What it costs to move a family to Costa Rica

Charged once on a first application for temporary or permanent residence, payable in colones at the Banco Central sell reference rate. Article 99 c) of the Reglamento de Extranjeria applies the same figure to the rentista file and article 99 d) adds fiscal stamps of CRC 125 plus CRC 2.50 per page. Each family member files a separate application and pays this fee.

The rule asks for a document from a bank showing that for a period of not less than two years the applicant will receive a stable, permanent monthly income of not less than USD 2,500. That is a bank backed deposit or income stream, not a pension. Where the income comes from abroad the document must be issued by a bank in that country and legalised or apostilled, or replaced by a certification from a Costa Rican public accountant. The same threshold covers the spouse, children under 25 and adult children with a disability who apply as dependents.

The same statutory fee as the rentista route, set by article 255 of Ley 8764.

A pension held for life of not less than USD 1,000 a month, certified by the competent authority and legalised or apostilled if issued abroad. A working age family with no pension cannot use this route.

USD 30 for the request for the residence document under article 252 plus USD 30 for issuing the document that accredits legal permanence under article 253. Both are charged to every family member, including children. Article 183 d) of the Reglamento de Extranjeria adds USD 25 a year to the Fondo Social de Migracion for a rentista file, and article 254 of Ley 8764 charges a USD 3 fine for each month a renewal runs late. A further amount set in the approval decision covers the cost of the card itself under article 251, and that amount is not published in the law.

Article 17 makes the rules on enrolling students arriving from abroad binding on every school in the country, public and private.

Range across grades 1 to 12 at two named schools in the San Jose metropolitan area, taken from their own fee pages. Lincoln School (Barrio Socorro, San Miguel, Santo Domingo de Heredia) publishes 2026-27 annual tuition of CRC 7,206,900 for grades 1 to 5, CRC 7,887,300 for grades 6 to 8, CRC 9,070,308 for grades 9 and 10 and CRC 9,245,616 for grades 11 and 12. Blue Valley School (Guachipelin, Escazu) publishes 2025-26 annual tuition of CRC 8,065,000 for grades 1 to 5, CRC 8,666,000 for grades 6 to 8 and CRC 9,577,000 for grades 9 to 12A at https://www.bluevalley.ed.cr/sites/school50/files/2025-11/FEESTARIFAS-2025-2026BVS.pdf. Country Day School prices in dollars instead and publishes 2026-27 yearly fees of USD 20,352 for grades 1 to 5 and USD 22,015 for grade 12 at https://www.nordangliaeducation.com/cds-costa-rica/admissions/tuition-fees. Tuition only. Entry fees, insurance and transport are charged separately.

Country Day School charges a one time entrance fee of USD 2,500 per student, a one time family fee of USD 1,000 for a family enrolling for the first time, an annual matriculation fee of USD 1,300 for pre-kinder to grade 12 and a USD 50 application fee. Blue Valley School charges a one time, non transferable and non refundable enrollment fee of USD 1,900 from early learning to ninth grade, USD 1,550 in tenth grade and USD 1,050 in eleventh grade, plus a USD 50 admissions fee (https://www.bluevalley.ed.cr/sites/school50/files/2025-11/FEESTARIFAS-2025-2026BVS.pdf). Lincoln School charges a membership fee of USD 2,000 and an enrollment fee of USD 100 a year per student.

The Caja rules cited are at https://sinalevi.go.cr/ResultadosNormativa/Informacion?param1=43463&param2=147411&param3=1 (Reglamento del Seguro de Salud) and https://sinalevi.go.cr/ResultadosNormativa/Informacion?param1=49917&param2=53498&param3=1 (Reglamento para la Afiliacion de los Trabajadores Independientes y los Asegurados Voluntarios). Article 8 of the second rule sets a six month qualifying period, with contributions paid each month, before a voluntary member or a dependent can claim complex surgery, high cost congenital or pre-existing conditions, or, for foreigners, conditions acquired in their country of origin. We could not verify the current contributory scale amounts at an official source today, so no monthly figure is published here.

Two further rules sit alongside that sheet. SENASA resolution SENASA-DCA-R007-2026 of 26 May 2026 orders that every dog and cat imported into, exported from or in transit through Costa Rica carry a transponder built to ISO 11784, ISO 11785 and ICAR specifications with a fifteen digit code, declared on the sanitary certificate, taking effect six months after publication in La Gaceta (https://sinalevi.go.cr/ResultadosNormativa/Informacion?param1=107690&param2=152144&param3=1). Article 45 of Decreto Ejecutivo 31626, the Ministry of Health rule on responsible pet ownership, still provides for a four week home quarantine at the owner's expense for any companion animal entering the country, and article 33 requires annual rabies vaccination from three months of age (https://sinalevi.go.cr/ResultadosNormativa/Informacion?param1=52322&param2=151516&param3=1). SENASA's United States requirement sheet does not restate the quarantine. SENASA's own disclaimer states the sheet is a guide, not an authorisation to import, and that requirements can change without notice.