Moving to Costa Rica: The 2026 Relocation Guide

Before you go: six months out

The single biggest mistake North Americans make is treating Costa Rica like a long vacation. Begin the paperwork that requires the United States or Canada at least six months before your move. Once you are in Costa Rica, getting documents reissued, apostilled, or shipped back for corrections is slow and expensive.

• Order a fingerprint-based FBI Identity History Summary (U.S.) or RCMP certified criminal record check (Canada). They are accepted for six months from issue, not from the apostille (D.JUR-220-05-2024). The FBI report is a federal document, apostilled by the U.S. Department of State, not your state. See the FBI background check guide.
• Request long-form birth certificates for every family member relocating, apostilled by the state or province of issue. See apostilles for Costa Rica.
• If married, order an apostilled marriage certificate. Add divorce decrees or death certificates if relevant.
• Renew passports for every family member so they remain valid well beyond your arrival date.
• Decide on a residency path. Pensionado, rentista and inversionista each lead to CAJA enrollment and to permanent residency after three consecutive years (Ley 8764 art. 78(1)).

Choosing your residency path

A tourist stamp lets you stay up to 180 days, but it is not a path to living legally in Costa Rica. To enroll in CAJA, bank without friction, and build toward permanent residency, you need temporary residency.

Pensionado, rentista and inversionista grant temporary residency for two years, are renewable, and become eligible for permanent residency after three years. The digital nomad category is a stay permit, not residency: it is faster and skips CAJA, but it caps out at two years and does not build toward permanent status.

The full cost of each route, government fee by government fee, is in how much Costa Rica residency costs.

Healthcare: CAJA and private insurance

Enrollment in the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CAJA) is mandatory for every resident and must be in place before Migración releases your DIMEX (Reglamento arts. 183 and 184). The monthly contribution is a percentage of the income you declared to Migración: about $100 a month on a $1,000 pension and about $344 at the $2,500 rentista minimum in 2026. The bands and a calculator are in CAJA for residents.

CAJA covers primary care, specialists, hospitalization and prescription medication. Waits for non-urgent specialist care are the usual trade-off, which is why many expats add private insurance. Healthcare for expats compares public care, private hospitals and insurance. Before you cancel U.S. or Canadian coverage, note that Medicare generally does not pay for care outside the United States.

Shipping your household

Law 9996, passed in 2021, gave new pensionado, rentista and investor residents a one-time exemption from import duties on household goods and up to two vehicles. Its window for opting in closed on 14 July 2026. As of September 2026 no extension has been published, so plan as if the exemption is not available.

Without it, household goods pay the import duties and taxes that customs calculates on declared value, through a licensed customs agent. For many people that makes buying locally or renting furnished the simpler choice.

• If you do ship, ask international movers for written quotes that separate freight, port handling and customs brokerage.
• Inventory every item with a description and approximate value; customs reviews the manifest.
• Skip the container if you are renting furnished.
• Costa Rica uses 120V/60Hz like North America, but check the plugs and circuits of large appliances before shipping them.

The customs procedure, what cannot be imported, and vehicles are covered in shipping household goods to Costa Rica.

Bringing your pets

Dogs and cats from the United States and Canada can enter Costa Rica with the right paperwork, under the requirements published by SENASA, the national animal health service.

• A veterinarian examines the pet within two weeks of travel and issues the health certificate.
• The rabies vaccination must be valid on the day of entry for pets over three months old.
• The certificate is endorsed by USDA APHIS (U.S.) or the CFIA (Canada) before departure.
• Pets flying as cargo or unaccompanied need an import permit and a customs agency; pets in the cabin or checked baggage travel with the certificate.

Airline rules for size, breed and season vary by carrier; confirm them when you book. The full sequence is in bringing pets to Costa Rica.

Banking and money

Costa Rican banks set their own account-opening requirements under the know-your-customer rules supervised by SUGEF, and having residency and a DIMEX generally makes the process simpler. Keep a U.S. or Canadian account open, at least for the first year, for international transfers and tax filings at home. The practical steps are in banking in Costa Rica.

Taxes

Tax is the area where general statements are most likely to be wrong for your situation. U.S. citizens continue to file with the IRS on worldwide income while living abroad, and may have foreign account reporting obligations. How Costa Rica treats foreign-source pensions, investment income and remote salary should be confirmed with a Costa Rican tax adviser, and Canadians should confirm their residency position with a Canadian cross-border adviser before departure. U.S. taxes for Americans in Costa Rica sets out the U.S. side from IRS sources.

Driving and your license

Your home-country driver's license can be used in Costa Rica during your authorized tourist stay. After you become a resident, confirm the current process for obtaining a Costa Rican license with COSEVI, the road safety authority, before your foreign license stops being valid for driving.

Importing a vehicle means paying the taxes customs calculates on its value, which is why many relocators sell their car at home and buy locally.

Schools for relocating families

International and bilingual schools are concentrated in the Central Valley around Escazú, Santa Ana and San José, with smaller bilingual schools in beach communities. Tuition and curricula vary widely; ask each school for its accreditation, curriculum and current fees. The family residency rules, including dependents up to 25, are in bringing family.

Where North Americans tend to live

Central Valley (Escazú, Santa Ana, Atenas, Grecia). Mild weather at elevation, the largest concentration of private hospitals, and Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) nearby.

Guanacaste coast (Tamarindo, Nosara, Playa Flamingo). Pacific beaches, a drier climate, an established North American community, and Liberia's international airport (LIR).

Southern Pacific (Dominical, Uvita, Ojochal). Smaller and quieter communities between the mountains and the ocean. Check the travel time to the nearest hospital as part of your planning.

Lake Arenal and the northern mountains. Cooler temperatures and fewer English-language services.

Area profiles with airport and hospital distances are in places to live in Costa Rica.

The realistic timeline: an honest six-month move

Sources and legal basis

1. Ley General de Migración y Extranjería, Ley 8764, arts. 78, 81, 82. Official text.
2. Reglamento de Extranjería, Decreto 37112-GOB, arts. 183–184. Official text.
3. DGME Resolución D.JUR-220-05-2024-JM-ABM (criminal record validity from issue).
4. Ley 9996 and its window to 14 July 2026: see investor residency and shipping household goods for the sources.
5. SENASA, Requisitos para importar mascotas a Costa Rica; USDA APHIS, Pet travel from the U.S. to Costa Rica.
6. Medicare, Travel outside the U.S.
7. IRS, U.S. citizens and resident aliens abroad.
8. Ministerio de Hacienda, Importación en la modalidad de menaje de casa.