Costa Rica · Residency by investment
Investor Residency (Inversionista)
USD 150,000 under Reglamento 43926 art. 4, which has no end date; Ley 9996 art. 8 set the same figure. The old USD 200,000 rule, Decreto 37112 art. 87, was repealed on 23 February 2023 by Reglamento 43926 art. 31 and has not been restored. The five-year window that closed on 14 July 2026 (Ley 9996 art. 12, Reglamento 43926 art. 22) concerns the art. 5 tax and import incentives. A DGME resolution of February 2026, DJUR-0045-02-2026-JM, applies the same USD 150,000.
At USD 150,000, it buys residence in a stable country that the EU removed from its lists entirely on 18 February 2025. Panama, on Annex II since 9 October 2026, cannot say the same. What closed to new applicants on 14 July 2026 is the Ley 9996 incentive package: duty-free household goods, up to two duty-free vehicles and a 20% cut in property transfer tax. The USD 150,000 minimum itself remains in Reglamento 43926 art. 4.
Qualifying routes
Reglamento 43926 art. 4 sets USD 150,000, down from USD 200,000 under the repealed Decreto 37112 art. 87. A lower USD 100,000 minimum applies only to investment in forest plantations, under Ley Forestal 7575 art. 70.
Reglamento 43926 arts. 4 and 7 set the same USD 150,000 for venture capital funds and sustainable tourism infrastructure. A fund investment is shown by a CPA certificate; a tourism project also needs a favourable technical opinion from the ICT.
The facts
- Minimum investment
- $150k
- Total landed cost
- Expect the USD 150k investment plus roughly USD 5–12k in legal and government fees for a family. Mandatory CCSS social security affiliation adds an ongoing monthly cost.
- Route type
- Residency by investment
- Timeline
- 8–24 months (DGME backlogs are severe and have run well beyond a year.)
- Physical presence
- There is no annual minimum stay. Under Ley 8764 art. 129 and Decreto 37112 art. 214, temporary residency is cancelled after more than two consecutive years' absence, and permanent residency after more than four.
- Family
- SpouseChildren under 25 are eligibleAdult children with disabilities are eligible
- Permanent residency
- 3 consecutive years, per Decreto 37112 art. 208.
- Citizenship
- 7 years, or 5 years for Ibero-Americans and Spaniards by birth.
- Language test
- Applicants must pass a Spanish test plus a Costa Rican history and values examination, each with a pass mark of 70 and a fee of CRC 10,000. The elderly and those medically impeded are exempt.
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- qualifying investment of USD 150,000, documented and maintainedA clean criminal record, apostilled.Affiliation with the CCSS.Renewal every two years, with proof that the investment still stands.
- The five-year window to opt into the Ley 9996 art. 5 incentives closed on 14 July 2026 (art. 12; Reglamento 43926 art. 22). Those who opted in keep the incentives for ten years from the grant. Ley 9996 has not been amended: SINALEVI lists it as version 1 of 1.
- No rule now sets USD 200,000. That figure lived only in Decreto 37112 art. 87, which Reglamento 43926 art. 31 repealed on 23 February 2023. The current text of Decreto 37112, version 15 of 13 May 2024, shows art. 87 as repealed.
- Costa Rican law has no four-months-a-year presence rule: neither Ley 8764 nor Decreto 37112 contains one. The real limit is on absence. Ley 8764 art. 129 and Decreto 37112 art. 214 cancel temporary residence after more than two consecutive years abroad and permanent residence after more than four.
- CCSS social security affiliation is mandatory for residents and is assessed on declared income. It is a real recurring cost that marketing material routinely leaves out.
- DGME processing backlogs are severe. Budget a year or more, not the months often quoted.
- The 5-year naturalisation shortcut applies only to Ibero-Americans and Spaniards by birth. A naturalised Spaniard does not get it.