The residence routes to Costa Rica: three cards, an income test in dollars, and a waiting time the brochure doesn't mention

You move to Costa Rica with one of three residence cards: as a pensionado (you live on a pension), as a rentista (you live on a fixed income) or as an inversionista (you invest).

Most pages on emigrating to Costa Rica are written for Americans: enthusiastic, English-language and out of date. The rules themselves are in Title VI of the migration law of 2009. They are simpler than they sound. The waiting time is longer than they say.

Card	What you show	Article
Pensionado	a monthly, fixed and lasting pension from abroad of at least 1,000 dollars	81
Rentista	fixed and lasting income of at least 2,500 dollars a month, from abroad or from a Costa Rican bank	82
Inversionista	an investment; 150,000 dollars under the law of 2021, legally open since	law 9996
All three	temporary residence of at most two years, renewable; permanent after three consecutive years	79 and 78

Three cards

The pensionado. AOW and occupational pension count together for the 1,000 dollars. One pension covers a married couple: your spouse and your children under 25 go along as dependientes (family members who depend on you) on the same application. The law doesn't name an unmarried partner; they apply for a residence permit of their own. This is the route of almost everyone who comes from the Netherlands on a pension.

The rentista. In practice the 2,500 dollars a month runs through a deposit of 60,000 dollars with a Costa Rican bank that pays out monthly for two years. Wages don't count. A temporary resident may only work with a separate permission from the DGME, the Costa Rican immigration service.

The inversionista. Whether the bar of 150,000 dollars from the law of 2021 now springs back to 200,000 is legally open. Ask the DGME in writing before you invest.

The law that has just closed

Almost every brochure mentions law 9996 of 2021, with three benefits:

• the household goods and two cars tax-free;
• twenty percent off the transfer tax;
• the declared income free of Costa Rican tax.

The ICT, the Costa Rican tourism institute, names the condition: applying was only possible in the first five years of the law, and those ended on 14 July 2026.

Whoever was granted them before that date keeps them ten years. Whoever applies now pays:

• duties and VAT on the household goods;
• the full tax on a car;
• the full transfer tax.

The file

The income test is simple; the documents are the work. The DGME wants a form, a letter of motivation, passport photos and copies of your whole passport. On top of that it wants three documents from the Netherlands, apostilled (given the international stamp of authenticity) and translated:

• the pension statement from the SVB, your fund or both, with the amount and the confirmation that it is lifelong;
• your birth certificate;
• a certificate of conduct.

A document without its own validity period may be at most six months old at the moment of lodging (regulation, article 10). That is the clock of the file. So only request the certificate and the police certificate once your departure date is fixed, and count back from the day you lodge.

The translation into Spanish may be made by an official translator or by a notary who knows the language (article 11). Have your lawyer approve the text of the pension statement before you have the apostille put on. The practice per counter is more stubborn than the text.