Costa Rica Retirement Visa | A Complete Guide

What is retirement visa?

Retirement visas are a type of passive income visa that has been popular worldwide since the 1980s. Typically, they are issued to retirees who have sufficient retirement funds or stable income.

In general, global retirement visas have the following characteristics:

1. Applicant Qualifications: Typically, retirement visas require applicants to be retirees, reach a certain age, or have retirement funds.

2. Restrictions on Employment: Visa holders are usually not allowed to work locally.

3. Path to Permanent Residency: After residing in the destination country for a certain period, retirement visa holders can often apply for permanent residency or even citizenship.

If you’re interested in retirement visas or passive income visas, you might want to read our informative article: ‘Global Passive Income Visa | An Incomplete Guide‘.

What Is Costa Rica Retirement Visa?

Costa Rica retirement visa is one of the most popular retirement visa programs in Latin America. To apply for it, you need to provide proof of a lifetime retirement income of at least $1,000 per month.

Holders of the retirement visa are not allowed to work locally, but they can establish or purchase a local company to engage in business activities for profit. Additionally, to maintain the visa, you must reside in Costa Rica for at least one day each year.

How To Apply For A Costa Rica Retirement Visa?

The application process for Costa Rica’s retirement visa is quite complicated and cannot be done online. In general, to apply, you need to gather all the required documents and submit them to either a Costa Rican consulate abroad or the local General Directorate of Immigration. The visa processing time is approximately 90 days.

Required documents for this program include:

• Applicant’s personal identification documents: This includes the passports of all primary and secondary applicants, two 2-inch by 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 a form covering the basic personal information of the primary applicant, as well as a letter expressing your intent to retire and live in Costa Rica.

• Proof of retirement income: You need to provide proof of a stable, lifetime retirement income.

• Criminal record certificate: All adult primary and secondary applicants must provide a criminal record certificate issued by the places they have lived in during the past three years.

• Proof of visa fee payment: Each primary and secondary applicant must pay a visa fee of $50.

All documents from outside Costa Rica must be notarized, and non-Spanish documents must be translated into Spanish.

Before receiving the residency card, all primary and secondary applicants must provide fingerprint information, register locally, and obtain a social security number.

Dependents:

For the Costa Rica retirement visa, the primary applicant’s spouse, children under 18, and financially dependent children aged 18 to 25 can accompany the primary applicant to settle in Costa Rica as dependents.

Visa Validity:

The Costa Rica retirement visa is valid for two years, and it can be renewed indefinitely under the same conditions.

Foreigners who have legally resided in Costa Rica for three years (living at least 180 days each year) can apply for permanent residency.

Costa Rica’s permanent residency needs to be renewed every five years. One of the prerequisites for renewal is that permanent residents must spend at least 72 hours in Costa Rica each year.

Citizens of non-Spanish-speaking countries who have legally resided in Costa Rica for seven years, passed a Spanish language test, and passed the country’s history and culture test, along with having two locals vouch for their good character, can apply citizenship in Costa Rica.