The route most families take
The rentista route asks for a bank document showing that for a period of not less than two years you will receive a stable, permanent monthly income of not less than USD 2,500 (Reglamento de Extranjeria, Decreto Ejecutivo 37112, article 99 l, checked 2026-08). It is a bank certified income stream, normally funded by a deposit, and it is not a pension and not a balance you show once at a counter.
The other route, pensionado, asks for a pension held for life of not less than USD 1,000 a month (article 100 l). If you are in your thirties with two children and no lifetime pension, it is closed to you.
Both articles cover the applicant, spouse, children under 25 and adult children with a disability on one file. There is no separate income test per child.
The fee is USD 50 per applicant (Ley 8764, article 255), plus fiscal stamps of CRC 125 and CRC 2.50 per page. Every child files separately at the same USD 50. Temporary residence runs longer than 90 days and up to two years, renewable (article 79).
Schooling
State school is a legal right. Article 5 of the Reglamento de matricula y de traslados de los estudiantes (Decreto Ejecutivo 40529, checked 2026-08) gives every minor free public education and forbids refusing it because of migratory status or arrival from a foreign school system. Article 12 f) puts a migrant student through the same enrolment procedure as a Costa Rican one, and article 14 gives the head teacher 10 working days to rule.
The date that matters is 30 April. A child arriving before it settles their standing in the first term by sitting the objectives and content of each subject (article 15). A child arriving after it can instead finish the year begun abroad, where the calendars are similar (article 16). Article 13 b.1) requires transcripts if you hold them, certified through the MEP. Without them, article 13 b.2) places your child by tests the receiving school writes and marks.
Teaching is in Spanish, and the law reaches the private sector too. Article 37 of the Ley Fundamental de Educacion 2160 requires private schools teaching in a foreign language to give at least half of all lessons in Spanish (SINALEVI, checked 2026-08).
Tuition in the San Jose area runs CRC 7,206,900 to CRC 9,577,000 per child per year across grades 1 to 12, from two schools’ own fee pages. Lincoln School in Santo Domingo de Heredia publishes 2026-27 tuition of CRC 7,206,900 for grades 1 to 5 and CRC 9,245,616 for grades 11 and 12. Blue Valley School in Escazu publishes 2025-26 tuition of CRC 8,065,000 for grades 1 to 5 and CRC 9,577,000 for grades 9 to 12A. Country Day School prices in dollars, at USD 20,352 to USD 22,015.
One time entry fees are separate: USD 2,500 per student at Country Day School, USD 1,900 at Blue Valley, USD 2,000 at Lincoln.
Healthcare for the family
Caja enrolment is compulsory for residents. It is not a choice. Article 80 of Ley 8764 requires a temporary resident to hold Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social cover from the day residence is granted, without interruption, until the day the card is renewed. Article 32 of the Reglamento de Extranjeria has you apply as soon as the decision is notified, and article 184 f) has the immigration office check that affiliation before issuing your residence document. Children present the affiliation document of the parent they depend on. Private insurance sits on top and does not replace it.
A family with no Costa Rican employer joins as an asegurado voluntario, and the contribution is assessed on income, not charged as a flat premium. Article 62.3 of the Reglamento del Seguro de Salud finances that cover at 13.75 percent of the reference income the Caja sets, with you paying the share fixed by its contributory scale. Article 11 of the voluntary affiliation rule sets that reference income case by case, and says a rentista is assessed on the amount of the income itself. Inspectors can revise a reported income where the real figure differs. We could not verify the current scale amounts at an official source today, so no monthly Caja figure appears here.
What the first year costs
Per person: USD 50 to file (Ley 8764, article 255), then USD 30 for the request for the residence document and USD 30 for issuing it (articles 252 and 253). A rentista file adds USD 25 a year to the Fondo Social de Migracion, and a late renewal costs USD 3 a month. The card cost itself is set in your approval decision under article 251 and is not published in the law, so we withhold it.
Schooling is the largest recurring line if you go private: CRC 7,206,900 to CRC 9,577,000 per child per year, plus USD 1,900 to USD 2,500 once. State school is free.
Housing is the line we cannot give you yet. The Ministerio de Vivienda y Asentamientos Humanos puts average monthly rent in the Region Central at CRC 218,178 in 2025 (Compendio Estadistico de Vivienda 2025, cuadro 28, from INEC’s ENAHO 2025, checked 2026-08-26), but that covers every rented home at every size and is not what a family pays for two or three bedrooms in Escazu. We could not verify a two or three bedroom figure for San Jose at a government source or a named, dated published index today, so no rent line appears here and this destination stays gated.
No official source exists for what an international move costs, so this site never publishes a mover figure. Where it would go we offer a quote step, and we get paid if you request quotes through that form.
Colon figures here convert at 453.50 colones to the dollar (Ministerio de Hacienda de Costa Rica, checked 2026-08-26).
What surprises families
The Caja waiting period. Article 8 of the voluntary affiliation rule sets a six month qualifying period, contributions paid monthly, before a voluntary member or dependent can claim complex surgery, high cost congenital or pre-existing conditions, or conditions a foreigner acquired at home.
The renewal trap. Article 80 requires unbroken Caja cover between the grant of residence and the renewal of the card. A gap in contributions is not a billing problem. It is a residence problem.
The pet import permit you probably do not need. Families are widely told one is always required. SENASA’s sheet for dogs and cats from the United States (DCA-PG-02-RS-01-IN-007 version 09, in force since 19 July 2024) says otherwise: a pet carried in the cabin or as checked baggage with its owner needs only the health certificate at the border. The Formulario de Requisitos Sanitarios applies where the pet travels as manifest cargo or arrives without its owner. The certificate needs no notary and no consular stamp, but a USDA authorised veterinarian must issue it, Veterinary Services must endorse it, and it must show a rabies vaccination valid on the day of entry for any animal over three months. From 26 May 2026 SENASA also requires a fifteen digit ISO microchip declared on that certificate.
Apostilles multiply. Birth and police certificates for every applicant must be legalised or apostilled, and so must the bank or pension certificate (Reglamento de Extranjeria, article 99).
Territorial tax. Article 1 of the Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta 7092 taxes only income generated inside Costa Rican territory, regardless of nationality or residence. It does nothing about your US filing obligation.
Who should not move here
Do not use the rentista route if the USD 2,500 a month has to come from a job you have not got yet. The bank certificate has to exist before the file is opened.
Do not come expecting to skip the Caja because you hold private cover. The immigration office checks affiliation before it issues your card.
Do not come if you need an English-medium classroom and cannot fund CRC 7,206,900 to CRC 9,577,000 per child per year. State schools teach in Spanish, and by law the international schools give half their lessons in Spanish.
Do not arrive mid-year with a teenager and no transcripts. After 30 April placement rests on tests the receiving school writes and marks, a hard first term for a fifteen year old who does not read Spanish.