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Costa Rica Immigration Lawyer
Immigration Law in Costa Rica
COSTA RICA IMMIGRATION & RESIDENCY
Costa Rica is the ideal place to retire or invest in. The unique history of the country made it a jewel in Central America. Costa Rica has no army, a democratic system that is an example to the world, a growing economy, well educated nationals, beautiful scenery and most important of all people that respect and live in peace.
Costa Rica is a country that is fertile territory for relocation.
As a full service consulting firm, Barrantes & Associates has assisted multiple individuals that decided to make Costa Rica their new home. Due to the plenty of advantages that exist in relocating to Costa Rica, the local authorities have to scrutinize the applicants for legal migratory status in the country.
Barrantes & Associates works directly in all the aspects that involve applying for the various residency statuses offered by the Costa Rican Migratory Law. The basic concept that the government is enforcing is that if a person wants to relocate to Costa Rica, that person should be honorable and respectful of the highest values that reign in democracies, other key aspects that are taken into consideration are that the newcomer has to be able to demonstrate sufficient means and qualifications to be an entrepreneur or to be part of an already established Costa Rican company or to posses a solid financial situation. Costa Rica also welcomes people that want to retire and for those cases the basic requirement is to demonstrate that the applicant will not be a burden for the economy of the nation.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR RESIDENCY
The following is a list of minimum requirements to apply and obtain a residence in Costa Rica:
Step 1 Contact our firm so that we can determine the best option for your situation with regards to Costa Rican immigration laws.
Step 2 Go over the implications and variations of the different Costa Rican residency statuses with your Costa Rica Lawyer.
Step 3 Obtain the necessary documents that will be used to support your case. (Please note that the documents have to contain all the necessary formalities that the Costa Rican Immigration Law mandates)
Step 4 Once the documents have been collected and verified by your attorney, the application can then be filed in your Costa Rican territory (or country of origin, depending on the specific legal requirement).
Minimum Documentation Required for Residency Applications
The following are the basic minimal documents that are common to most of the Residence applications:
Birth Certificate (properly certified in the Secretary of State, if applicable and authenticated in the Costa Rican Consulate in the originating jurisdiction)
National Police Record (properly certified in the Secretary of State, if applicable and authenticated in the Costa Rican Consulate in the originating jurisdiction)
Marriage License (properly certified in the Secretary of State, if applicable and authenticated in the Costa Rican Consulate in the originating jurisdiction)
Fingerprints (taken in Costa Rica)
RESIDENCY STATUS
Resident Annuitant and Resident Pensioner Residency Statuses
These two residency statuses are much more agile compared to other types of application, they permit a fast and positive outcome for residency applications based on (i) receiving a monthly income of no less than one thousand United States Dollars for at least five years, in a permanent, irrevocable and constant manner (in the case of the resident annuitant status) or (ii) receiving a life pension of no less than six hundred United States Dollars (in the case of the resident pensioner status), pension that we recommend to come from a government entity.
In both cases, the beneficiary would be able to establish his own business, but not to remain in the country as an employee. Additionally in both cases, both the applicant's spouse and children under eighteen years old can be covered in the residency status.
Company Recognition Status
This residency status permits companies established in the country and with an accounting net worth currently higher than one hundred forty five thousand United States Dollars to be granted, after filing a series of corporate and legal documents, a specific authorization in the form of a recognition from the Immigration Authorities, permitting to obtain residencies for its foreign employees.
This residency will be linked directly to working for the applicant company (the residency allows to stay in the country as long as the beneficiary works for such company and only to do so). This status allows to cover the main applicant's spouse and children under eighteen years old, who may study but not work while in the country.
Residency for Students
This residency status grants a temporary residency to foreign students in the country. The applicant must prove that he or she is enrolled in a private or public school, which is authorized by the government. School registration documents must be filed with the application.
An individual with local residency must guarantee the applicant's stay in the country, thus, documents proving the sponsor's sound financial status will be required. This sponsor shall also state that he will be responsible for the student while in Costa Rica. In the case of minors, a special power of attorney issued by the parents is required.
The beneficiary of this residency may not work while under this type of residency.
Entrepreneur's Residency
This residency status is applicable to financially sound people who wish to establish a business venture in Costa Rica. The business plan must be determined beforehand, and presented to the immigration authorities as part of the application.
The applicant must be able to prove that he or she will not be a burden to the country and that his or her enterprise (of which such individual shall be the holder of a full power of attorney) will produce enough revenue to support the applicant while residing in Costa Rica.
The applicant must incorporate his business according to Costa Rican law, and must prove that all necessary permits and authorizations for the business have been at least requested, if not already granted. The existence of actual business premises must be documented, and the financial feasibility or soundness of the business venture proven.
Although this application produces a permanent residency, it is forbidden for the beneficiary to be hired as an employee, and he or she may only work as administrator to his own business.vTemporary Work Permit
This residency status allows the applicant to obtain the residency based on the existence of a labor contract.
The applicant must be able to prove that he has been hired by a local company, attaching a copy of the labor contract and an application by the company.
Financially Sound Immigrant Residency
This status is applicable to financially sound foreign citizens who want to reside permanently in Costa Rica, but prefer to determine how their income will be generated only after they are established in the country.
The Immigration Council has ample discretion regarding this kind of application. Policies and procedures of this entity may change from time to time and its determination of what is a financially sound individual is subjective. Due to such fact, it is very difficult for us to offer our clients certainty as to the outcome of this kind of application, although our experience in the field allows for a high rate of success.
As with other similar residency statuses, it is imperative that the applicant proves that he or she will not be a burden to the country. Among the most accepted, the following constitute strong proof of income: real estate ownership in the country or abroad, revenue from rental of houses or business premises, bonds or securities and bank accounts with balances of at least US$100.000, and any other sources of income that could be duly documented.
Due to the above indicated discretional behavior, the application's outcome may be the granting of a temporary or permanent residency, which permits its beneficiary to work in the country or to only live in Costa Rica without being able to be employed. The stronger the proof of income, the higher the possibilities of success on the procedures.
This type of residency application is suggested to the client that does not meet the requirements of other residency statuses, as an alternative for obtaining
resident status.
LEGAL ASSESSMENT
An assessment of each client's particular situation and especially in which capacity he or she is planning to be established in Costa Rica will determine our recommendation regarding each specific case as well as the review of additional elements which might be of interest.
Barrantes & Associates offer a multilingual service, in Spanish English and Italian, thus, providing the client the ability to communicate directly to us in the language in which he feels more comfortable .
Should you have any further enquiries on retirement, retirement Costa Rica, pensionado Costa Rica, Costa Rican immigration, Costa Rican residence, Costa Rican resident, Costa Rica immigrant, immigration law, immigration law Costa Rica, immigration lawyer, immigration attorney, immigration law firm, immigration, retire Costa Rica, Costa Rican work permit and the costs and charges involved, please contact us .