Investor visa in Costa Rica

• The route is for a foreign person who invests in Costa Rica in real estate or registrable movable property, unlisted shares, securities, productive projects, projects of national interest, venture capital funds or sustainable tourism infrastructure. If the money goes through a trust, only the person who makes the investment can apply. Dependants can be a spouse, minor children or adult children with a disability, and unmarried children under 25 who depend on the holder.
• Investors and their dependants cannot do any paid manual or intellectual work in Costa Rica (article 13 of the regulation), so the residence does not give a right to take a job.
• Law 9996 limited its tax benefits to people who opted in within five years of taking effect, a window that closed in July 2026. A law firm found no text that ends the investor category with it, and DGME's checklist still listed the investment on 8 September 2026. The higher figure some guides quote came from the old Foreigners Regulation, repealed in 2023. Confirm the current rule with DGME for your filing date.

Sources: Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME), Procuraduría General de la República. Checked 16 October 2026.

• The investment test is a capital of about US$150,000 in Costa Rica, valued at the Banco Central selling rate; to be safe, have more than US$160,000. Only investments made inside Costa Rica count, and the total can be reached by combining several of the listed types.
• For property or registrable movable goods, you must be the registered owner in the National Registry, not a company; notary or accountant certificates do not prove a property investment. With a mortgage, the down payment must reach the investment level, alone or with other investments, and a municipal certificate issued within three months shows the property's value and paid municipal taxes.
• For unlisted shares you need a notary's certificate of real participation in an active company, issued within the last month, and a public accountant's certificate; securities must be bought through a broker registered with the securities regulator. To renew, you must show the investment was kept continuously since approval.

Sources: Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME). Checked 16 October 2026.

• The application is a signed request stating the type of investment, with the signature authenticated by a lawyer or notary (or signed before the DGME official when filed in person), a notarised copy of the passport photo page, a recent photo, and an apostilled birth certificate.
• You add a criminal record certificate from your country of origin or the country where you lived legally for the last three years, apostilled, with a certified copy of your migration document there, and the documents that prove the investment. Dependants file the same items, with an apostilled marriage or birth certificate and, for under-25s, a sworn statement of being unmarried and proof of study and dependence.
• Some investment types need an official document: the executive decree number for a project of national interest, a signed statement from the relevant government body for a productive project, a forestry ministry certificate for forest plantations, and the tourism institute's technical opinion for sustainable tourism infrastructure.

Sources: Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME). Checked 16 October 2026.

• Investor applications are handled preferentially through DGME's digital platforms; you can also file in person, but without preferential treatment. The procedure follows Title XI of the migration law and the Foreigners Regulation, and DGME's page gives no processing time, so it is unknown.
• After approval you book an appointment to document the residence, paying the fees, proving CCSS enrolment, and showing your passport. US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand citizens need no entry visa, so they can enter on a visitor stay of up to 180 days first.

Sources: Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME). Checked 16 October 2026.

• At application the fees are US$50 (article 255 of the migration law) and US$200 (article 89), and each dependant files the same payments. At documentation the regulation lists a fee of US$30 for the document request, a fee of US$30 for issuing it, an annual fee of US$25 for the Social Migration Fund, the fee amount stated in the approval resolution, and a one-off guarantee payment whose amount is in the resolution.
• Each two-year renewal repeats the fee amount in the resolution, the two fees of US$30 and the annual fee of US$25.

Sources: Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME), Asamblea Legislativa de la República de Costa Rica. Checked 16 October 2026.

• The investor subcategory is granted for two years and can be renewed for equal periods, as long as the investment has been kept continuously and without interruption since the residence was granted.
• Renewal also needs proof that you are enrolled and up to date in the CCSS insurance, and, if you are registered as an employer or taxpayer, that your CCSS and national tax obligations are paid; DGME checks these itself.

Sources: Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME). Checked 16 October 2026.

• A temporary resident who renews for three consecutive years can apply for permanent residence (article 78 of the migration law); the application fee is US$50, and a spouse and first-degree relatives who held temporary residence for the same three years can apply too.
• Unlike investor residence, permanent residence lets you do any paid work or intellectual activity.

Sources: Asamblea Legislativa de la República de Costa Rica, Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME). Checked 16 October 2026.

• The regulation says investors are not automatically tax residents; they become so under the Income Tax Law's domicile rules, such as more than 183 days in the fiscal period counting arrival and departure days.
• Law 9996's incentives, claimable only in the first five years after it took effect, were a one-off import exemption for household goods, up to two vehicles, and up to 20% off the property transfer tax; goods exempted must be kept for 10 years, and renouncing the status or having it cancelled makes the exempted taxes payable. A law firm adds that approval of residence alone is not an exemption authorisation.
• Financial institutions must give the tax authority information on clients classed as investors, pensionados or rentistas when it is needed for international tax information exchange agreements; the regulation recites this from article 6 of the law.

Sources: Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME), Procuraduría General de la República. Checked 16 October 2026.

• Digital nomad visa in Costa Rica
• Retirement visa in Costa Rica
• Work permit in Costa Rica
• Family visa in Costa Rica

• Visas in Costa Rica
• Costa Rica

1. 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 10 October 2026.
2. Regularización migratoria: general requirements and residence categories, Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME), Internet Archive copy. Checked 16 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 20 June 2026, opened on 16 October 2026; DGME's live site was not compared.
3. Preparing a document for an apostille certificate, US Department of State, Office of Authentications, Internet Archive copy. Checked 16 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 15 June 2026 (page updated 13 December 2024), opened on 16 October 2026.
4. US citizens and residents abroad: filing requirements, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 10 October 2026.
5. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Checked 10 October 2026.
6. United States income tax treaties, A to Z, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 10 October 2026.
7. US international Social Security agreements, US Social Security Administration. Checked 10 October 2026.
8. Criminal record checks: where to go, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Checked 10 October 2026. Certified (fingerprint-based) criminal record checks from inside and outside Canada; no date shown.
9. Authentication of documents: frequently asked questions, Global Affairs Canada. Checked 10 October 2026. Date modified 26 August 2026: the Apostille Convention took effect in Canada on 11 January 2024; no fee charged.
10. Tax treaties in force, Department of Finance Canada. Checked 10 October 2026.
11. Entry into force of the tax information exchange agreement between Canada and Costa Rica, Department of Finance Canada. Checked 10 October 2026.
12. Social security agreements, Government of Canada. Checked 10 October 2026.
13. Regulation to Law 9996 (Decree 43926-MGP-H-TUR): investors, rentistas and pensionados, Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME), PDF, Internet Archive copy. Checked 16 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 9 July 2026, opened on 16 October 2026 (26 pages); articles 4 to 10, 13, 15 to 26 read.
14. Apply for a National Police Certificate, Australian Federal Police (AFP). Checked 11 October 2026. No date shown. A$57 online (digital certificate); A$114 with fingerprints, which must be posted and take 15 to 30 business days.
15. Notarial services and fees (fee schedule from 1 January 2026), Australian Government, DFAT (Smartraveller), Internet Archive copy. Checked 11 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 7 October 2026 (updated 30 September 2026): apostille A$105 per document; payment in Australia by card only.
16. Documents we can legalise, Australian Government, DFAT (Smartraveller), Internet Archive copy. Checked 11 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 7 June 2026 (updated 4 March 2026): includes birth certificates and National Police Checks; originals, or copies notarised by an Australian Notary Public.
17. Income tax treaties in force, Australian Treasury. Checked 11 October 2026.
18. Tax information exchange agreements, Australian Treasury. Checked 11 October 2026.
19. International social security agreements, Australian Government, Department of Social Services (Internet Archive copy). Checked 11 October 2026.
20. Australian resident for tax purposes, Australian Taxation Office (Internet Archive copy). Checked 11 October 2026.
21. Use your NZ documents overseas: country list, New Zealand Government (govt.nz), Department of Internal Affairs. Checked 11 October 2026. Page last updated 15 September 2026; Costa Rica is listed as 'Apostille'.
22. Getting an apostille in New Zealand, New Zealand Government (govt.nz), Department of Internal Affairs Authentication Unit. Checked 11 October 2026. Page last updated 15 September 2026: NZ$37 per certificate, 15 working days, urgent service NZ$120 extra and 5 working days, form BDM460, a New Zealand notary public where notarisation is needed. It does not say whether police or criminal record certificates need an apostille.
23. Criminal records: request your own Criminal Record Check, Ministry of Justice (New Zealand). Checked 11 October 2026. No update date shown. Online request; the Ministry aims to respond within 20 working days and says about 90% are answered in under a week. The page gives no cost and does not mention apostilles.
24. Tax treaties: double tax agreements and tax information exchange agreements, Inland Revenue (New Zealand), Tax Policy. Checked 11 October 2026.
25. Social security agreements, Work and Income (Ministry of Social Development, New Zealand). Checked 11 October 2026.
26. Tax residency status for individuals, Inland Revenue (New Zealand). Checked 11 October 2026.
27. Foreigners Regulation (Decree 37112), article 87 as it read until 23 February 2023 (version 9 of 15), Procuraduría General de la República, SINALEVI (official legislation database). Checked 15 October 2026.
28. Ley General de Migración y Extranjería No. 8764 (articles 73, 77 to 82, 85 to 89 and 251 to 256), Asamblea Legislativa de la República de Costa Rica (copy published by ICODER). Checked 16 October 2026. Copy with SINALEVI annotations opened on 16 October 2026; later amendments not checked beyond those the copy shows (the latest is Law 10493 of 5 June 2024).
29. Income Tax Regulation (Decree 43198-H), article 10: who counts as domiciled, Procuraduría General de la República, SINALEVI (official legislation database). Checked 15 October 2026.