Country research
Costa Rica
Prices overall are about 0.59 of United States prices at market exchange rates, and the Global Peace Index 2026 ranks Costa Rica 62nd of 163. Remote workers paid from abroad can apply for a digital nomad stay of up to one year, renewable once, and people living on a pension or other income can hold temporary residence that can lead to permanent residence after three years. [C1] [S1] [K1] [R1]
The Fernshore Index
How it grades, factor by factor.
Each grade is against a published measure, with its source and the date we checked it. It is research information, not advice. Where we have no figure, the row says Unknown.
Cost of living
55 of 100Mixed
Price level 0.591 of United States prices (2025).
Source: Price level index (GDP), Costa Rica. Checked 15 October 2026.
Climate
16 of 100Weak
The Heredia and San José area, the main city: 3 comfortable months a year (January, November and December), measured at Tobías Bolaños airport in San José.
Source: Climate normals 1991–2020, Tobías Bolaños Palma Airport, Pavas, San José (WMO 78764). Checked 15 October 2026.
Safety
50 of 100Mixed
Global Peace Index 2026: 62nd of 163.
Source: Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank. Checked 15 October 2026.
Healthcare
79 of 100Strong
WHO UHC service coverage index 84 (2023).
Source: UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1). Checked 15 October 2026.
Schools
Unknown
Our research doesn't cover schools yet.
Community
Unknown
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Lifestyle
Unknown
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Work and career
50 of 100Mixed
Mixed: a residence route for remote workers exists (the digital nomad stay), but fixed broadband is 23.29 per 100 people (2024), under the 30 line.
Source: Digital nomads in Costa Rica: remote worker visa; Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Costa Rica. Checked 15 October 2026.
Retirement
85 of 100Strong
Strong: pensioners (a pension of at least US$1,000 a month) and people living on income (at least US$2,500 a month) are temporary residents, and three consecutive years of temporary residence allow an application for permanent residence. Later changes by Law 9996 were not checked.
Source: Ley General de Migración y Extranjería No. 8764, articles 78, 79, 81 and 82. Checked 15 October 2026.
Internet
52 of 100Mixed
23.29 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people (2024).
Source: Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Costa Rica. Checked 15 October 2026.
English
44 of 100Mixed
EF EPI score 516, between the 499 and 550 anchors. The page does not print its edition year.
Source: EF English Proficiency Index: Costa Rica. Checked 15 October 2026.
Visa, United States passport
85 of 100Strong
Strong: the digital nomad stay is open to US passport holders paid from abroad, with no job offer in Costa Rica and no age minimum. It runs up to a year and renews once; the income test is about US$3,000 a month (about US$36,000 a year, about US$4,000 a month for a family), with no deposit. To be safe, have more than US$3,100 a month. No entry visa is needed for 180 days.
Source: Digital nomads in Costa Rica: remote worker visa; Digital nomads: remote worker and service provider stay (requirements, fees, procedure); General Guidelines for Entry and Stay Visas for Non-Residents (November 2025). Checked 15 October 2026.
Visa, Canada passport
85 of 100Strong
Strong: the digital nomad stay is open to Canadian passport holders paid from abroad, with no job offer in Costa Rica and no age minimum. It runs up to a year and renews once; the income test is about US$3,000 a month (about US$36,000 a year, about US$4,000 a month for a family), with no deposit. To be safe, have more than US$3,100 a month. No entry visa is needed for 180 days.
Source: Digital nomads in Costa Rica: remote worker visa; Digital nomads: remote worker and service provider stay (requirements, fees, procedure); General Guidelines for Entry and Stay Visas for Non-Residents (November 2025). Checked 15 October 2026.
Visa, Australia passport
85 of 100Strong
Strong: the digital nomad stay is open to Australian passport holders paid from abroad, with no job offer in Costa Rica and no age minimum. It runs up to a year and renews once; the income test is about US$3,000 a month (about US$36,000 a year, about US$4,000 a month for a family), with no deposit. To be safe, have more than US$3,100 a month. No entry visa is needed for 180 days.
Source: Digital nomads in Costa Rica: remote worker visa; Digital nomads: remote worker and service provider stay (requirements, fees, procedure); General Guidelines for Entry and Stay Visas for Non-Residents (November 2025). Checked 15 October 2026.
Visa, New Zealand passport
85 of 100Strong
Strong: the digital nomad stay is open to New Zealand passport holders paid from abroad, with no job offer in Costa Rica and no age minimum. It runs up to a year and renews once; the income test is about US$3,000 a month (about US$36,000 a year, about US$4,000 a month for a family), with no deposit. To be safe, have more than US$3,100 a month. No entry visa is needed for 180 days.
Source: Digital nomads in Costa Rica: remote worker visa; Digital nomads: remote worker and service provider stay (requirements, fees, procedure); General Guidelines for Entry and Stay Visas for Non-Residents (November 2025). Checked 15 October 2026.
Topics
The detail on Costa Rica.
Guides
Costa Rica, by passport.
Each guide is written for citizens of one country.
For your situation
Costa Rica for different circumstances.
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Side by side with another country.
The same measures for both places, with no ranking.
Questions about Costa Rica.
How do prices in Costa Rica compare with the United States?
Prices overall in Costa Rica are about 0.59 of United States prices at market exchange rates (World Bank price level index, 2025). That is an economy-wide average, not a budget for one household, and it does not show what rent, food or any single item costs.
Can I visit Costa Rica without a visa, and for how long?
US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand passports need no visa. The officer at entry sets the stay, up to 180 days, and only a stay under 90 days can be extended, by up to 90 days. Smartraveller says Australians need no visa for under 90 days, so ask the officer how long you were given.
What income does the Costa Rica digital nomad stay need?
Steady income from abroad; to be safe, more than US$3,100 a month. With family members, to be safe, more than US$4,100. Law 10008 and its regulation set both minimums, converted at the Banco Central selling rate. The stay lasts up to a year, renewable once.
How do I apply for the Costa Rica digital nomad stay?
The law gives DGME 15 calendar days to decide, and the fee is US$100. You also need health insurance of at least US$50,000. Whether you file online or in person is unconfirmed: DGME's page, archived in August 2025, said in person by appointment, while a law firm's guide says online through Trámite Ya or in person.
Can I get residence in Costa Rica on a pension or an investment?
Pensioners need a lifelong pension (to be safe, more than US$1,100 a month) and rentistas stable income (more than US$2,600 a month). The investor category asks for an investment (more than US$160,000). A higher figure some guides quote was repealed in 2023.
Is Costa Rica safe?
The Global Peace Index 2026 ranks Costa Rica 62nd of 163. Canada's government advises a high degree of caution because of crime: petty theft and car break-ins are frequent, and violent crime, mostly tied to gangs and drugs, is most reported in Alajuela, Limón, Puntarenas and San José provinces.
Sources
Where each figure comes from.
Every figure on this page links to the page we read, with the date we checked it.
- [C1] Price level index (GDP), Costa Rica, World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2025: 59.06 (United States = 100), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [S1] Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank, Institute for Economics and Peace. Checked 15 October 2026. Costa Rica ranks 62nd of 163 countries (score 1.860).
- [K1] Digital nomads in Costa Rica: remote worker visa, Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT), visitcostarica.com. Checked 15 October 2026. No publication date shown. Stable net income of at least US$3,000 a month (US$5,000 for families); a stay of one year with the option to renew for a further year; health insurance of at least US$50,000; US$100 payment. The page names no nationality restriction. The Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería site (migracion.go.cr) refused automated access, so the official procedure was not read there.
- [R1] Ley General de Migración y Extranjería No. 8764, articles 78, 79, 81 and 82, Asamblea Legislativa de la República de Costa Rica (copy published by ICODER). Checked 15 October 2026. Article 78: permanent residence for those who held temporary residence for three consecutive years. Article 79: temporary residence for up to two years, renewable, includes rentistas and pensionados. Article 81: pension of at least US$1,000 a month. Article 82: income of at least US$2,500 a month. Later changes by Law 9996 were not checked.
- [G1] About Costa Rica, Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT), visitcostarica.com. Checked 15 October 2026. Caribbean Sea to the east and Pacific Ocean to the west; miles of tropical coastline; steep mountain slopes.
- [G3] Estimación de población y vivienda 2022: Resultados generales, Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INEC). Checked 15 October 2026. 82 cantons; for example Dota 9,364, Garabito 26,672 and La Cruz 26,829 residents in 2022. Table 6.1 gives cantons only.
- [G4] Clasificación de distritos según grado de urbanización, Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INEC). Checked 15 October 2026. Census 2011: of 479 districts, 82 are rural and 176 predominantly rural.
- [G5] Rural population (% of total population), World Bank, World Development Indicators. Checked 15 October 2026. 2025: 20.3% of the population is rural (national definitions), read from the World Bank API.
- [G6] Agricultural land (% of land area), World Bank, World Development Indicators. Checked 15 October 2026. 2024: 31.4% of land area, read from the World Bank API.
- [W1] Climate normals 1991–2020, Tobías Bolaños Palma Airport, Pavas, San José (WMO 78764), Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (WMO Climate Normals 1991–2020 via NOAA NCEI). Checked 15 October 2026. The Heredia and San José area, the main city for Costa Rica's climate grade. Monthly mean daily highs 28.9 to 31.5 °C; rain 10.7 mm (January), 135.1 mm (November) and 25.4 mm (December); 3 comfortable months (January, November, December).
- [H1] UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1), World Health Organization. Checked 15 October 2026. Costa Rica: 84 out of 100 (2023), read from the WHO GHO API on 15 October 2026.
- [K2] Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Costa Rica, International Telecommunication Union, via the World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2024: 23.29 per 100 people, read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [F1] EF English Proficiency Index: Costa Rica, EF Education First (private test-taker index). Checked 15 October 2026. Score 516, global rank 55, 18 points below the previous score. The page does not print its edition year; it is the live country page read on 15 October 2026.
- [V1] Digital nomads: remote worker and service provider stay (requirements, fees, procedure), Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME), Internet Archive copy. Checked 15 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 29 August 2025, re-read on 15 October 2026; DGME's live page (migracion.go.cr) returns 403 to automated readers, so it was not compared with the capture. States a minimum pay from abroad of US$3,000 a month (US$4,000 with dependants), no nationality restriction and no Costa Rican job offer, and renewal after 180 days in the country. Applies to US, CA, AU and NZ passports alike.
- [V2] General Guidelines for Entry and Stay Visas for Non-Residents (November 2025), Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería, published in La Gaceta (Alcance 148, 17 November 2025); Internet Archive copy. Checked 15 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 27 September 2026, re-read on 15 October 2026. Australia, Canada, the United States and New Zealand are in the first group: no entry visa, a stay of up to 180 days.