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Costa Rica Digital Nomad Visa: A Comprehensive Guide
What is digital nomad visa?
“Digital nomads” represent a lifestyle trend that has gained prominence in the 21st century. With the advancement of information technology, an increasing number of professionals—such as IT workers, media personnel, language teachers, and freelancers—have broken free from traditional office settings. They now have the ability to work remotely from any location worldwide with internet access. This concept of remote work gained significant traction, especially before and during the pandemic.
Once liberated from office constraints, some remote workers choose to embrace a unique lifestyle: they carry their bags and travel to various destinations while continuing to work remotely. These individuals, known as “digital nomads,” experience a blend of exploring new cultures and working from different corners of the world.
To attract digital nomads and promote tourism and emerging industries, governments in at least 65 countries and regions worldwide have introduced specialized digital nomad visas. These visas typically have the following characteristics:
1. Applicants must be remote workers with stable monthly income and cannot be employed locally.
2. Digital nomad visas are essentially extended travel visas, often valid for one year and allowing residence for up to two to four years in the destination country without the option for permanent immigration.
However, in some Latin American and Southern European countries—such as Portugal, Spain, Uruguay, and Ecuador—digital nomads can eventually obtain local permanent residency or even naturalization after accumulating a certain length of stay.
For more information on digital nomad visa programs, explore the details in our “Global Digital Nomad Visas | An Incomplete Handbook” on this websites.
Costa Rica Digital Nomad Visa: An Overview
Since July 2022, Costa Rica has been accepting applications for its Digital Nomad Visa (DNV). This visa is currently only available to citizens of countries that have visa-free entry to Costa Rica.
To qualify for the visa, you must be a remote worker with a monthly income of at least $3,000. If you are bringing family members with you, the primary applicant’s minimum monthly income must be at least $4,000.
The Costa Rican Digital Nomad Visa is a non-immigrant visa, which means it doesn’t lead to permanent residency. It’s valid for one year and can be renewed for an additional year, provided you have lived in the country for at least 180 days during your first year. This allows for a maximum stay of two years.
Application Process:
Costa Rican Digital Nomad Visa can only be applied for in person within the country. Applicants must first enter Costa Rica with a valid visa and then gather the required materials while in the country. They will need to schedule an in-person interview with the local immigration office.
Required documents for this program are relatively few and mainly include:
- Applicant Identity Documents: This includes passports for all primary and secondary applicants, two 2×2 inch photos, birth certificates, marriage certificates, and other documents proving the relationship between primary and secondary applicants.
- Application Form: You need to fill out an application form that covers the basic personal information of the primary applicant and write a letter expressing your intention to live in Costa Rica.
- Proof of Income: You must provide proof of remote work and income, such as bank statements from the past 12 months.
- Criminal Record Certificate: All adult primary and secondary applicants must provide a criminal record certificate issued within the past three years from the areas where they have lived.
- Proof of Health Insurance: All primary and secondary applicants must purchase health insurance that is valid within Costa Rica, covering the duration of the visa, with a minimum coverage of $50,000.
- Proof of Visa Fee Payment: The primary applicant must pay a $100 visa fee, a $90 processing fee, and a $50 fee for the residence card.
All documents from outside Costa Rica must be notarized, and non-Spanish documents must be translated into Spanish.
The official processing time for the Costa Rican Digital Nomad Visa is 15 working days.
Before the residence card is issued, all primary and secondary applicants must provide fingerprint information, register locally, and obtain a social security number.
Dependents:
The Costa Rica Digital Nomad Visa allows the spouse of the primary applicant, children under 18, and financially dependent children aged 18 to 25 to obtain local residency as dependents.
Tax Implication:
One significant advantage of the Costa Rica Digital Nomad Visa is that digital nomads are not required to pay taxes locally.
In contrast, with most digital nomad visas around the world, such as those in Portugal and Spain, digital nomads must pay income taxes locally on their remote work income.
Useful Links:
Costa Rica Digital Nomad Visa: https://www.visitcostarica.com/en/costa-rica/digital-nomads
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