Process Applicable for Residency Procedures

This is a resume of the process applicable today. There are several options if you are considering applying for residency in Costa Rica. Migratory categories and their specific requirements are described below, however, general requirements (1-11) are applicable to all of them. Any request for residency in Costa Rica should be submitted to the Costa Rican Consulate in the country of origin or residency.

Residency in Costa Rica Process Applicable for Residency Procedures This is a resume of the process applicable today. There are several options if you are considering applying for residency in Costa Rica. Migratory categories and their specific requirements are described below, however, general requirements (1-11) are applicable to all of them. Any request for residency in Costa Rica should be submitted to the Costa Rican Consulate in the country of origin or residency. General Requirements An application addressed to the Director General of Migration by the person concerned. If the applicant is not going to be able to go in person, he/she should grant a special power of attorney to a representative in the USA, who will sign the residence application form and present all the documents at the Consulate. This power of attorney should be in Spanish, notarized and follow the authentication procedures. The applicant should grant special authority to a representative (apoderado). This document could be either signed or authenticated in the Consulate. It should indicate the personal particulars of the representative (apoderado) and the address where to receive notifications, both within the judicial perimeter of San Jose. Birth Certificate (required for applicant, spouse and all dependent children up to 18 years or up to 25 if a university student – proof of enrollment is required)*. Every certificate should have the parents' name. Police Certificate (not older than three months) issued by the State/last place where the applicant has lived for the past two years (required for applicant, spouse and any dependent children aged 18 to 25. Applications received after November 15th, 2002 will require an FBI identification record (required for applicant, spouse and any dependent children aged 18 to 25). For further information please accesshttp://foia.fbi.gov/firs552.htm Marriage Certificate (if the applicant is married)*. Photocopy of the passport certified by the Consul (required for applicant, spouse and any dependent children) or by a Notary Public, but in this last case, the copies will also have to be authenticated. Four recent forehead passport size photographs (required for applicant, spouse and any dependent children). Eligible individuals can claim their spouses and children under 18, as dependents, as well as older children with disabilities. A son or daughter between 18 and 25 can be included as dependent if he or she is enrolled in a University. In the case of a family group, an individual file is required per member. Parents should sign applications on behalf of minor children. In order to practice a profession, the individual concerned should provide his or her diplomas. Concerning other professional activities, relevant documentation such as courses and studies undertaken should be submitted. * NB: All documents listed in paragraphs 3, 4 and 6 must be authenticated by the Costa Rican Consul and translated to Spanish language. (A Costa Rican Consulate will charge US$ 40 in official stamps for authentication of each document). Once you have all the required documents, send them FIRST to the Consulate of your jurisdiction, where they will be checked. If documents are complete, you will be asked to go to the Consulate for an interview and sign the application you have already sent, as well as the power of attorney. As mentioned in point 1., if you are not going to appear in person, you should grant a power of attorney to someone in the USA who will submit the documents to the Consulate. In this case, since you are not going personally to the Consulate, the power of attorney mentioned on point 2. should be already signed by you, and it should be notarized and authenticated. The documents will be sent to Migration in Costa Rica , who will contact your representative in Costa Rica. For this purpose, you will have to pay for the courier service. Additionally to points 1-11, you should fulfill the following requirements depending on your immigration category. Those documents do not need to be sent together with the ones mentioned in points 1-11, but if they are missing, your representative will be notified once Migration receives and processes the documents sent by the Consulate. He/she will have 10 days to complete those documents which are issued in Costa Rica, or 30 days if they are issued abroad. Please consider that some need to be authenticated by the Costa Rican Consulate first.