What is Costa Rica's Residencia temporal — Pensionado?

Retirees with a guaranteed lifetime pension from a public or private scheme. The oldest and simplest of Costa Rica's residence categories. It lasts two years, renewable. The DIMEX identity card is issued for the same period. Yes. Three years of temporary residence opens permanent residence, which removes the income condition. Naturalisation follows at seven years, or five for nationals of Spain, Ibero-America and Central America.

What is Costa Rica's Residencia temporal — Rentista?

People with stable unearned income from outside Costa Rica but no lifetime pension — the standard route for early retirees, landlords and business owners. It lasts two years, renewable on proof the income or deposit condition is still met. Yes — permanent residence after three years of temporary residence.

What is Costa Rica's Residencia temporal — Inversionista?

People investing in Costa Rican real estate, a registered business, securities or a project of declared national interest. It lasts two years, renewable while the investment is maintained. Yes — permanent residence after three years.

What is Costa Rica's Estancia — Trabajador remoto / prestador de servicios (Ley 10008)?

Remote employees and service providers paid entirely by people or companies outside Costa Rica. Legislated in 2021 and genuinely operating. It lasts one year, extendable by a further year for a total of two, conditional on having actually been in Costa Rica for at least 180 days during the first year. No. This is an estancia — a stay category — not a residencia. Time spent on it does not count toward the three years that open permanent residence. Anyone planning to settle should treat it as a trial, not a first step.

GlobeQuest

Moving from Antigua and Barbuda to Costa Rica

What your passport gets you at the border — and what it takes to actually stay.

Antigua and Barbuda

Costa RicaShort stay

Visa-free · 30 days

Antigua and Barbuda passport holders can enter Costa Rica without a visa and stay up to 30 days.

This is short-stay visitor policy only. It does not let you work, study or settle in Costa Rica — that needs a residence permit.

Passport Index · updated 17 February 2026Costa Rica's official immigration service

Long stay

How you actually move to Costa Rica

RetirementHigh confidenceVerified August 2026

Residencia temporal — Pensionado

Retirees with a guaranteed lifetime pension from a public or private scheme. The oldest and simplest of Costa Rica's residence categories.

What you need

A permanent pension of at least USD 1,000 a month, certified by the paying institution and apostilled
The pension must be paid for life; a drawdown from savings does not qualify
The stated amount must actually be brought into Costa Rica and exchanged or deposited through the national banking system each month
Apostilled birth certificate and criminal-record certificate
Registration with the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social before the residence card is issued

How long it lasts: Two years, renewable. The DIMEX identity card is issued for the same period.
Path to permanent residence: Yes. Three years of temporary residence opens permanent residence, which removes the income condition. Naturalisation follows at seven years, or five for nationals of Spain, Ibero-America and Central America.
Cost: DGME filing and change-of-category fees, the DIMEX issue fee, plus the monthly CCSS contribution — which for a couple on a modest pension is frequently the largest recurring cost of holding the status.
Processing time: Historically several months to over a year at the DGME. File complete and apostilled; incomplete files go to the back of the queue rather than being corrected in place.

Worth knowing

The USD 1,000 covers the applicant and dependants together — it is a household figure, not per person, which makes pensionado unusually good value for a couple.
Pensionado does not authorise employment for a Costa Rican employer. You may own a company and receive dividends from it; you may not draw a salary.
The Ley 9996 incentives are closed. That law attached import and tax benefits — duty-free household goods, up to two vehicles, a 20% cut in property transfer tax — to this category, but only for people who applied during its first five years. The window ran from 14 July 2021 to 14 July 2026 and has now shut. Eligibility was fixed by the date the application was filed, not the date it was approved, so anyone who filed in time keeps the benefits for ten years from grant. Anyone applying now does not get them, and a great deal of relocation marketing still advertises them as current.

Sources:Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social

RetirementHigh confidenceVerified August 2026

Residencia temporal — Rentista

People with stable unearned income from outside Costa Rica but no lifetime pension — the standard route for early retirees, landlords and business owners.

What you need

Stable income of at least USD 2,500 a month, guaranteed for at least two years, certified by a bank or financial institution
In practice this is evidenced either by a bank letter guaranteeing the income stream, or by depositing USD 60,000 with an approved Costa Rican bank to be drawn down over two years
The income must originate outside Costa Rica
Apostilled birth certificate and criminal-record certificate
Registration with the CCSS before the DIMEX is issued

How long it lasts: Two years, renewable on proof the income or deposit condition is still met.
Path to permanent residence: Yes — permanent residence after three years of temporary residence.
Cost: DGME and DIMEX fees, monthly CCSS contributions, and the opportunity cost of the deposit if you take that route.
Processing time: Several months to over a year, in line with other DGME categories.

Worth knowing

USD 2,500 a month is the household figure, not per person, and the amount must genuinely be brought into the country and exchanged.
Rentista is a passive category and does not permit employment by a Costa Rican employer. Remote work for a foreign employer sits in an awkward space — if that is your actual situation, the Ley 10008 nomad route was designed for it.
A renewal is refused where the income stream cannot be re-evidenced. Anyone relying on a two-year bank guarantee should plan the next one well before the second anniversary.

Sources:Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social

InvestmentMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Residencia temporal — Inversionista

People investing in Costa Rican real estate, a registered business, securities or a project of declared national interest.

What you need

An investment of at least USD 150,000 — but see the caveats: that figure came from Ley 9996, whose application window closed on 14 July 2026, and the threshold applying to a new application filed after that date is not settled
The investment registered with the Banco Central de Costa Rica as foreign direct investment
Registered evidence of the investment — title deed and municipal valuation for property, corporate and share records for a business
Apostilled birth certificate and criminal-record certificate
Registration with the CCSS before the DIMEX is issued

How long it lasts: Two years, renewable while the investment is maintained.
Path to permanent residence: Yes — permanent residence after three years.
Cost: DGME and DIMEX fees plus the investment's own transaction, legal and property-tax costs, and monthly CCSS contributions.
Processing time: Several months to over a year at the DGME once the investment is documented.

Worth knowing

The threshold is in flux and this is the single thing to check before transferring money. USD 150,000 was set by Ley 9996 in 2021, down from the USD 200,000 in Decreto Ejecutivo 37112-GOB. Ley 9996's window closed on 14 July 2026, and the expectation is that the figure reverts to USD 200,000 — but the amount is set at the Executive's discretion and the position for applications filed after that date could not be confirmed against the DGME as of August 2026. Treat USD 150,000 as the outgoing number and USD 200,000 as the likely one, and get the current requirement in writing.
Investor status permits you to manage your own investment but not to take employment with a third party.
Whatever the threshold, it applies per applicant, and the investment must be maintained through the residence period — a sale before permanent residence is granted puts the status at risk.
The tax and import concessions that used to accompany this category came from Ley 9996 and lapsed with it on 14 July 2026. The residence category itself continues; the incentives do not.
Costa Rica is expensive relative to its neighbours, and property at this level in the Central Valley or on the Pacific coast is priced accordingly. The threshold buys residence, not a bargain.

Sources:Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social CRIE — consequences of the expiration of the benefits under Law 9996

Digital nomadHigh confidenceVerified August 2026

Estancia — Trabajador remoto / prestador de servicios (Ley 10008)

Remote employees and service providers paid entirely by people or companies outside Costa Rica. Legislated in 2021 and genuinely operating.

What you need

Stable monthly income of at least USD 3,000 over the previous year, or USD 4,000 where the family group is included
The income must be paid from outside Costa Rica by a foreign employer or foreign clients
A medical insurance policy covering the applicant for the whole stay in Costa Rica
Apostilled evidence of the income and a clean record

How long it lasts: One year, extendable by a further year for a total of two, conditional on having actually been in Costa Rica for at least 180 days during the first year.
Path to permanent residence: No. This is an estancia — a stay category — not a residencia. Time spent on it does not count toward the three years that open permanent residence. Anyone planning to settle should treat it as a trial, not a first step.
Cost: Application fee to the DGME plus the insurance premium; substantially cheaper and faster than the residence categories.
Processing time: Weeks rather than months — deliberately much faster than the DGME's residence queues.

Worth knowing

Ley 10008 exempts holders from Costa Rican income tax on the foreign income that qualified them, and from import duties on the basic equipment needed to do the work. That exemption is specific to this category — it is not a general rule about foreigners in Costa Rica.
You may not provide services to the Costa Rican market. Taking a local client is outside the category.
The 180-day presence condition is checked when you ask for the extension. People who treat the visa as a right to come and go lose the second year.

Sources:Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería Ministerio de Hacienda — income tax

Work / sponsoredMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Residencia temporal — Trabajador (employer-sponsored)

People hired by a Costa Rican employer, most realistically in free-zone multinationals, technology, shared services, tourism at four-star level and up, telecoms, and finance.

What you need

An employment contract meeting articles 23 and 24 of the Código de Trabajo
The employer files the application, not you
A sworn employer declaration setting out why the role requires specialised knowledge or experience not available locally
Apostilled and legalised qualifications and evidence of experience
Enrolment with the CCSS by the employer from the first day of work

How long it lasts: Typically granted for one to two years and tied to the employer.
Path to permanent residence: Yes — time as a temporary resident counts toward the three-year clock.
Cost: DGME and DIMEX fees, ordinarily borne by the employer for professional hires.
Processing time: Months. The labour-market assessment adds a stage the passive categories do not have.

Worth knowing

The Dirección Nacional de Empleo at the Ministerio de Trabajo assesses whether the role displaces Costa Rican labour and issues a criterion. It is advisory rather than binding on the DGME, but a negative one is very hard to overcome.
This is the hardest of Costa Rica's routes and the reason most foreigners here arrive on a passive category and then look for work, rather than the other way round.
Losing the job puts the residence at risk. Companies accredited with the DGME — free-zone employers in particular — handle this far more smoothly than a small local company will.

Sources:Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social

FamilyMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Residencia por vínculo con costarricense

Spouses of Costa Rican nationals, parents of Costa Rican children, and close family in the first degree of consanguinity.

What you need

Marriage certificate registered in Costa Rica, or the child's Costa Rican birth registration
Apostilled criminal-record certificate and birth certificate
Registration with the CCSS

How long it lasts: Parents of a Costa Rican child are generally granted permanent residence outright. Spouses are placed in a temporary category first, with the marriage verified over time.
Path to permanent residence: The shortest route Costa Rica has — in the case of a Costa Rican child, immediate.
Cost: DGME and DIMEX fees plus civil-registry costs for registering a foreign marriage.
Processing time: Months, and faster than the income-based categories in practice.

Worth knowing

A foreign marriage must be inscribed in the Costa Rican civil registry before it can be relied on. Start this before filing anything else.
Residence by marriage is scrutinised and the DGME does check. It is not the shortcut some agencies present it as.
Permanent residence, unlike the temporary categories, carries full work authorisation — which is why it matters so much more here than the label suggests.

Sources:Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería

On the ground