Pensionado and rentista temporary residence, Costa Rica's retirement visa, grants up to two years of renewable residence to retirees with a lifetime pension from abroad of at least US$1,000 a month, or a stable income of at least US$2,500 a month. It is proof of income, not an investment, and leads to permanent residence after three years.
Costa Rica grants temporary residence to pensionados with a lifetime pension from abroad of at least US$1,000 a month and to rentistas with stable income of at least US$2,500 a month proved for at least two years (Ley 8764 arts. 81 and 82; Decreto 37112 arts. 99 and 100). The permit runs for up to two years and is renewable with Caja (CCSS) affiliation; rentistas must keep transferring income into Costa Rican banks. Permanent residence may be requested after three consecutive years. Only the opt-in window for the Ley 9996 incentives closed in July 2026; the categories themselves remain in force.
The Costa Rica retirement visa is residence by financial means. Nothing is invested, donated or spent: you prove that a pension or a stable income exists, and it stays yours. The same temporary residence comes in two versions, one for pensionados, who live on a pension, and one for rentistas, who live on a stable income.
What is Costa Rica's pensionado and rentista residence?
The pensionado and rentista categories are subcategories of temporary residence in the Ley General de Migración y Extranjería, Ley 8764, article 79 incisos 9 and 10, with the income tests in articles 81 (pensionado) and 82 (rentista). The procedure is in the Reglamento de Extranjería, Decreto Ejecutivo 37112-GOB, articles 99 and 100, with renewal in articles 227 and 228; we read both on SINALEVI, Costa Rica's official legal database, on 11 October 2026. The authority is the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME).
The permit is granted for up to two years and renewed for equal periods. It gives residence, not nationality and not a passport; see residency versus citizenship.
Ley 9996 of 5 July 2021 (read 11 October 2026) is separate: it offered optional incentives, and its window to opt into them closed around 14 July 2026, computed from its entry into force on 14 July 2021 (art. 12). Holders who opted in keep the incentives for ten years from grant. The residence categories themselves sit in Ley 8764 and Decreto 37112 and remain in force (Decreto 43926 art. 15).
Who qualifies, and how much income do you need?
The Costa Rica retirement visa requirements are one income test, met in one of two ways:
- Pensionado: a pension from abroad of at least US$1,000 a month, permanent and stable, evidenced as a lifetime pension by a document from the competent authority, apostilled or legalised (Ley 8764 art. 81; Decreto 37112 art. 100).
- Rentista: a stable, permanent income of at least US$2,500 a month (US$30,000 a year), generated abroad or paid by banks of Costa Rica's Sistema Bancario Nacional, proved for at least two years by a bank document or a certified public accountant (CPA) certificate (Ley 8764 art. 82; Decreto 37112 art. 99).
- No capital, deposit or investment is required, and there is no savings alternative to the income test.
- A bank deposit paid back in monthly instalments is not income for the rentista test (Decreto 37112 art. 2, added by Decreto 43926 art. 30).
- Family: the same sum lets you request status for your spouse and for children under 25 or adult children with a disability, with no extra income per dependant in the texts we read.
- Age: no minimum age appears in the articles we read.
- Health cover: affiliation to the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS), Costa Rica's social security fund, is part of the permit, gives access to public healthcare and must stay uninterrupted from the date of grant for renewal (Ley 8764 arts. 80 and 86).
- Work: no right to work comes with either category; paid or self-employed activity needs a separate DGME authorisation (Ley 8764 art. 80), and unauthorised paid work is a ground for cancellation.
The route does not fit people living on savings alone, on a lump sum drawn down monthly, or on a Costa Rican salary. Whether a private pension, an annuity or an insurer's statement counts as a lifetime pension from the competent authority is not defined in the text, so we check your documents before you file.
Is Costa Rica's retirement visa a golden retirement visa?
Yes. In the Mirabello Golden Retirement Index, Costa Rica's pensionado and rentista residence is rated Golden, 71.4 out of 100, with confidence grade B, scored on 11 October 2026 under methodology 1.1. A golden retirement visa, under Mirabello's standard, is a residence permit, not citizenship, and needs no investment. A route is Golden when it scores at least 70 out of 100, carries confidence grade A or B, and has no fail on tax of foreign income, physical presence or renewal. Its strongest points are presence (no minimum stay, only a two-year absence limit), no capital requirement and an official decision term. The one reason recorded against it is that the income must be transferred to, or held in, the country: rentistas show monthly transfers into Costa Rican banks at each renewal, while pensionados do not. Its renewal category is one renewal, then permanent residence. Every route in the Index is scored from official sources.
Do you have to live in Costa Rica?
No minimum stay applies: neither Ley 8764 nor Decreto 37112 sets a number of days you must spend in Costa Rica. The limit is on absence. The DGME cancels temporary residence after an absence of more than two consecutive years, unless health, study, family or other proven causes apply (Ley 8764 art. 129 inc. 6; Decreto 37112 art. 214); for permanent residents the limit is more than four consecutive years. You can ask for the clock to be suspended before a long absence (Ley 8764 art. 132).
Rentistas must keep transferring income into Costa Rican banks every month, a banking rule rather than a presence rule. Tax is separate: you become tax resident at more than 183 days in Costa Rica in the fiscal period (Decreto 43198-H art. 10, read 11 October 2026); the permit alone does not make you tax resident. Compare light-presence routes in our guide to residency without relocating.
Does Costa Rica tax a foreign pension?
Costa Rica taxes individuals on a territorial basis: Costa Rican-source income is taxed, and individuals are not taxed on foreign-source dividends, interest, rent and royalties (Ley 7092 art. 1, last paragraph, added by Ley 10381 of 2023; art. 27 bis). Foreign pensions are the open point: articles 32 and 33 of the Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta, Ley 7092 (read 11 October 2026) tax pensions of any regime received by persons domiciled in Costa Rica, with no express Costa Rican-source limit, and we found no tax-authority text placing foreign pensions outside them.
Tax on foreign income for a tax resident
| Income | Treatment in Costa Rica |
|---|
| Foreign pension | Not yet officially confirmed: Ley 7092 arts. 32 and 33 cover pensions of any regime of persons domiciled in Costa Rica, with no express Costa Rican-source limit |
|---|
| Foreign dividends and interest | Not taxed for individuals (Ley 7092 art. 1, last paragraph; art. 27 bis) |
|---|
| Foreign capital gains | The 15% capital-gains tax applies to disposals of Costa Rican assets, with exemptions not yet confirmed; gains on assets abroad are outside it |
|---|
| Wealth and inheritance tax | None found in the sources we hold; not confirmed by an official statement we read |
|---|
| Legal basis | Ley 7092 arts. 1, 27 bis, 32 and 33; Decreto 43198-H art. 10 (tax residence) |
|---|
Tax follows tax residence, not the permit: the treatment applies once you are tax-resident in Costa Rica. The country that pays your pension may still tax it under its own rules and any applicable treaty. This is general information, not tax advice. To compare, read our guide to countries that don't tax foreign pensions.
How long does it take, what does it cost, and what documents do you need?
The DGME's rentista requirements sheet, archived in July 2021, states that Migración has 90 days to resolve a complete file, and the general administrative rule is two months from the petition (Ley General de la Administración Pública art. 261). Current DGME guidance could not be read on 11 October 2026 and no official figure for practice was found, so we confirm the timeline for your case. Government fees, the residence document and CCSS contributions are also confirmed per case, as no official fee schedule is in our verified data.
- Pensionado: a document from the competent authority proving a lifetime pension of at least US$1,000 a month, apostilled or legalised.
- Rentista: a bank document or CPA certificate showing at least US$2,500 a month, stable and permanent, for at least two years.
- Civil and police documents for you and each dependant, apostilled or legalised and translated; the full list is confirmed per case.
How do renewal, permanent residence and citizenship work?
Each renewal is on the same conditions, with uninterrupted CCSS affiliation from the date of grant (Ley 8764 arts. 79, 80 and 86). Rentistas also show a bank certificate that the income is maintained and, for funds from abroad, that it entered by monthly, stable and permanent transfer through the Costa Rican banking system (Decreto 37112 art. 227). Pensionado renewal has no transfer-in proof (art. 228).
After three consecutive years of temporary residence you may request permanent residence (Ley 8764 art. 78 inc. 1), so the route needs one renewal first. For citizenship, the Constitution (art. 14) sets seven years of residence as the floor, five for Central American, Spanish and Ibero-American nationals by birth, under the conditions of Ley 1155 (means, language and record). Ley 1155, as we read it, does not require you to renounce your nationality of origin; whether your own country allows dual nationality is a separate question.
What the market gets wrong
- Some guides say the routes ended with Ley 9996 in July 2026. Only that law's incentive window closed; the categories sit in Ley 8764 and Decreto 37112 and remain in force.
- Some guides say a rentista can qualify by depositing a lump sum and drawing it down monthly. Since Decreto 43926, a deposit paid back in monthly instalments is expressly not income.
- Some guides say you must live in Costa Rica for several months a year. No minimum stay applies; the limit is an absence of more than two consecutive years.
- Some guides say pensionado status exempts you from Costa Rican tax. It is a migration status and does not by itself make you tax resident or exempt; tax comes from Ley 7092, and the foreign pension point is not yet officially confirmed.
Pensionado and rentista, or another route?
Costa Rica suits retirees who want renewable residence with no minimum stay, public healthcare through the CCSS and a clear step to permanent residence after three years. If you want permanence from the first day, Panama's Pensionado visa grants permanent residence from the grant on a lifetime pension, and Guatemala's pensionado and rentista residence is also permanent from the grant. Peru's Rentista residence accepts a pension or a permanent income and has an indefinite term, with a stricter rule on absence. For the wider region, read our comparison of Caribbean and Latin American retirement visas. The Mirabello Golden Retirement Index ranks every scored route, and our retirement and passive-income residency guide sets the wider choice side by side.
What is not yet officially confirmed
- How Costa Rica taxes a foreign pension under Ley 7092 arts. 32 and 33.
- Whether a private pension, an annuity or an insurer's statement counts as a lifetime pension from the competent authority.
- Current processing times: the 90-day term comes from a DGME sheet archived in 2021.
- Government fees, the cost of the residence document and CCSS contribution amounts.
- The exact closing date of the Ley 9996 incentive window, computed from the law with no official notice read.
- The exemptions to the 15% capital-gains tax on Costa Rican assets.
- The continuity rules for naturalisation under Ley 1155, and any amendment after the consolidated SINALEVI texts we read.
Ask Mira, by Mirabello
For a first answer at any hour, ask Mira, by Mirabello, the AI advisor of Mirabello Immigration Intelligence. It reads the same verified programme data as this page and can compare this route with the other options in our retirement and passive-income residency guide. A specialist then checks the details that decide your case.
How Mirabello Consultancy helps
Mirabello Consultancy checks, before you travel, whether your pension or income meets the pensionado or rentista test and whether your pension documents show a lifetime pension. We prepare the apostilled and translated file, coordinate the application with the DGME through licensed local counsel, and plan the CCSS affiliation, each renewal and the move to permanent residence. To find out which category fits you, book a free, confidential consultation.
Information only, not legal or tax advice. Requirements were read from the official sources linked above on 11 October 2026 and can change; we confirm them for your case.
