Many foreign nationals visit Costa Rica to enjoy its natural beauties such as its volcanoes, mountains, rivers, beaches, and the varied wildlife. It is a peaceful country full of many opportunities. Many of Costa Rica’s visitors end up living in here and building a new life. A few years down

The following is a list of commonly asked questions regarding obtaining residency in Costa Rica: Is it true that there are various residency categories? That is correct. One cannot simply apply for residency; one must apply for one of the many distinct residency categories our law offers. An applicant must

The Immigration Department has issued a new Resolution aiming to simplify the requirements for Residency for on-going applications filed by October 14, 2019. The background check requirement listed on item 1 below, however, is suggested for all new applications as well. Below a summary of the major key elements that

Our current law offers expats various options to secure legal immigration status in Costa Rica. On the one hand, you have the Immigration Law (Law No. 8764) and Ruling (Decree No. 37112-G) which provides the rules of the game for our General Department of Immigration (Dirección General de Migración y

Let’s dispense with the suspense first; the answer to the question above is always a resounding, “Yes!” But let us explain a little bit about the history of the Social Security system in Costa Rica in order to better understand what we know as the “Caja.” The Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social was created in

Everyone who has applied for residency in Costa Rica is probably aware that while our immigration laws state that the Department of Immigration has 90 days to respond to a request, it is almost certain that you won’t receive any news within this 3-month deadline. The Department of Immigration has accepted that due to various internal issues, including a significant amount of understaffing,

Here at Outlier Legal Services, we receive numerous calls from expats whom have handled the residency process on their own or perhaps have hired help from someone in the community and find themselves stuck in a years-long process that become too cumbersome and stressful to handle. The service of requesting

Imagine flying from San Jose to your residence in Osa in only 45 minutes and in a non-polluting airplane that produces zero emissions. Find out how! In October, the United Nations held a conference in Costa Rica as part of the previous negotiations for the Conference of the United Nations

We recommend that three months prior to the expiration of your DIMEX ID card (known in Spanish as the cédula), you should renew it. The good news, however, is that renewal is not as cumbersome as the initial application. If done right, upon filing and depending on your age, you

The official newspaper La Gaceta published on September 23, 2019, the new rates for the Guarantee Deposits (Security Deposits). The Guarantee Deposit, also known as Security Deposit, is a mandatory government fee to be paid by foreigners who are granted immigration status in Costa Rica, such as Temporary and Permanent