{"id":"costa-rica-pensionado-rentista","name":"Costa Rica Pensionado and Rentista Residence","type":"RBI","status":"operational","country":"Costa Rica","country_code":"CR","url":"https://www.mirabelloconsultancy.com/immigration/costa-rica-pensionado-rentista-visa","min_investment":{"amount":null,"currency":"USD","route":"Lifetime foreign pension of at least US$1,000 a month (pensionado, Ley 8764 art. 81) or stable income of at least US$2,500 a month proved for two years (rentista, art. 82). Proof of income, not an investment"},"qualification_basis":"financial_means","investment_routes":null,"family_pricing":null,"processing_time":null,"processing_time_note":"The DGME's archived rentista requirements sheet (9 Jul 2021) says Migración has 90 days to resolve a complete file; the general administrative rule is two months from the petition, with silence treated as rejection (Ley General de la Administración Pública art. 261). Current DGME guidance could not be read on 2026-10-11 (migracion.go.cr blocked automated access) and no practice figure from an official source was found.","visa_free_count":null,"passport_index_rank":null,"key_destinations":null,"travel_access":null,"minimum_stay":"No minimum stay. DGME cancels temporary residence after more than two consecutive years abroad unless health, study, family or other proven causes apply (Ley 8764 art. 129 inc. 6; Decreto 37112 art. 214); permanent residents after more than four years.","tax_note":"income tax: Progressive rates on Costa Rican-source employment/self-employment income; foreign-source income generally not taxed.; CGT: Capital-gains tax of 15% applies on disposals of Costa Rican assets (introduced under the 2019 tax reform), with certain exemptions; habitual-trader income may be taxed as ordinary income. (unverified)","path_to_citizenship":"Seven years of residence is the constitutional floor (five for Central American, Spanish and Ibero-American nationals by birth); the conditions of Ley 1155 (means, language, record) apply and its continuity rules were not read. Dual nationality is inferred from Constitution art. 16 and the absence of a renunciation requirement in Ley 1155; the applicant's home-country rule was not checked.","highlights":["Temporary residence for pensioners (US$1,000 a month) and rentiers (US$2,500 a month), renewable every 2 years","Permanent residence may be requested after 3 consecutive years; foreign passive income untaxed for individuals"],"atomic_answer":"Costa Rica grants temporary residence to pensionados with a lifetime pension from abroad of at least US$1,000 a month and to rentistas with stable income of at least US$2,500 a month proved for at least two years (Ley 8764 arts. 81 and 82; Decreto 37112 arts. 99 and 100). The permit runs for up to two years and is renewable with Caja (CCSS) affiliation; rentistas must keep transferring income into Costa Rican banks. Permanent residence may be requested after three consecutive years. Only the opt-in window for the Ley 9996 incentives closed in July 2026; the categories themselves remain in force.","fees":null,"last_updated":"2026-10-11","data_freshness":null,"mirabello_index":null,"regulatory_status":{"fatf_list":null,"eu_tax_list":null,"us_sanctions":null,"oecd_crs_high_risk_scheme":false,"as_of":"2026-06","status":"not listed on FATF, EU tax, US OFAC, or OECD CRS-risk lists"},"processing_stages":null,"required_documents":null,"biometric_enrolment":null,"dependant_additions":null,"nationality_naturalisation":null,"retirement":{"route_name":"Costa Rica pensionado and rentista residence","region":"Latin America","tags":["retirement","passive-income"],"income_requirement":{"amount":1000,"currency":"USD","period":"month","basis":"either","per_dependant":null,"variants":[{"label":"Pensionado","amount":1000,"currency":"USD","period":"month","basis":"pension","note":"Monthly, permanent and stable pension from abroad, evidenced as a lifetime pension by a document from the competent authority, apostilled or legalised if issued abroad (Ley 8764 art. 81; Decreto 37112 art. 100)."},{"label":"Rentista","amount":2500,"currency":"USD","period":"month","basis":"passive","note":"Monthly, stable and permanent income (renta) generated abroad or paid by Sistema Bancario Nacional banks, proved for not less than two years by a bank document or a CPA certificate (Ley 8764 art. 82; Decreto 37112 art. 99). A bank deposit refunded in monthly instalments is not renta (Decreto 37112 art. 2, definition added by Decreto 43926 art. 30)."}],"note":"The headline amount is the pensionado floor of US$1,000 a month; the rentista floor is US$2,500 a month (US$30,000 a year). The same sum lets the applicant request status for the spouse and for children under 25 or adult children with disability, with no extra income per dependant in the texts read (Ley 8764 art. 82; Decreto 37112 arts. 99 and 100). Whether a private pension, annuity or insurer statement counts as a lifetime pension from the competent authority is not defined in the text read; DGME practice is not verified."},"net_worth_or_deposit_option":null,"stay_requirement":{"days_per_year":null,"max_continuous_absence_days":730,"stated_by_official_source":true,"rule":"No minimum stay. DGME cancels temporary residence after more than two consecutive years abroad unless health, study, family or other proven causes apply (Ley 8764 art. 129 inc. 6; Decreto 37112 art. 214); permanent residents after more than four years.","note":"Temporary residence of up to two years, renewable on the same conditions with uninterrupted CCSS affiliation (Ley 8764 arts. 79, 80, 86). Rentista renewal requires monthly transfers into Costa Rican banks (Decreto 37112 art. 227)."},"foreign_income_tax":{"treatment":"territorial","label":"Territorial: only local-source income is taxed, so foreign pensions and investment income are generally untaxed.","note":"Territorial: individuals are untaxed on foreign-source dividends, interest, rent and royalties (Ley 7092 art. 1 last paragraph, added by Ley 10381 of 2023; art. 27 bis). That reform taxes foreign passive income only where it is earned by a non-qualified entity of a multinational group, not by individuals. Costa Rican-source income stays taxable. The treatment of foreign pensions under Title II (arts. 32 and 33) is not settled by the text:. Bill 25.796 (15% on residents' foreign passive income, filed 22 Sep 2026) is a bill, not law. Tax residence is a separate test: more than 183 days of presence in the fiscal period (Decreto 43198-H art. 10). (unverified)","source":"https://sinalevi.go.cr/ResultadosNormativa/Informacion?param1=10969&param2=148972&param3=1&param4=","tax_residence_caveat":"Tax follows tax residence, not the permit: the treatment applies once you are tax-resident there. Information, not tax advice."},"path_to_pr":"Permanent residence may be requested after three consecutive years of temporary residence (Ley 8764 art. 78 inc. 1).","path_to_citizenship":"Seven years of residence is the constitutional floor (five for Central American, Spanish and Ibero-American nationals by birth); the conditions of Ley 1155 (means, language, record) apply and its continuity rules were not read. Dual nationality is inferred from Constitution art. 16 and the absence of a renunciation requirement in Ley 1155; the applicant's home-country rule was not checked.","processing_note":"The DGME's archived rentista requirements sheet (9 Jul 2021) says Migración has 90 days to resolve a complete file; the general administrative rule is two months from the petition, with silence treated as rejection (Ley General de la Administración Pública art. 261). Current DGME guidance could not be read on 2026-10-11 (migracion.go.cr blocked automated access) and no practice figure from an official source was found.","official_source":"https://sinalevi.go.cr/ResultadosNormativa/Informacion?param1=72489&param2=140878&param3=1&param4=","legal_basis":"Ley General de Migración y Extranjería, Ley 8764: art. 79 inc. 9 and 10 (rentista and pensionado temporary residence), art. 81 (pensionado), art. 82 (rentista), art. 78 inc. 1 (permanent residence after three consecutive years of temporary residence), art. 129 inc. 6 (cancellation after absence). Reglamento de Extranjería, Decreto Ejecutivo 37112-GOB: art. 100 (pensionado), art. 99 (rentista), art. 227 (rentista renewal), art. 228 (pensionado renewal). Ley 9996 (5 Jul 2021) is separate: it governed incentives only, and its window to opt into them closed around 14 Jul 2026 (art. 12, computed from the 14 Jul 2021 entry into force; no official notice read; holders who opted in keep the incentives for ten years from grant). That closing does not affect these two categories, which sit in Ley 8764 and Decreto 37112 (Decreto 43926 art. 15).","as_of":"2026-10-11"},"golden_retirement":{"standard":"Mirabello Golden Retirement Index","applies_to":"Costa Rica pensionado and rentista residence","tier":"golden","tier_label":"Golden: meets the Golden Retirement standard","score":71.4,"confidence_grade":"B","renewal_category":"1 renewal, then permanent residence","renewals_before_pr":1,"pillars":{"tax":20.4,"presence":19,"financial":10,"durability":4,"processing":8,"healthcare":3,"family_work_mobility":2,"pr_citizenship":5},"reasons":["The income must be transferred to, or held in, the country"],"as_of":"2026-10-11","methodology_version":"1.1.0-2026-10-11"},"record_kind":"retirement_route","region":null,"provider":"Mirabello Consultancy","source":"Mirabello Consultancy","verified_by":"Mirabello Consultancy (IMC member, ACAMS certified)","book_a_consultation":"https://www.mirabelloconsultancy.com/contact-us-for-your-free-consultation","terms":"https://www.mirabelloconsultancy.com/ai","disclaimer":"Provided by Mirabello Consultancy Ltd. for general information only, indicative and subject to change without notice; not legal, financial, tax, or immigration advice, nor an offer or solicitation. Programmes are operated and governed solely by the respective sovereign governments. No warranty of accuracy or completeness; Mirabello accepts no liability for reliance on this information. © Mirabello Consultancy Ltd. This data and its selection, structure and provenance are Mirabello's proprietary compilation — permitted for interactive, attributed use only; systematic bulk extraction, scraping, or redistribution to rebuild a competing dataset is prohibited (acceptable-use terms: https://mcp.mirabelloconsultancy.com/v1/terms). Terms: https://www.mirabelloconsultancy.com/ai","data_updated":"2026-10-11T17:49:45.673Z"}