Eligibility Quiz
Do you have a first-degree relative (parent, child, sibling, or spouse) who is a Costa Rican citizen or a legal resident of Costa Rica?
Requirements
Eligibility is determined by the specific nature of your relationship and the legal status of your family member in Costa Rica.
Permanent Residency (Vínculo con Costarricense)
You qualify for immediate Permanent Residency if you are a first-degree relative of a Costa Rican citizen. This includes:
- Parents of a Costa Rican.
- Minor children (under 18) of a Costa Rican.
- Adult children with disabilities of a Costa Rican.
- Siblings of a Costa Rican, provided the citizen is a minor or has a disability and you are their legal guardian.
Temporary Residency (Spouses and Dependents)
Certain relatives must first hold Temporary Residency before they can apply for permanent status:
- Spouses of Costa Rican Citizens: You are granted temporary status initially. You may apply to upgrade to Permanent Residency after three years of marriage and residency.
- Common-law Partners: Unión de hecho (common-law union) is recognized, but only if you obtain a formal judicial declaration from a Costa Rican court.
- Dependents of Foreign Residents: If your family member holds a residency (such as Rentista or Pensionado), you may apply as a dependent. This applies to spouses and children under 25 (if they are unmarried students).
Conditions & Warnings
Spouses of citizens receive Temporary Residency first and must wait 3 years to apply for Permanent Residency.
Apostilled documents are generally considered expired by Costa Rican authorities after 6 months.
Marriage-based applications face extreme scrutiny, including separate interviews and potential home visits to prevent sham marriages.
Qualifications
No language requirement for residency, though naturalization later requires a Spanish exam.
Fees
Includes $50 application fee, $200 change of status fee, and $98 DIMEX card fee. Excludes variable security deposit and CCSS social security payments.
Program Details
Costa Rica is on our roadmap
We can notify you when we're ready to support Costa Rica.
Key Developments
Fines for overstaying a visa in Costa Rica have tripled to $300 per month, significantly increasing the financial risk for family reunification applicants waiting for their status to be legalized.
thecostaricanews.com ↗A new immigration resolution (Nº D. JUR-220-05-2024-JM-ABM) mandates that all residency applications must be submitted perfectly, as minor errors like illegible passport copies or missing apostilles now lead to outright rejection without the possibility of correction.
fragomen.com ↗The General Immigration Directorate (DGME) eliminated the use of physical entry and exit stamps in passports for residents, transitioning to a fully digital tracking system for monitoring legal stay and residency requirements.
fragomen.com ↗