Costa Rica Residence

What Is Costa Rica Residence for Investors, Rentistas and Pensionados?

Costa Rica's Ley General de Migración y Extranjería (Ley N.º 8764, 2009) provides temporary residence subcategories for foreign inversionistas (investors), residentes rentistas (people with a permanent, stable income) and residentes pensionados (people with a pension). Ley N° 9996, 'Ley para la Atracción de Inversionistas, Rentistas y Pensionados' (signed 5 July 2021, published in La Gaceta N.º 135 of 14 July 2021), created a temporary incentive regime on top of those existing categories, aimed at post-pandemic economic recovery.

That regime lowered the investment amount required for the inversionista category for the term set by the law, and added a set of tax and import incentives for all three categories to people who took up the incentives within the first five years after the law took effect — a window that closed on 14 July 2026. The categories themselves continue to exist under Ley 8764; what is no longer confirmed is the investment amount that applies to new applications today.

The Three Categories

Ley 9996 covers three existing residence subcategories:

• Inversionista — temporary residence based on an investment in real estate or other registrable property, shares or securities, a productive project or a project of national interest, or in a venture-capital fund or sustainable tourism infrastructure project. Ley 9996 lowered the minimum amount for the term set by the law; the amount that applies to new applications today is not yet confirmed.
• Residente rentista — temporary residence for a person who can show a permanent, stable monthly income. The requirement is set in Costa Rica's Reglamento de Extranjería (Decreto Ejecutivo N.º 37112, article 99), last amended by Decreto 43926 in 2023, not by Ley 9996 itself; this page gives no figures — contact us for the current requirement.
• Residente pensionado — temporary residence for a person who receives a permanent pension. Its requirements are set in Costa Rica's Reglamento de Extranjería (Decreto Ejecutivo N.º 37112), not by Ley 9996; this page gives no figures — contact us for the current requirement.

What Ley 9996 Offered

For inversionista, rentista or pensionado applicants who took up the incentives within the law's first five years, Ley 9996 offered:

• A one-time exemption from import duty and all import taxes on household goods, and an exemption from import, customs and value-added tax on up to two vehicles for personal or family use.
• An income-tax exemption on the income declared to qualify for the category, and a partial (20%) exemption from the property-transfer tax on real estate acquired during the law's term.
• An exemption from import duty on instruments or materials needed for the beneficiary's professional or scientific activity.

These incentives were only available to people who took up their inversionista, rentista or pensionado incentives within the five years after the law took effect (to 14 July 2026); beneficiaries who did keep them for ten years from the date they were granted. They are not available to new applicants after that date under Ley 9996 itself.

Official source: Procuraduría General de la República (SINALEVI) — Ley N° 9996

This page follows Ley N° 9996 (La Gaceta N.º 135, 14 July 2021) and its regulation, Decreto Ejecutivo N.º 43926, both read via Costa Rica's Procuraduría General de la República legislation database (SINALEVI), and an Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) announcement — all checked on 24 September 2026. The current investment amount, category requirements and incentives are set by Costa Rican authorities and can change.