What does emigrating to Costa Rica cost?
A few short questions, and you have an honest range for your situation — with for every item whether it's a checked rate or an estimate. On the application side this is a route of few fees and much lawyer: the change of category of 200 dollars is in the law, the rest of the counter sits in the file almost everyone has lodged by a Costa Rican lawyer. The money sits in three other items: the move across the ocean, which since 14 July 2026 pays duties and VAT; the car, which you don't take along; and the two premiums that return every month — your own policy and the Caja — which therefore aren't in this one-off count but are in the step-by-step plan.
What it costs
A rough indication for your situation
A few short questions, and you get a range instead of an amount. That's deliberate: an exact figure would suggest a precision nobody has.
Count on a total of
€ 4.800 – € 11.600
Where does that difference come from?
- The first months€ 2.800 – € 6.500
- The lawyer, the DGME fees and the DIMEX€ 1.100 – € 2.800
Below you'll find per item where the upper and the lower limit come from.
- Aanvraag en papieren
- € 1.400 – € 3.600
- De verhuizing
- € 500 – € 1.200
- De eerste maanden
- € 2.900 – € 6.900
Every item, one by onePer item the amount, the source and whether it's a rate or an estimate
Aanvraag en papieren
- The change of category from tourist to resident€ 150 – € 250
- The lawyer, the DGME fees and the DIMEX(estimate)€ 1.100 – € 2.800
Almost everyone has the file lodged and followed by a Costa Rican lawyer: market prices of 1,000 to 2,500 dollars per file, for a couple usually one file with a surcharge. On top the deposit at the DGME on lodging, the fees for the DIMEX after the approval — different per category — and the post. Family members ride along on the same file but each count for their own fees and card.
- Apostilles, police certificate and official translations(estimate)€ 150 – € 500
The pension statement, the birth certificate and the police certificate each get an apostille from the court (€ 27 per document, 2026 rate); a couple adds the marriage certificate. The translation is done in Costa Rica by an official translator of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at dollar rates per page. And because certificate and police certificate may be at most six months old, the top counts on doing it over once.
De verhuizing
- Flights(estimate)€ 500 – € 1.200
One way from Amsterdam to San José, direct in a good eleven hours or with a connection in Madrid or the United States. The spread sits in the season and the luggage: whoever travels with extra suitcases because the container comes later pays the top.
De eerste maanden
- The first months(estimate)€ 2.800 – € 6.500
Deposit and rent paid in advance — in Costa Rica usually one month's deposit, in dollars — furnishing what didn't come along, and the months in which you still run double. Moreover the waiting months for the DGME, in which you live without a Costa Rican bank account and on your Dutch policy. The rents vary: the Central Valley is affordable, Escazú and the coast of Guanacaste charge the American rate.
- Bank, phone and the first counters(estimate)€ 60 – € 250
- Homologating the driving licence(estimate)€ 40 – € 150
And if you buy a house?
This calculation assumes renting: the first months include deposit and rent in advance.
If you buy, count on 3 to 6% of the purchase price on top of this amount. On a home of € 250,000 that's € 7.500 to € 15.000.
The transfer tax of 1.5 percent on the higher of purchase price and fiscal value, the registry stamps, and the notary who executes and registers the deed. The twenty percent discount on the transfer tax from the law of 2021 closed with that law on 14 July 2026.
Note: buying isn't simply allowed here
The first two hundred metres from the high-water line belong to the state: the first fifty metres public and not to be owned, the next hundred and fifty only in concession from the municipality. A foreigner who hasn't lived there five years yet doesn't get that concession, and neither does a company that is more than half foreign. Outside that you buy anywhere in your own name.
An order of magnitude based on averages, not a quote. The real amounts depend on your occupation, your route, the season and dozens of choices you still have to make.
Rates checked on 11 September 2026.
Your complete, personal cost picture — with your route, your documents and your deadlines — you get in Vertrekklaar.
From range to your own budget
The calculator above works with a few questions; the journey itself knows more. In Vertrekklaar the same model calculates on your real situation — who's coming, household contents along or not, pet along or not — and watches the clocks: the 180 days of your tourist stay, the six months' validity of certificate and police certificate, and the renewal before the card expires. A one-off € 399, no subscription.
The departure guide
Five mails, and you see your whole journey
Not ready to start yet? Then we'll send you the departure guide for Costa Rica: five mails in a week and a half, with the order, the pitfalls and the real costs. After that one question about where your plans stand, and beyond that only a short update when something in Costa Rica really changes — at most one a month, no newsletter, and you can switch it off at any time.
Ready to begin?
Forty-four journeys are fully ready — Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Poland, Czechia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Italy, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, United States, Suriname, China, Dubai, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Turkey, South Africa, Morocco, Australia and New Zealand: your step-by-step plan, your documents and your costs in one place, with the timing watched. Pay once, and it's yours.