August 12, 2006
Implementation of these new requirements have been pushed back to December, 2006 by the government of Costa Rica.
A new law was approved and published December 12, 2005 that substantially changes the rules and requirements for residency and legal retirement in Costa Rica. An eight month moratorium has been established prior to implementation of the new regulations in mid August 2006.
These rules will probably change and be formalized in the near future. Until we have specific information the original retirement page will remain and this information will be provided as a supplement for residency in Costa Rica or moving to Costa Rica.
Rentista and Pensionado
• Article 77 and 78 conflict regarding income requirements for rentista. Article 77 indicates the same 00 per month per family while Article 78 specifies 00 per husband and wife and 0 per child monthly.
• Both rentista and Pensionado are now temporary residencies (2 years) rather than being permanent residencies.
All residency types
• Residency requests must be initiated from your home country by application to the Costa Rican consulate.
Work related residency
• All work permits and work related residency issues will be reviewed by the Ministry of Labor to identify if local's can fill the position prior to approval.
• Emphasis on preventing perpetual tourists in the country is included which may prevent repeated re-entry into the country.
Contact a qualified immigration lawyer to determine if you can grandfather these new regulations for Costa Rica retirement by applying prior to August 2006.
