Investing in Costa Rica
Investing in Costa Rica
What you should know about Costa Rica?
Source
Courtesy of the Legal Services of
Attorney Ricardo Harbottle & the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo
Traveling to Costa Rica
The requirements to enter Costa Rica depend on your country of nationality. Generally, citizens of the United States, Canada and European Union countries do not require a visa to enter Costa Rica. With their passport, they can enter Costa Rica and remain in the country for up to a maximum of 90 days.
Costa Rica Visa List
While in Costa Rica, your passport and the immigration stamp that was placed in it when you entered the country is your proof of legal status.
Residency in Costa Rica
All residency applications are governed by the Costa Rican Department of Immigration (Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería), which in turn is overseen by the Ministry of Public Security and Police (Ministerio de Gobernación, Policía y Seguridad Publica). Generally, all applications for residency must be filed in your country of origin through the Costa Rican Consular Office in your area. The only current exceptions are (1) Rentista and Pensionado Residency and (2) Immediate Relative Residency Petitions. See the Ministry of Foreign Relations' site for a list of consular offices in your area.
Be advised that the residency procedures change from time to time. In recent years, Costa Rica has become an attractive destination for many and local officials have not been prepared to handle the influx. As such, due to internal changes in the Department of Immigration and severe under staffing there are considerable delays in processing new applications. Also, the approval of residency is a discretionary matter of the Department of Immigration. The Department of Immigration favors applicants that can demonstrate that they will provide a financial benefit and contribute to create employment for Costa Rica citizens either in the form of direct investment (investors, entrepreneurs) or indirect investment (Rentista and Pensionados).
If you are planning to retire in Costa Rica and you have a pension or investment income then you may qualify for either pension residency or rentista residency. This program is governed by Law No. 4812 (Resident Pensioners and Resident Rentista Law), which confers residency status as follows:
A. Pension based residency (Pensionado)
The Pensionado (Retiree) applicant must demonstrate a permanent fixed income from a pension or similar retirement income of at least US$600 per month. The typical applicant in this category has a government, private sector pension or social security retirement benefits.
B. Investment income based residency (Rentista)
The Rentista applicant must demonstrate a permanent fixed income of at least US$1,000 per month. Generally, those who seek the Rentista category do not have a pension source and instead have investment income. To apply for this category it is necessary to provide proof of the investment and that it will generate the US$1,000 per month required under this program. As such the applicant must provide a letter from the bank or financial institution where the investment funds are deposited certifying the existence of that income. It is not required that the funds be held in Costa Rica. The letter can be issued by international banks (note the international bank must be registered in Polk's Bank Directory) as well as Costa Rican banks.
The ideal letter issued by the financial institution should state the following:
- That the recipient will receive at least US$1,000 per month in Costa Rica
- That the investment generates US$1,000 per month in a stable, permanent and irrevocable manner for at least five years
- That the financial institution issuing the letter will notify the Department of Immigration´s Pensionado and Rentista Department if the condition changes
In both cases, Pensionado and Rentista the beneficiaries must comply with the following:
- Prove on an annual basis that the required funds were deposited in Costa Rica and exchanged into local currency
- Must reside a minimum of 4 months in the country
1. The Rentista and Pensionado Application Process
The application for Rentista and Pensionado status can be filed through the Costa Rican Consular office in your area or directly with the Pensionado/Rentista Section of the Department of Immigration in San José. Before the application can be prepared the applicant must compile all the supporting documentation that is required as follows:
- Birth Certificate: You must provide a certified copy of your birth certificate and that of your dependents. The certified copy must be sent to the Costa Rican consulate for your jurisdiction for authentication. The consulate charges US$40 for each document to be authenticated. Be advised that the Department of Immigration will not accept any supporting documentation, which has not been authenticated by a Costa Rican Consul.
- Marriage Certificate: If you have a spouse that will be applying as well then you will also have to provide a certified copy of a marriage certificate. The certificate must also be authenticated by a Costa Rican Consulate.
- Proof of Income: If your source of income is a government pension then obtain a letter from your government certifying the income. (US citizens on Social Security can obtain this letter from the United States Embassy -Consular Section in Costa Rica) If the income is from a Bank or Financial Institution then it must issue the letter. All documents should be authenticated by the Costa Rican Consulate. Follow this link to see a Sample Bank Letter.
- Police Certificate of Good Conduct: This certification is obtained from the police department where you last resided. This certification also needs to be authenticated by a Costa Rican Consulate. Note that this certificate is only valid for 6 months from the date they are issued. If this document expires while you are pulling together the rest of the documentation then you will have to obtain another one.
- Interpol Background Check: This step is done in Costa Rica at the Ministry of Public Security. The applicant first fills out an application form, which is addressed to the Department of Public Security and signed by the Department of Immigration. Follow this link to see the Background Search Application Form. In it is a request for the background check, which requires fingerprinting in Costa Rica. The background check takes approximately one month.
- Photographs: The application requires photographs during the various stages of processing and we recommend that you take at least 10 photographs facing the front and 5 facing the side). You will require photographs for the background search, the Department of Immigration application so you might as well get them all at once and keep them in the file as needed.
- Translation of Documents: Once you have compiled all your documentation, all documents, which are in English must be translated into Spanish. This procedure can generally be handled by the Attorney that you have retained to process your application.
- Sworn Statement: The Applicant and spouse, if any must appear before a Costa Rican Notary Public and issue a sworn statement stating that they agree to abide by the Pensionado/Rentista law. This statement can be prepared by your legal representative in Costa Rica.
Once you have all the documentation set forth above, you are ready to submit your application to the Department of Immigration. Generally the Department of Immigration will only receive applications that are accompanied with ALL the supporting documentation. Keep in mind that all the original documents that you submit become the exclusive property of the Department of Immigration and will NOT be returned to you. ?Within the application process you will be required to provide the Department of Immigration with the following information:
- Full Name,
- Nationality,
- Occupation,
- Name of your Father,
- Name of your Mother,
- Name of your Spouse,
- Race,
- Color of your Eyes,
- Color of your hair,
- Your height (in meters),
- Your weight (in kilos),
- Marital Status,
- Place of Birth,
- Date of Birth,
- Original Entry Date into Costa Rica,
- Point of Entry into Costa Rica,
- Physical Address in Costa Rica,
- Telephone number in Costa Rica.
See the relevant information request form here: Immigration Information Request Form.
Once you application is received you will be given a receipt. This receipt is important since it is your proof that you have a pending residency application with the Department of Immigration.
Your application first goes to the Legal Department within Pensionado/Rentista Section of the Department of Immigration who will review all the documentation for compliance. If all your paperwork is in order the Legal Department will forward the application to the approval committee for final evaluation. If there are any defects in the application the Legal Department will notify your legal representative of the defect and request that it be corrected before it will submit the application for approval. If your application is approved then the Department of Immigration will issue a formal resolution indicating the date on which the application was approved. You or your legal representative must appear at the Department of Immigration for formally retrieve the resolution.
Once you have the resolution then you can request an appointment with the Department of Immigration to have them issue you a picture identification residency card. Prior to this you must deposit US$ 100 (for each applicant) in the account of the Department of Immigration with Banco de Costa Rica. To withdraw your residency card you must personally appear and sign for the card before the Immigration Officer at the Department of Immigration.
2. Renewal of Pensionado/ Rentista
In order to renew you residency status under this category you must first prove to the Department of Immigration that you spent at least 4 months in Costa Rica during the year. If you are a Pensioner you must prove that you exchanged at least $7,200 ($600 X 12 months) into Costa Rican currency. This can be done by providing a letter from your local bank stating that fact or else present the bank teller receipts demonstrating the exchanges. In the case of a Rentista you must demonstrate the exchange of $12,000 for the year ($1,000 X 12 months) into Costa Rican currency. In addition, the Department of Immigration has been requesting that Rentista status holders provide a letter from the bank that certified their investment indicating that the investment is still in place.
As part of the renewal process, the Department of Immigration will request a background search from the Costa Rican judicial system (Antecedentes Judiciales) and an update of the Interpol background search as well.
C. Immediate Relative Petition
This category of residency (A-4) is available to foreigners who are immediate relatives of a Costa Rica citizen. By immediate relative we mean either married to a Costa Rican citizen or the applicant is the parent of a Costa Rican citizen. This application may be filed directly in the Department of Immigration. The applicant must provide the following supporting documentation:
- Birth Certificate: You must provide a certified copy of your birth certificate and that of your dependents. The certified copy must be sent to the Costa Rican consulate for your jurisdiction for authentication. The consulate charges US$40 for each document to be authenticated. Be advised that the Department of Immigration will not accept any supporting documentation, which has not been authenticated by a Costa Rican Consul.
- Proof of Relationship to Costa Rican Citizen: If you are basing your petition on marriage then you must have a Certified copy of the marriage certificate issued by the Civil Registry. If you are a parent or sibling to a Costa Rican citizen then provide the Certified birth certificate of the relative. You must also provide a certified copy of the identification document of the Costa Rican relative.
- Police Certificate of Good Conduct: This certification is obtained from the police department where you last resided. This certification also needs to be authenticated by a Costa Rican Consulate. Note that this certificate is only valid for 6 months from the date they are issued. If this document expires while you are pulling together the rest of the documentation then you will have to obtain another one.
- Interpol Background Check: This step is done in Costa Rica at the Ministry of Public Security. The applicant is finger printed and the fingerprints are run through the Interpol computer index.
- Photographs: The application must provide 6 photographs facing towards the front.
- Translation of Documents: Once you have compiled all your documentation, all documents which are in English must be translated into Spanish
Investing in Costa Rica
A. The investor program (Inversionista)
Pursuant to this category the applicant must demonstrate to the Department of Immigration that they will be coming to Costa Rica to invest in the country.
Tourism and Exports. Individuals who can document an investment of at least US$50,000 in projects or categories, which have been approved by the Center For the Promotion of Exports (PROCOMER) as a priority investment area may apply for resident investor status. Examples of this include tourism related investments and investments in ventures that create Costa Rica exports.
Reforestation. If the applicant invests at least US$100,000 in Costa Rican reforestation projects then they may apply under this category.
Non-Priority Investment. If the investment does not fall into the two categories above then the applicant must demonstrate an investment of at least US$200,000.
This category really involves two different steps. The first is to qualify the investment by PROCOMER to determine if it falls within the priority area. Once this initial process has been completed and the certification issued then you can begin the application process, which is done directly before the Department of Immigration.
B. The business enterprise (Empresario)
- Be the shareholder of a Costa Rican corporation, which is declared as active before the Costa Rican Tax Department (Hacienda)
- Your company should be registered as an Employer with the Costa Rican Social Security Administration and have at least two employees on payroll
- Your employees should be insured under the Worker's Compensation Program of the National Insurance Institute (I.N.S.)
- Your company should have a Business License (patente municipal) issued by the Municipal Government where your place of business is located
- Your corporation should have a Costa Rican bank account
- You should have financial statements of your corporation prepared by a Costa Rican CPA certifying the financial investment made in Costa Rica. This category is at the sole discretion of the Department of Immigration, so the more you are able to show the better your chance of approval under this category
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Disclaimer: Information and data as of November 2010, not binding and likely to be modified without prior notice. Please see a licensed and certified professional and seek legal counseling should you wish to invest in Costa Rica.
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