Q Media spoke with Herman Duarte, founder of Simple Legal Consulting, (SLC) law firm specialized in Immigration, Investment and Corporate law, about different categories an expat can explore to relocate and legally settle in Costa Rica.
What options an expat has to legally migrate to Costa Rica?
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An expat can apply for a special visa to live (free of paying income tax and social security fees) here for up to 12 months, or apply for a residency that leads the path to becoming a national. For instance, some options include:
- a) Investor: if you or your spouse invest USD$150K in real estate, shares of company, boats, cars, planes, or securities, you can get a residency.
- b) Rentist or fixed income: If you have a fixed income of USD$2500 per month or deposit USD$60K in a local bank we can get you a rentist residency.
- c) Retired/pensionado: This applies if you have any sort of pension (military for example, disable or retired) that is perpetual and at least USD$1000
- d) Manager of a company: If you do not have USD$150K to invest, you can set up a corporation, get all the paperwork in order, and apply as its manager. Ideal for entrepreneurs.
- e) Specialized knowledge worker: Self-explanatory, and it requires someone with special knowledge. Keep in mind that in this category and the previous one the Minister of Labor plays a role in determining if you will take away local jobs.
- f) Marriage residency: If you are lucky enough to find love and you marry a Costa Rican or with an immigrant with legal residency you can also apply for residency. But beware that immigration is going to double-check if the marriage is authentic.
- g) Digital nomad visa: If you made over USD$3000 per month or USD$36,000 per year in the past 12 months you can apply for this category.
In all of those options, the principal application can be used to cover the spouse, sons/daughters under 25, and the parents who are economically dependent of the applicants.
There are other options but that gives a nice overview.
Do the categories come with benefits?
Digital Nomads are exempt from paying income tax and social security fees in Costa Rica, they are entitled to open bank accounts and use their hometown driver’s license as a valid driving document in Costa Rica.
Investors, Rentists, and Pensioners have the right -once they have the approval, not with the application- to import free of any taxes their household goods, two vehicles of any type (boats, cars, planes), and other aspects like opening bank account, get their foreign driver license recognized and a small discount on the transfer of property tax.
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How long does the application usually take?
The application process varies depending on the processing time of the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjeria (DGME), which do an incredible and fantastic job by handling thousands of applications per year, truly admirable how much they work. An estimated reasonable timeline is:
- To get approval of a digital nomad visa from the day you hire a lawyer to you get approval: 3 months.
- To get an approval of residency from the day you hire a lawyer to you get an approval: anywhere between 3-15 months.
These times can vary depending if we apply online, instead of the traditional application.
Why did you move to Costa Rica?
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I moved to Costa Rica 12 years ago as things did not work as I planned in my home country (El Salvador), and I couldn´t be more happy and thankful how things have unfolded, and has certainly become my main plan. That is why I work in helping others settle and relocate in this beautiful, green, peaceful country called Costa Rica.
About Herman Duarte
Herman Duarte is the founder of Simple Legal Consulting has more than 12 years of experience practicing law, a master’s degree from Stockholm University and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Passionate about writing and research, he is a published author of 2 books and more than 200 publications in the press.6
Herman is an immigrant, hard worker, dedicated and passionate lawyer who provides a top quality and a fast-paced rhythm of answers to all his clients. He is acclaimed as one of the best attorneys in the region, as stated by the Chambers & Partners Global Legal Guide and is mentioned as an English-speaking attorney in Costa Rica by the honorable United Kingdom Embassy in Costa Rica (there are 34,000 lawyers and in this list there are only 31 mentioned).
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