Permanent Residence Required Documents

Instructions: Read Me First

Please read all of this document before proceeding to contact any Consulate of Costa Rica.

When you have all required documents issued in your home country ready, submit your application at the Immigration Department of Costa Rica or at the Consulate of Costa Rica nearest you. Use our Commercial Directory to search for the nearest Costa Rican Consulate to your residence. (Click "search" in our Commercial Directory and type in the keyword "consulate" to view a list of Costa Rican Consulates worldwide).

Consulates of Costa Rica require you to submit all required documents for your permanent residence application via certified mail or to drop them off in person. Upon receipt of your application, they will review your application and authenticate any documents (see authentication requirements) that require it within five (5) business days. Then, they will schedule an interview with you or your attorney-in-fact (if you can not show up in person) to sign your permanent residence application before the Consul. And finally, they will mail your application to a Visa Filing location in Costa Rica.

You must submit each of the following documents for you and each of your dependents. If you are a famliy applying for permanent resident status, each of the members of the family must submit an individual application and required documents in one package. Parents must sign applications on behalf of minors (dependents younger than 17 years old).

You may submit your application incomplete, however, you will be required later on to submit all missing documents directly to the Immigration Department of Costa Rica via your attorney-in-fact (person to whom you gave a power of attorney) in Costa Rica.

All powers of attorney templates and permanent residence applications contained on this web site are fully compliant with the Immigration Department of Costa Rica's requirements. They should be accepted by any Consulate of Costa Rica in the world. If any Consul rejects these templates or applications, please This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it so that we can assess the issue. Please include the form or template name, the location of the Consulate and the person you spoke to.

Required Documents:

Here are the required documents that you and your dependants* must enclose with your permanent residence application. Some documents must be issued in your home country and others in Costa Rica.

• Documents Issued in your Home Country

• Police Record Documents

• Income Source Certification