Costa Rica rentista visa income: two years guaranteed up front, when a lifetime pension needs far less
Costa Rica · Rentista Income
Income required
USD 2,500 per month
Stable, permanent monthly income that a document from a competent authority shows you will receive for at least two years
Government fee
USD 178–378
Government fees on file, main applicant, initial application
Official source · Government fee checked 26 Oct 2026 · No rule-change history on file for this route — check the official source for changes · Figures read from the official rules on file at the time this page was served.
Check your own figure
Is yours in line with Rentista Income?
Already signed and been charged more? Tell us what changed
A retiree with a pension paid for life can apply as a pensioner, where the monthly floor is two-fifths of the rentista figure. The rentista category asks for more: a document showing that the monthly income above will keep arriving for at least two years.
A retiree who takes the rentista route proves two and a half times the income the pension route asks for, and has to guarantee it two years ahead. Costa Rica's immigration regulation sets the two categories one after the other, and both extend to a spouse, children under 25 and adult children with a disability. A rentista needs stable, permanent income at the figure above, for a period of no less than two years. A pensioner needs a pension paid for life, at a floor of two-fifths of that. Both are shown with a document from a competent authority, legalised or apostilled if it comes from abroad.
Which category fits which money
A lifetime pension that reaches the pension floor already fits the category written for it. The rentista category is for other steady income that a competent authority will certify for two years; ask how a plan built on paying your own deposit back to you is treated. A remote worker paid a salary from abroad has a separate visa under its own law.
What the state charges and what a firm charges
To the immigration directorate:
- A fee for a first application for temporary residence, and the residence card, shown above as the government fee; the regulation adds a guarantee deposit and fiscal stamps.
- A change-of-category fee on top if you apply from inside Costa Rica as a visitor; the upper end of the government fee includes it.
To a lawyer or firm:
- Its own fee, plus apostilles, translations and certificates, each on its own line.
Five things to ask first:
- Is your income a pension paid for life, and does it reach the pension floor on its own?
- If not, who issues the document that guarantees the income for two years, and will it be apostilled?
- Will you apply from abroad, or from inside Costa Rica, where the change-of-category fee is added?
- Which family members are included, given the age limit for children?
- If the application is refused, or the rules change while it is pending, what happens to the fees already paid?
Has a residency firm or lawyer given you a fee quote for rentista residence? Answer yes at the first question in the box above, and it is read line by line against the published rules and the prices firms on file publish for this route. If no firm has put anything in writing yet, answer no and type in the income you receive each month. The check compares a document or a figure with the published rules, and does not look at your application or advise on it; for advice on your own case, speak to a qualified immigration lawyer.
General information, not legal advice.
