Costa Rica digital nomad visa (2026)

Who can apply

No nationality is barred, but people who need a consular or restricted visa to enter Costa Rica must hold that visa as well.

• Work remotely for employers or clients based outside Costa Rica
• Show foreign income of at least US$3,000 a month (US$4,000 with family)
• Hold health insurance for the whole stay, covering any dependents
• Pass a criminal and police record check

Income requirement

You need to show at least US$3,000 per month (US$4,000 with family). Income must come from outside Costa Rica and be shown for the previous year; the threshold rises to US$4,000 per month when dependents are included, converted at the Central Bank's official selling rate.

Documents you need

• Signed application form
• Receipt for the US$100 payment for each applicant
• Passport photo page (and entry stamp if already in Costa Rica)
• Bank statements for the past year with an affidavit, or a certified statement from a public accountant or notary (apostilled or legalized)
• Health insurance policy covering the full stay
• Official Spanish translation of any foreign-language document

How to apply, step by step

1. Pay US$100 per applicant by bank transfer to the immigration account at Banco de Costa Rica
2. Apply online through the Tramite Ya platform or at a DGME office
3. Wait for the approval resolution after security checks
4. Within three months of approval, book an appointment and collect the stay document after paying the issuance charges

Where and how to apply

The stay is decided by the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME), through its Gestión de Extranjería or its regional offices. Executive Decree 43619-H-MGP-TUR, the regulation to Law 10008, says these applications get preferential handling on the DGME's digital platforms. The main channel is Trámite Ya (tramiteya.go.cr/dgme), and paper files can be lodged at the Gestión de Extranjería service counter or at a regional office. Every applicant, including those filing on paper, must first complete the 'filiación' (registration) on the digital platform and give the informed consent required by Law 10008. The regulation asks for the entry-stamp page only 'if already in the national territory', so you can file either from abroad or after arriving as a visitor. Law 10208 added article 11 bis to Law 10008, under which the immigration requirements for applicants and their families are only those that apply to tourists, apart from the programme's own conditions. Nationalities that need a consular or restricted visa must still hold one. The ICT says no lawyer is needed. If you use a representative, you must provide a special power of attorney, and a parent or that parent's representative signs for minor children.

Timeline

1. Prepare documents and Spanish translations Not stated officially
   Get bank statements for the past year with a sworn statement, or an accountant's or notary's income certificate. A certificate issued abroad must be apostilled or legalised. Every foreign-language document needs an official Spanish translation.
2. Pay US$100 per applicant Before filing
   Make one bank transfer per person to the Ministerio de Hacienda account at Banco de Costa Rica. The full US$100 must arrive after the sending bank's charges and the receiving bank's US$15 fee.
3. File on Trámite Ya or at a DGME office Correction notice within 5 calendar days
   If anything is missing, the office sends one written notice within 5 calendar days, and you then have 8 business days to supply it. If you miss that deadline, the application is refused and the file is closed.
4. Written decision 15 calendar days
   The regulation gives the DGME 15 calendar days from filing to decide in writing. The count pauses while a correction is pending and resumes once the missing items arrive.
5. Book the document appointment Within 3 months of notification
   Call the immigration call centre (1311) or Banco de Costa Rica (800-227-2482). If you do not start the document process within three months, the DGME begins cancelling the status.
6. Biometrics and fees at the appointment At the appointment
   Go in person with your passport and the health insurance policy. Bring receipts for the amount set in the approval resolution, the US$90 document payment and the one-time guarantee deposit.
7. Renewal Before the first year ends
   The regulation requires at least 180 days spent in Costa Rica during the first year, plus updated income proof and the document-stage payments.

Proving your income

The income must be pay for remote work done for a person or company abroad, received from outside Costa Rica. It must average at least US$3,000 a month, or US$4,000 if dependants are included, converted at the Central Bank's official selling rate. You can prove it in one of two ways. The first is bank statements covering the past year, plus a sworn statement that you requested and received them from the bank. The second is a certification of the same income by a public accountant or notary. For files handled from Costa Rica it can be issued by a Costa Rican professional, or by an equivalent professional abroad under that country's rules. The certification is the only document the regulation says needs an apostille or consular legalisation, and only when it is issued abroad. All foreign-language documents need an official Spanish translation. The regulation defines that as a translation by a certified translator, by a foreign or national body that vouches for the translator, or by a notary who certifies knowledge of the language. The ICT notes that a Costa Rican translator is usually the more practical choice.

Bringing your family

The regulation lets these family members join: a spouse or de facto partner, children under 25, children of any age with a disability, and older adults who live with the main applicant. Each dependant files their own application form, pays their own US$100, and provides a passport copy and any visa their nationality requires. They also need proof of the relationship from the authority in the home country. A marriage certificate, or a document recognising a de facto union, must have been issued within the last six months. Children need a birth certificate, an adult child with a disability needs a medical report, and an older adult needs a sworn statement of the family link or of living together. Including dependants raises the household income requirement to US$4,000 a month. The income tax exemption does not extend to family members, according to article 13 of the regulation. A relative who wants it must qualify separately as a main applicant. The official sources do not say whether dependants may take local jobs.

Health insurance

You show the policy at the document appointment after approval, not when you file. The regulation requires it to run for the entire authorised stay and to cover medical expenses for illness in Costa Rica of at least US$50,000. The insurer can be one authorised by and registered with Costa Rica's insurance regulator (SUGESE), or an international insurer with equivalent cover. In a family group, each member needs their own policy that meets the same conditions, so one plan listing several people may not be enough unless each person has the full cover. The ICT links to the state insurer INS as one local option. On renewal you must again show a policy covering every person for the whole extension.

Cost and processing time

The fee is uS$100 application payment per person, plus US$90 for the stay document and other issuance charges after approval. Processing takes 15 calendar days. Budget extra for translations, certified copies and health insurance.

After you arrive

• Within three months of being notified of approval, book an appointment and go in person to have your photograph and biometrics taken for the document that proves your legal stay.
• At the appointment, bring receipts for the amount set in your approval resolution, the US$90 document and fund charges, and the one-time guarantee deposit for non-residents in the stay subcategory. The deposit amount is set by Decree 36539-G and is not published on the programme pages.
• Bring work equipment such as a laptop, phone, tablet, camera or audio recorder in your luggage duty-free. Equipment shipped separately goes through the Ministry of Finance's EXONET exemption system and must stay in your possession while you hold the status.
• Open a savings account at a Costa Rican bank. Article 20 of Law 10008 and article 18 of the regulation allow it, subject to anti-money-laundering checks.
• Drive on your valid home-country licence for the length of your stay, as the ICT benefits page states.
• Count your days in the country. Renewal needs at least 180 days of presence in the first year under article 10 of the regulation.
• No tax registration is needed for the exempt remote income. The regulation exempts holders from formal and material duties toward the tax administration.

Tax

Article 13 of Executive Decree 43619-H-MGP-TUR gives holders a full exemption from income tax on profits under Title I of Income Tax Law 7092. It also says holders are never treated as habitual residents for tax purposes, and that their pay from abroad is not treated as Costa Rican-source income. It exempts them from filing and other duties toward the Dirección General de Tributación. Article 19 repeats that holders are not tax residents while the authorisation is valid. If the DGME cancels the status by a final decision, or the person overstays, tax residence is assessed under article 10 of the Income Tax Regulation (Decree 43198-H), and the tax office may register the person automatically. The exemption covers only the main beneficiary, not family members. Holders can also bring in basic computer, telecom and similar equipment for their work free of import duties. If the status is cancelled for not keeping up the conditions, the duties on that equipment become payable with interest and penalties. Proven false documents lead to repayment of the exempted taxes plus a 25% fine.

Does it lead to permanent residence?

Under the General Migration Law 8764, the remote worker stay is a 'no residente' subcategory. Article 87 lists 'estancia' among the stays that do not make a person a resident, and article 88(5), added by Law 10008, places remote workers in that subcategory. Article 78 of the same law makes permanent residence available, among other routes, to foreigners who have held temporary residence for three consecutive years. The time that counts is temporary residence, and an estancia is not temporary residence. Time on the digital nomad stay therefore does not count toward permanent residence. The stay lasts up to one year with a single one-year extension, after which you must leave the programme. Article 89 of Law 8764 lets non-residents apply to change category while they are in the country, for a US$200 fee. You would have to meet all the requirements of the new category, such as rentista, pensionado or investor temporary residence. Only time from that new temporary residence would count toward the three years.

Why applications get refused

• No reply to the DGME's single correction notice within 8 business days. The regulation says the application is then refused and the file closed.
• Income proof that does not reach US$3,000 a month (US$4,000 with family) over the previous year, or that is not shown to be paid from outside Costa Rica.
• A foreign accountant's or notary's income certificate without an apostille or consular legalisation, or foreign-language documents without an official Spanish translation.
• The security check finds a criminal or police record. Law 8764 bars entry, for example, to people who completed a sentence for an intentional crime in the last ten years.
• Nationals of consular or restricted visa countries who do not hold the required visa.
• Not starting the document process within three months of approval, or doing work other than what was authorised. Either can lead to cancellation and loss of the tax benefits.

Cost of living in San José

1-bedroom rent

CRC 300,000-933,000 per month in the city centre; CRC 200,000-707,000 outside the centre (Numbeo, Nov 2026)

Coworking desk

US$169-204 per month for a coworking membership, starting price to median, before tax (workin.space, Nov 2026)

Broadband of 60 Mbps or more typically costs CRC 20,000-39,000 a month (Numbeo, Nov 2026).

Good to know

• A home-country driving licence can be used during the stay
• Work equipment brought in for remote work may qualify for customs relief
• Bank transfers carry a receiving charge, so the full US$100 must arrive

Visiting first? Entry rules for popular passports

95 passports can enter Costa Rica visa-free for a short stay, a common way to try the country before applying. Check Costa Rica visa requirements for your passport.

Official source

Visit Costa Rica (ICT) – Digital Nomads