Costa Rica Residency After July 2026

If you are planning to retire in Costa Rica or buy property here, you may have heard that residency rules changed in July 2026.

Can you still apply? Did the investor minimum suddenly rise? Can you still bring your car and furniture without paying import taxes?

You can still apply for residency. The pensioner, fixed-income and investor categories remain available.

What ended on July 14, 2026, was the five-year window for opting into special tax incentives under Law 9996. The investor minimum needs a separate check.

Before you ship your belongings or pay a nonrefundable property deposit, here is what matters.

What ended and what continues

Law 9996 offered tax exemptions for qualifying residents. These included household-goods imports, up to two personal or family vehicles, and a reduction in property transfer tax.

The window for opting into those incentives has closed. That does not close the residency programs.

• Applying now? Budget for ordinary import duties, taxes, and shipping charges. Do not base your moving budget on an old promise of tax-free imports.
• Already granted benefits? Qualifying beneficiaries retain them for 10 years from the date they were granted, subject to their conditions. The July cutoff does not automatically cancel those benefits.
• Applied before the cutoff but still waiting? A residency application alone does not prove you secured the tax exemptions. Have Immigration and Hacienda check your filing and approval dates.

Keep your exemption approval and check it before shipping or selling an exempt asset. The 10-year protection does not make every later import or property purchase automatically eligible.

Three common ways to qualify

Pensioner — pensionado

You must document a lifetime pension of at least $1,000 a month. Social Security and government or private pensions may qualify if they meet the lifetime-payment requirement.

Watch out: Regular withdrawals from an IRA, 401(k) or savings account do not, by themselves, prove a lifetime pension. Have your adviser review the actual payment terms before relying on them.

Fixed-income resident — rentista

You must show stable income of at least $2,500 a month for at least two years, supported by acceptable documentation.

A bank arrangement funded with $60,000 may be used to provide those monthly payments. Confirm the bank’s terms and Immigration’s requirements before tying up your savings. An ordinary account balance is not automatically sufficient.

This route may suit someone who has savings or reliable income but no qualifying lifetime pension.

Investor — inversionista

You qualify through an eligible investment in Costa Rica, such as real estate or a business, rather than the pension or monthly-income test above.

The ownership, value, and supporting documents all matter. Buying a property does not automatically secure residency.

Is the investor minimum $150,000 or $200,000?

You will find both figures online.

Law 9996 introduced the $150,000 amount. The implementing regulation also states $150,000 and repealed the older investor provision that required $200,000.

That means a headline saying the minimum “automatically returned to $200,000” leaves out an important part of the rules.

Before committing money, have your immigration lawyer confirm in writing the amount and evidence Immigration requires for your application. Obtain written clarification from Immigration where needed.

If residency is an essential part of your purchase, ask your lawyer to address that in the contract before you pay a nonrefundable deposit. An agent’s assurance will not recover money tied up in a purchase that fails to support your application.

Two property traps to check before buying

Buying through a company

For the direct real-estate route, the property must be registered in your personal name.

A home held by an inactive corporation does not meet that requirement. Owning all the company’s shares does not turn the home into a personally owned investment.

Shares in an active business may qualify through a separate route. Do not transfer property out of a company just to meet an immigration requirement without first checking the taxes and other costs.

Paying more than the documented value

Immigration requires a recent municipal certificate showing the property’s taxable value and that municipal payments are current.

A $180,000 purchase contract alone does not resolve a municipal certificate showing only $90,000. Have your lawyer verify the valuation records and any required update before relying on the property for residency.

If you are buying with a mortgage, have the qualifying initial payment checked too. The full purchase price does not automatically count as your investment.

Residency and taxes are different questions

A residency card, DIMEX, documents your immigration status. It does not automatically determine your tax residence.

Costa Rica generally taxes Costa Rican-source income. A foreign pension is typically treated differently from income earned by renting out a home or operating a business here. The end of the incentive window did not itself create a new tax on all foreign income.

Concerned about taxes on income from abroad? Read Mickey Mouse Rumors: Is Costa Rica Going to Tax Your Foreign Income? for background on the proposal and the concerns behind the headlines.

Your home-country obligations also need attention. U.S. citizens remain subject to U.S. tax rules on worldwide income, with filing requirements and available relief depending on their circumstances. Moving abroad does not end those obligations. See the IRS guidance for Americans abroad.

Foreign accounts may also require a separate report. For example, the FBAR rules generally apply when reportable foreign accounts exceed $10,000 in combined value at any time during the year.

Your moving checklist

1. Choose your residency route first. If you have a qualifying lifetime pension, review the pensioner route before buying an asset just to qualify as an investor.
2. Budget for the whole move. Include duties, taxes, freight, storage, and handling. Count on an exemption only after its application to your shipment is confirmed.
3. Check the property before paying. Confirm ownership, municipal value, and any mortgage requirements.
4. Get answers in writing. Resolve immigration questions before committing funds, and exemption questions before shipping.
5. Keep the approvals. Save your residency and exemption decisions separately, along with their dates and conditions.

Costa Rica remains open to retirees. Plan the residency application, property purchase, and moving budget together so an avoidable paperwork problem does not become an expensive one.