Earlier this year, the pretty Caribbean nation of St. Lucia in the Windward Isles officially started accepting applications for its “citizenship by investment” program. Located to the south of Martinique and more than 2,500 kilometers from Costa Rica, St. Lucia is part of the Commonwealth of Nations, and is now the latest country to offer economic citizenship to eligible foreigners who are willing to invest $300,000 in exchange for a shiny new passport.

Other nations that offer citizenship by investment include Antigua & Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, and the Federation of St. Kitts & Nevis, and that is just in the Caribbean; there’s also Hong Kong, Singapore, Bulgaria, and even Austria, among others.

Immigration laws in Costa Rica differ from the above-mentioned countries in two main aspects: The first one is the amount required to invest; in Costa Rica, a $200,000 investment lets foreigners easily qualify for residency. The investment can be in a property, lot, business, shares in a corporation, etc., and the amount can be various investments that add up to $200,000; for example: a house and a couple of cars that add up to that amount would fulfill immigration requirements, therefore it is easy and very accessible to qualify for this type of residency.

The second differing aspect is that the $200,000 investment allows foreigners to qualify for a temporary residency and not a citizenship. The residency gives foreigners a residency ID card and the right to reside legally in Costa Rica, therefore foreigners are not forced to leave the country when their tourist visas expire. According to the Constitution, foreigners acquire many of the same rights and duties of a Costa Rican when they become residents.

Citizenship means obtaining Costa Rican nationality and passport through the process of naturalization. Some countries accept double nationality; therefore, a person could keep his or her nationality and the Costa Rican citizenship at the same time. Other countries does not allow this, therefore becoming Costa Rican would mean to lose their original nationality. Therefore, we recommend obtaining residency in Costa Rica, which allows foreigners to live peacefully and legally in our country.

According to Marcela Gurdian, founder of Immigration Experts, if foreigners have investments and businesses in Costa Rica, even though they don’t live permanently in the country, it would be safer and more convenient for them to apply for residency. Besides, in order to keep residency in Costa Rica, they only have to be in the country just one day per year.

As explained above, a resident investor can be an individual who makes an investment of at least $200,000 in our country. The investment can be made in any type of business allowed by immigration guidelines, such as in real estate as a primary home.

To qualify, applicants must prove that the amount they have already invested (not the current value) equals or exceeds $200,000. For example, if using real estate as the basis for the investment, the property must be registered in its respective municipality with a value of at least $200, 000.

In some cases, it is possible to increase the value of the property so that it may serve as a qualification for residency by investment in Costa Rica; for more information about residency as an investor please contact Immigration Experts:

San Jose
Tel: (506) 2290.8050 / 2290.2794
Fax: (506) 2290.8055
Address: Sabana Oeste, San Jose, Costa Rica. P.O. BOX: 226-1200
[email protected]

Tamarindo Beach: (506) 2653.0050

Playas del Coco: (506) 2670.2021