Moving to Costa Rica begins with choosing the immigration category that fits your actual purpose: a short visit, temporary residence, permanent residence, or another current status. Entry conditions and residency requirements can change, so verify the current rules with the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME) before travel or filing.
Plan entry separately from residency
Visitor admission and residency are different processes. Passport, onward-travel, health, nationality-specific, and other entry conditions should be confirmed directly with the official authorities and your carrier before departure. Do not assume a visitor entry permission is a residency approval or work authorization.
Choose the right residency category
DGME administers residency categories with different purposes and evidence requirements. Common plans can involve retirement income, investment, family connection, employment, self-employment, or another lawful basis. The right category depends on the person’s facts, not a general promise that one visa fits every move.
Review the current category information on DGME’s regularization pages before committing money, changing travel plans, or preparing foreign documents.
Prepare documents for the current checklist
Residency cases commonly require identity, civil-status, and category-specific evidence. Foreign documents may need authentication, legalization, apostille, translation, or recency treatment depending on the issuing country and current instructions. The correct method should be confirmed for each document before it is ordered or filed.
Keep originals and supporting records organized. DGME makes the final assessment of a file’s completeness and compliance.
Understand work and business activity
Immigration status, owning a business, and doing paid work are separate questions. Do not treat a visitor permission, a temporary residence category, or a DIMEX card as automatic permission to take any job or actively manage an operation. Confirm the planned activity under the applicable immigration, labor, tax, social-security, municipal, and professional rules.
Family and long-term planning
Family members may have options based on the current dependent rules and their documents. Their inclusion is not automatic. Long-term residence and citizenship also have separate legal criteria; never plan a citizenship timeline from a general immigration article alone.
How CRIE helps
CRIE helps clients identify the current category, prepare a clear document plan, and understand the points that require separate immigration, corporate, tax, or labor advice. We work from current official requirements rather than assumptions from older checklists.
Frequently asked questions
Is a visitor entry permission the same as residency?
No. Entry and residency are separate processes with different requirements.
Can I work once I have residency?
That depends on the immigration category and the planned activity. Confirm work authorization and any other applicable registrations before working.
Which documents will I need?
Documents depend on the category and your circumstances. Confirm the current DGME checklist and document-preparation requirements before ordering records.
Can family members be included?
They may have options under current dependent rules, but each application and relationship document must be assessed under those rules.
Where can I verify current immigration information?
Start with DGME and confirm the current instructions for the category you intend to use.
Information reviewed September 2026. Rules and procedures can change; confirm current requirements with DGME before acting.
Thinking of moving to Costa Rica?
Get a free residency assessment. Tell Johanna, our immigration expert, about your situation, and she will tell you which residency fits you and what you need.
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WhatsApp Johanna: +506 8373 2085