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Pathway

Costa Rica Investor Residence

Costa Rica Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

Investing at least USD $150,000 in an accepted Costa Rican asset or project can qualify you for temporary investor residence. The investment must be documented and kept in place. Initial residence lasts two years, with two-year renewals if you continue to qualify.

Investment
At least USD $150,000 in an accepted asset or project
Documents
Proof of the investment, its lawful funding, ownership, and value
Keeping status
Maintain the qualifying investment and residence conditions

Summary

Costa Rica’s investor residence category accepts specified investments in registered property, shares, securities, productive or national-interest projects, venture-capital funds, and sustainable-tourism infrastructure. The category is normally granted for two years and can be renewed in two-year periods while the investment and other residence conditions remain in place.

Accepted investment value is different from the amount you spend
  1. Choose a listed investment form Match property, shares, securities or a qualifying project to its specific regulatory evidence rules.
  2. Prove ownership and accepted value Use the required registry, valuation and professional evidence; a deposit or savings balance is not the completed investment.
  3. Apply and maintain the investment Keep the qualifying investment continuously in place for the temporary grant and any renewal.

A private purchase price is not always the value DGME accepts. Later permanent residence depends on qualifying temporary-residence history and a separate application.

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Eligibility

The applicant must have completed, or be able to complete and document, at least USD $150,000 in a listed Costa Rican investment. Being interested in investing, having USD $150,000 in savings, paying a purchase deposit, or spending that amount in Costa Rica does not by itself satisfy the rule.

The evidence depends on the investment:

If the investment is held through a trust, the current regulation says only the person who puts the investment into the trust, called the settlor, can use it for this category. Ownership through a company, trust, or shared title should be reviewed before closing because the applicant must be able to prove the qualifying personal investment.

The applicant also needs the current general residence documents, such as identity and civil records, criminal-history evidence where required, government payments, and any entry-visa or in-country filing permission. Foreign public records may require an apostille or legalization and an official Spanish translation.

Qualifying dependents may apply with the principal investor under the current family rules and document requirements. The USD $150,000 is the principal investment threshold, but adding family members does not waive their identity, relationship, background, or documentation requirements.

What This Route Allows

An approved investor receives temporary residence for two years. The person can live in Costa Rica, obtain the immigration document after completing documentation, and seek renewal for further two-year periods while the qualifying investment remains continuously in place.

After three consecutive years of temporary residence, a person may apply to change to permanent residence under Article 78 of the Migration Law. The three-year point opens a separate application; it does not automatically convert the status or erase a renewal obligation.

The investor can own and manage the qualifying asset subject to Costa Rican corporate, property, securities, tax, labor, and licensing law. Temporary residence itself permits only the paid or profit-making activities authorized by DGME. Buying a property or shares should not be treated as automatic permission to take any local job.

Law 9996 reduced the investor amount and created time-limited customs and tax incentives for investors, rentistas, and pensionados. The residence category and USD $150,000 regulation continue independently. The incentives were expressly available only to people opting for them during the first five years after Law 9996 took effect on July 14, 2021. A new applicant after July 14, 2026 should not assume those incentives remain available without a later official extension or a written decision from the responsible tax or customs authority.

What This Route Is Not

This is not a donation or government bond purchase that guarantees approval. The asset remains the investor's, but DGME still decides whether the investment type, value, ownership, and evidence meet the regulation.

It is not limited to residential real estate, and it is not accurately described as a special “golden visa.” It is one of Costa Rica's ordinary statutory temporary-residence subcategories.

It is not a USD $100,000 forestry exception under the current 2023 investor regulation. That regulation applies a USD $150,000 minimum to its listed investment forms. Older websites and checklists may reflect superseded amounts or categories.

It is not enough for a foreign company or trust to own a Costa Rican asset while the applicant cannot prove the required personal investment. Nor should a buyer rely only on a contract price where official valuation evidence controls.

It is not automatic permanent residence, citizenship, unrestricted employment, or a guaranteed tax result. Each of those has separate legal requirements.

For the qualifying history, category-change process, and rights after approval, see Costa Rica permanent residence after temporary residence.

Next Steps

  1. Choose the proposed investment form and read Article 4 of the current investor regulation before signing or transferring funds.
  2. Ask a Costa Rican notary or appropriately regulated professional to confirm how ownership and value will be proved to DGME in that category.
  3. For real estate, check the registered owner, liens, cadastral information, and official municipal or tax value. Resolve any gap between transaction price and accepted immigration value before closing.
  4. For shares, securities, funds, or projects, obtain the corporate, regulatory, accounting, beneficial-ownership, and project approvals required by the current rules.
  5. Preserve a clean source-and-transfer record for the funds. Immigration, banks, notaries, tax authorities, and regulated professionals may each apply source-of-funds checks.
  6. Assemble the current general residence documents and dependent records. Apostille or legalize and translate foreign documents where required.
  7. Submit through the DGME channel permitted for the applicant's nationality and location. Do not rely on a generic homepage as the document checklist.
  8. After approval, enroll with the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) where required, pay the amounts stated in the decision, and obtain your resident identity document (DIMEX) within the deadline.
  9. Keep the investment continuously in place and retain updated registry, municipal, tax, corporate, securities, and accounting evidence for renewal.
  10. Before claiming a Law 9996 customs or tax incentive, obtain current written guidance because the statute's five-year opt-in period has elapsed.

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Sources