rica is not on the Social Security Administration's list of agreements in force. US self-employment tax applies to your net self-employment profit even when that income is excluded from income tax, and US social security generally applies to work abroad for an American employer.
We found no official source for Costa Rica's current personal income tax rates, or for how your US state treats you after you leave, so they are not covered here.
Sources: Procuraduría General de la República, Internal Revenue Service, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), US Social Security Administration. Checked 15 October 2026.
Setting up
As a digital nomad you need health insurance for your whole stay with at least US$50,000 of medical cover, from an insurer registered in Costa Rica or an international policy. Residents must enrol with the CCSS, the public health and pension fund, once residence is approved. 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.
- The US State Department says medical treatment is available, but traffic and road conditions can delay access to remote areas. It suggests considering medical evacuation insurance.
- 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.
More detail
People have reported robberies at short-term rentals and break-ins at homes, so check how a building is secured.
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 renewing must show continuous CCSS enrolment.
We found no official figure for CCSS contributions for residents with foreign income, so that cost is unknown.
Sources: Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME), Procuraduría General de la República, US Department of State. Checked 16 October 2026.
Living in Heredia
Heredia is in the western Central Valley, where the national weather service records a temperate climate. Average highs are 26.7°C and lows 16.5°C. The dry season runs from December to March and the rainy season from May to October. The US State Department gives Costa Rica Level 2, exercise increased caution, because of crime, and does not name Heredia. We found no official source for rents or other living costs there, so they are unknown here.
- Petty crime is common throughout Costa Rica, and violent crime, including armed robbery, homicide and sexual assault, also affects tourists.
- Costa Rica is in an active earthquake and volcanic zone.
- Traffic and road conditions can delay access to remote areas, so think about how you would reach shops and services.
More detail
The advisory was issued on 2 April 2026. It also advises checking that car doors are locked, because thieves can block key fob signals.
The western valley has around 148 rain days a year, with a short break in late June and another in July and August.
Sources: Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN), US Department of State. Checked 16 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. Tamarindo is a beach town in Guanacaste. We found no official source for rents in either place, so they are unknown here.
- Escazú: the US State Department names no provinces in its advisory, so Escazú is not singled out.
- Tamarindo: rip currents kill dozens of US citizens every year in Costa Rica, and most beaches have no lifeguards or warnings about unsafe conditions. The State Department lists Tamarindo Beach among the beaches where authorities have lifeguards, though stations may or may not be staffed.
Sources: Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN), US Department of State. Checked 16 October 2026.
United States
Costa Rica