When you visit Costa Rica you are automatically given a visa which allows you to visit and drive in the country using your passport and out-of-country driver's license. But lots of people who travel to Costa Rica to stay and never become legal residents. After all, it is a time consuming and tedious process taking anywhere from one to two years to complete. They chose instead to remain in a state of “permanent tourism,” constantly renewing their 90-day Visas by making border runs out of the country, as if they were tourists.
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| Cows of Puriscal Canton |
Border runs are technically legal but not encouraged and stories abound of people getting stuck during a border run by an inquisitive immigration official and not getting a full 90-day Visa extension upon re-entry.
Wise expats apply for temporary residency, which is good for 2 or 3-years, at which time you can apply for permanent residency. This is the path we have chosen. As US nationals who have retired and receive lifetime retirement income of at least $1,000, we filed for residency as a Pensionado or retired person.
The Temporary Residence under the Pensionado Category is valid for two years and can be renewed for additional two-year periods. After three years the person is eligible for Permanent Residence. Other categories (Rentista and Investor) have different income requirements for which to qualify.
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| Playa Guiones near Nosara, Guanacaste |
Advice on how to obtain resident status is plentiful from other expats but we decided that we would use an immigration attorney due to the large amount of documentation required.
Documents Required:
Application Form and cover letter with information about us. (Ours was prepared by our attorney.)
An FBI background check. (Our attorney ordered this from the FBI.)
A new or current copy of our birth certificates. (Ordered by our attorney.)
Certified Copy of our passports. (Obtained by our attorney.)
Fingerprints (normally obtained at a Police Department, but we had ours taken electronically at our attorney’s office.)
We had to register with the US Consulate.
Six additional passport size photographs. (These were also taken at the attorney’s office.)
Government Application Fees. ($500 for both of us.)
Each of these documents must be translated into Spanish. All documents are authenticated for use in Costa Rica. The birth certificates and the background checks must be issued within six months prior to filing the application.
Additional documents may apply if any of the applicants have changed names. Immigration needs documentation to prove that the person on the passport is the same person on the birth certificate. If you have changed names, documents explaining such name changes are needed. These documents need to be apostilled / legalized and translated into Spanish. (We needed to supply our Marriage License.)
Much of this was done in the attorney’s office or online which was a huge relief! I was not looking forward to having to go to the police station to be fingerprinted.
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| Altos de Antigua |
Why go through all of this just to be considered a resident of Costa Rica? One Big reason was financial and to participate in the Costa Rican health care system, CAJA. However you feel about your health care; whether it's through Medicare, private insurance, or self-insure, unless you have some very rare and costly medical condition Costa Rica’s system may be better than yours, be less costly, and as good as you can find.
Once you become a Temporary or Permanent Resident you are automatically enrolled in CAJA. Your cost is a percentage of your income reported on the Residency Application. I expect the amount to be $120 – 150 per month for both of us. This amount is subject to an interview with the CAJA officials when legal residency established.
The Visa process is just one more example of how an attitude of Pura Vida is helpful when visiting Costa Rica. Pura Vida means don't be stressed by the obligations of life, accept things as they come.
Good advice!
