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Costa Rica Raises Bar for Pensionados and Rentistas
Date: 08/19/2009August 19, 2009 -- A new immigration law in Costa Rica expected to go into effect as soon as February 2010 raises the monthly financial requirement for pensionados from $600 to $1,000. Rentistas will have to show a higher combined-family monthly income of $2,500.
Among other changes are tougher residency-through-marriage rules, new rules for extending tourist visas, and the ability to apply for residency from within Costa Rica. Expats who already have residency will have to pay $25 each year to renew their residency visas.
In addition, expats will also be required to affiliate with Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, the Costa Rican Social Security administration, to take advantage of Costa Rica’s public medical system.
The law is not retroactive, so the financial requirements for current pensionados and rentistas shouldn’t be affected. The law does give the president the power to grant residency by decree, creating the possibility of immigration amnesties of the type that were mandated twice in the 1990s.
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