Photo: Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica. Joslloyd at English Wikipedia, Public domain. Cropped.
Costa Rica for remote workers: USD 3,000 a month from abroad.
The digital nomad stay covers work for clients outside Costa Rica. Pensionado residence starts at USD 1,000 a month in lifetime pension.
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Costa Rica welcomes remote workers with a clear rule. Your clients or employer sit outside the country, and your pay comes from outside the country.
Retirees use a separate route. Pensionado residence rests on a lifetime pension, not savings.
Start with the digital nomad stay
The Tourism Board describes the stay for people who provide paid services remotely to a person or company outside Costa Rica. The income must come from outside the country.
You apply online or in person with the Immigration Directorate. The stay lasts one year and can be extended for one more, subject to the program rules.
Stay for remote workers and service providers
- Income alone
- At least US$3,000 a month from outside Costa Rica.
- With dependents
- At least US$4,000 a month.
- Government fee
- US$100, received in full after bank charges.
- Length
- One year, with one further year available.
Your bank statements must show you received at least the required monthly amount over the previous year.
Source: Costa Rica Tourism Board, digital nomad requirements
Your clients or employer sit outside the country, and your pay comes from outside the country.
Working here
Local jobs are hard to get in Costa Rica for newcomers. This stay does not open them. It is built on income from outside the country.
Serving Costa Rican clients falls outside the program’s definition. Opening a local shop or tour business is a separate matter. Ask the Immigration Directorate in writing before you take any local work.
Source: Costa Rica Tourism Board, digital nomad requirementsCosta Rica Immigration Directorate
What counts as proof
The requirements page asks for bank statements from your financial institution showing a year of payments from outside Costa Rica, at or above the monthly minimum. It also asks for a passport copy and proof of the US$100 payment.
Send the fee with enough extra to cover bank charges. The page says the full amount must reach the Ministry of Finance.
Source: Costa Rica Tourism Board, digital nomad requirements
Retirement second: pensionado residence
Article 81 of Costa Rica’s Migration Law sets pensionado residence at a permanent, stable pension of at least US$1,000 a month from abroad.
Savings and investment income do not replace a lifetime pension here. Ask the Immigration Directorate for the current checklist and work rules before you apply.
Pensionado temporary residence
- Income
- At least US$1,000 a month in lifetime pension from abroad.
- Legal basis
- Migration Law, Article 81.
US$1,000 is a residence test, not a budget for rent, health cover and flights home.
Source: Costa Rica legal database, Migration Law Article 81Costa Rica Immigration Directorate
Health insurance before Medicare
Buy international health cover before you arrive, and confirm the current insurance rule for your stay with the Immigration Directorate.
Medicare usually does not cover care outside the United States, and Medicare drug plans do not pay for prescriptions bought abroad. Decide whether to keep Part B for visits home.
Source: Costa Rica Immigration DirectorateMedicare, travel outside the U.S.
US tax filing still applies
US citizens file a US return every year, wherever they live. A Costa Rican stay does not change that.
Ask a tax adviser who knows both countries how your remote pay, pension and Social Security are treated before you move.
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