Retirement in Costa Rica

Have you ever dreamed about retiring in a paradise of temperate climate, with lush foliage, colorful wild life and beautiful un-crowded beaches?   Have you ever envisioned your retirement surrounded by some of the friendliest carefree people (Known as Ticos) living at an easy pace with an abundance of water, sunshine and the pure life?  Well, your dreams are about to be discovered when you discover Costa Rica.

Costa Rica appeals too many people for a variety of different reasons. Costa Rica has one of the highest standards of living in Latin America, is the oldest and most stable democratic governments in Latin America and has one of the highest literacy rates in the world (95%). They consider themselves a peaceful people and have no Military.  It also has one of the longest life-expectancy rates on earth, 77 years! They must be doing something right in Costa Rica!

 

Costa Rica is home to more Americans (per capita) than any other country outside of the U.S.  and at last count there was well over 100,000 Americans living in Costa Rica.  With the strength of the Euro many Europeans are also finding their way to Costa Rica.  There are many good reasons for this. With a delightful, near perfect tropical climate, low violent-crime rate, stable democratic government and  great year round outdoor activities, Americans, Europeans and retirees from around the world  seem to be making Costa Rica the reality of their retirement dreams.

 Permanent Residency

A Costa Rican Permanent Resident is a foreign national who is granted the privilege of living and working permanently without conditions in Costa Rica.

A Costa Rican Conditional Permanent Resident is a foreign national who is granted the privilege of living in Costa Rica for a restricted period of time subject to specific conditions set by their filing status.

When you file for permanent resident status (PRS), you are granted either permanent resident status (PRS) or conditional permanent resident status (CPRS). The Immigration Department of Costa Rica will make this determination based on how you or your attorney presented your case.

Yes, get an attorney for any legal matter in Costa Rica, whether you might be applying for permanent residency, building a home, purchasing property or signing contracts.  It is better to be safe than sorry.  We also suggest that you make a scouting trip to Costa Rica to line up legal representation, compare different living areas and talk with other ex-Pat’s to get recommendations and a feel for customs and traditions.  The lay of the land, so to speak

Temporary Status

You may visit Costa Rica for up to 90 days at a time without filing for a residency status.  You must however enter the country with a round trip airline ticket or proof of funds for the trip out.  You must have a purpose for being in Costa Rica, such as temporary work, education or tourist. You may leave the country for 3 days and then re-enter for another 90 days.  A lot of people do this if they are not sure what they want to do in the future or are not interested in paying the fees and going through the hassle of filing for Permanent Residency.

Here are some more pages that may interest you if you are thinking on retiring in beautiful Costa Rica.

Buying Real Estate in Costa Rica

Health Care in Costa Rica

Costa Rica has been labeled by many as the "New Hawaii".  Let's hope not.  As more and more World residents are locating and buying property in Costa Rica we are seeing the land and real estate values increasing.  Big corporations are moving in and buying prime locations to build big resorts and condos.  The infrastructure of the highway, communication and power systems is poor to say the least and we have to hope that these outside entities will spend the money needed for local development projects to keep up with the development pace. 

Luckily the Costa Rica government has set aside thousands of acres of land for parks, recreation, ecological studies and natural preserves.  They have also been smart enough to not cut down and destroy their beautiful rain forests.

Currently the cost of living is reasonable, but we have seen a huge increase in the last 5 years.  If outsiders don't keep coming in and just throwing money at the locals, the Country could be reasonable, stable and beautiful for years to come.  It is a paradox and we live in a balance of progress vs. cultural history and development vs. quality of life.  Costa Rica has the possibility of becoming one of the most prominent retirement locations for the "Baby Boomers" if it stays just the way it is.  If not, there is always Panama.

We suggest that you make a trip to Costa Rica and check out the possibilities.  It is a beautiful country with a lot of beautiful people and if nothing else you can say, "I saw Costa Rica when it was in it's prime".  And you know what?  50 years from now it will still be better than where you are living now.