Costa Rica — services for living and doing business
An official digital nomad visa, tax breaks and Central America's most stable democracy
- Population:
- ≈5.2m people
- Capital:
- San José
- Currency:
- Costa Rican colón (CRC)
- Time zone:
- UTC-6 (no daylight saving since 1992)
- Languages:
- Spanish
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Services in Costa Rica
Pick a category — inside are partner services and the official terms of the programmes.
Immigration in Costa Rica
Temporary residence for annuitants (Residencia temporal — Rentista) · Temporary residence for pensioners (Residencia temporal — Pensionado) · Temporary residence for investors (Residencia temporal — Inversionista)
Business in Costa Rica
Company and sole-trader registration, liquidation, accounting and tax.
Finance in Costa Rica
Crypto exchange · Cards issued abroad
Legal services in Costa Rica
Documents and apostilles, licences, trademarks, legal consultations.
Life and travel in Costa Rica
Car rental · SIM cards for travel · Health insurance and 3 more
Healthcare in Costa Rica
Health insurance
Property in Costa Rica
Buying · Selling · Long-term rental and 1 more
Education in Costa Rica
School and university admission, student visas and diploma recognition.
The expert quotes the exact figure for your case — before you pay.
About the country
Costa Rica is Latin America's oldest continuous democracy: the army was abolished in 1948 (written into the 1949 Constitution) and the money went into the environment, tourism and healthcare instead of defence. Over 98% of electricity comes from renewables - hydro, wind and geothermal (98.6% in 2025). Roughly a quarter of the territory is national parks and reserves. Since 2021 remote workers and freelancers have had an immigration category of their own (Ley No. 10008).
Worth knowing
- !Living costs are higher than in neighbouring countries - expat favourites (Escazú, Santa Ana) run close to southern Europe on price
- !Bureaucracy and trámites take time: in the last published Ease of Doing Business ranking (World Bank, 2020 data) Costa Rica sat 74th of 190 - the ranking itself was discontinued in 2021 after a data scandal, and no direct replacement gives the country an exact position
- !Pockets of rising drug-related crime - in the Global Peace Index 2026 the country fell 8 places to 62nd of 163 (54th the year before), though it remains the safest in Central America and targeted violence against foreigners is rare
- !The digital nomad visa is a temporary stay (estancia) of 1+1 years, not a residence permit and not a route to residency
Costa Rica: scores by area
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