Returning to Costa Rica? A Snowbird Checklist for 2026–2027

The flight is booked, the winter clothes are staying behind, and a Costa Rican home is waiting. Then comes the less relaxing part: a car that has not moved for months, a message from the condominium administrator, and a bank login that no longer works.

For snowbirds returning for the 2026–2027 season, a little preparation can keep the first week from becoming a tour of offices and repair shops. The weather may be familiar, but paperwork and obligations deserve a fresh look.

Start before departure, deal with the essentials during the first week, and leave a workable plan when you head north again.

Before you fly: four quick checksTravel documents: Check your passport and return or onward ticket.Bank access: Test your login and confirm your phone number and email.Insurance: Check home and health or travel coverage dates.Car: Check marchamo payment and technical-inspection status.

Before flying down

Check the stay you are actually entitled to

Owning a home does not give you immigration residency. Neither does owning the company that holds the home.

• Tourist stay: Check the requirements for your nationality, passport, and itinerary. Visitors from Costa Rica’s first visa group may receive up to 180 calendar days, but the immigration officer decides how many days to grant. For example, if you receive 90 days, plan to leave within those 90 days—even if your return flight is booked for day 150. Check your entry stamp or authorization before leaving the immigration counter.
• Entry documents: Prepare a valid passport, a visa when required, proof of sufficient funds, and a return or onward ticket. Check the passport-validity requirement for your nationality before leaving.
• Residents: Check your immigration identification document, DIMEX, and renewal status under your residency category. A tourist checklist is not a substitute for checking your resident documents.

Check before traveling: Costa Rican Tourism Board guide to entry documents and permitted stays.

Make sure your money can reach you

Test your Costa Rican online banking before the trip. Check that the bank has your current telephone number and email address, especially if security codes go to a number you no longer use.

Ask whether any identification or customer-information updates are pending. Costa Rican banks apply anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer requirements under financial supervision by the Superintendencia General de Entidades Financieras, SUGEF.

An inactive account or outdated customer file can lead to restricted transactions. Before sending a substantial transfer for renovations or other expenses, confirm that the account can receive it and ask what evidence of the source of funds the bank requires. Depending on your circumstances, this may include pension documentation, financial statements, or an income certification from a certified public accountant. Requirements and reactivation procedures vary by bank.

Keep a second way to pay for the first few days. Discovering a problem from your own desk is considerably more comfortable than discovering it at a supermarket checkout.

Review insurance before reopening the house

Ask your insurer or broker whether your home policy fits the way you actually use the property. Explain periods of vacancy, any caretaker arrangement, and whether the home is rented while you are away.

Check coverage dates, insured values, exclusions, and any conditions concerning inspections or security. Request written clarification when an answer matters.

Review health or travel coverage for the full visit, too. Confirm how to obtain assistance and what the policy requires before treatment. A familiar insurance card does not answer those questions.

During your first week back

Check the car before driving it

A vehicle needs more than a charged battery. Review its technical-inspection status, insurance, tires, brakes, and registration documents before the first long drive.

Under Costa Rican traffic law, tourists with a valid foreign driver’s license may drive the type of vehicle covered by that license during their authorized legal stay. Check the period granted on entry; do not assume every tourist is limited to 90 days.

Residents and people applying for immigration status should check the licensing and license-recognition rules applicable to their situation. A new entry stamp is not a universal solution for every driver.

The 2027 annual circulation payment, marchamo, also brings a visible change: a chip-equipped windshield sticker designed to remain in place for up to 10 years. Annual payment continues.

Vehicle owners: arrange the 2027 marchamo payment by Dec. 31, 2026.

Check the amount and payment options through the official INS marchamo portal. Keep the receipt and arrange delivery and installation of the appropriate sticker.

In its Nov. 2 announcement, the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation, MOPT, said drivers will no longer need to carry or show the old printed circulation document under the 2027 system. That change does not eliminate the windshield sticker or the annual payment.

Read more: Guide to Paying the 2027 Marchamo and Installing the New Sticker.

Ask for the actual property balances

• Municipal taxes and services: Request a current municipal account statement. Check property tax and municipal service charges separately. Ask whether the property’s declared value or other account information needs updating.
• Condominium fees: Request the current account balance, approved budget, meeting notices, and any special assessments. Ask which decisions were made while you were away and which payments are coming next. Keep these charges separate from municipal taxes.
• Homeowners associations: If your community operates through a homeowners association rather than a legal condominium, review the documents governing that arrangement.
• Luxury home tax: If your property may fall within the solidarity tax on high-value housing, Impuesto Solidario, ask your adviser to check its position for the applicable year. Do not carry forward an old threshold or assume the municipal bill includes it.

Check the company behind the property

A company holding a home, car, or other assets can have obligations even when it earns no business income. “Inactive” describes its tax status; it does not mean there is nothing to do.

Ask the accountant and legal adviser for a short written status report covering:

• Annual corporate tax and any outstanding balances.
• The applicable inactive-company information return.
• Beneficial ownership reporting and filing receipts.
• Current legal representatives, authority to act, and custody of legal books.
• The registered company email and who monitors it.

Hacienda’s inactive-company reporting rules require an annual information return through TRIBU-CR. Paying the corporate tax does not replace that filing or the separate beneficial ownership declaration.

For your seasonal review, first establish whether the correct company email address is already registered and whether someone actually reads the mailbox.

Read more: Costa Rica Company Email Registration Rules and Filing Options.

Ask your adviser to review the property’s Registry record as well, particularly if you have received an unfamiliar notice or are planning a sale, loan, or ownership change.

Reopen the house deliberately

Walk through with your caretaker or property manager. Photograph leaks, damp areas, damaged screens, and equipment that needs attention. Check water, electricity, internet service, pumps, and drainage before approving a long repair list.

Request written estimates that separate urgent work from improvements. Specify the scope, price, payment stages, and who can approve extra work.

Review recurring payments and compare them with actual bills. An automatic debit can keep a service running; it cannot tell you whether the bill is correct.

Before heading north again

Give someone the authority they will need

Write down who will pay bills, supervise repairs, receive notices, and contact you in an emergency. Set spending limits and require receipts.

Have a notary review any power of attorney, poder, you expect someone to use. A caretaker’s permission to enter the house is different from authority to represent you before a bank or sign a legal document. The required authority depends on the task and institution.

Keep an accessible record of insurance contacts, account references, renewal dates, and professional advisers. Test access before departure.

Keep the different kinds of residency separate

Immigration status, property ownership, and tax residency answer different questions. Permission to remain as a tourist does not settle your tax position, and buying property does not settle your immigration status.

Keep a record of arrival and departure dates. If you divide the year between countries, earn rental income, or are changing where you live, ask for advice covering both countries before assuming your seasonal routine has no tax consequences.

The aim is to handle the routine matters early enough that they stay routine. Confirm your documents, obtain the balances, inspect the property, and assign responsibility for what happens after you leave.

Costa Rica is a fine place to escape winter. A little paperwork helps keep it that way.