How to get Costa Rica citizenship: investor residency first, naturalisation after 7 years

No. Neither the Constitution nor the Ley de Opciones y Naturalizaciones (Law 1155 of 1950) has any clause that grants nationality in exchange for a donation, a bond or a property purchase. Article 14 of the Constitution lists the only ways to become Costa Rican by naturalisation: official residence of five or seven years, marriage to a Costa Rican, and honorary nationality granted by the Legislative Assembly^[2]. Honorary nationality is a political honour, not something you can apply for.

Investment matters only because it is one of the easiest ways to get legal residence, and the residence clock is what leads to citizenship. Marketing that offers "Costa Rica citizenship by investment" or a "Costa Rica passport in 12 months" is describing investor residency (DIMEX card), which is not a passport and gives no right to a Costa Rican passport.

The naturalisation authority is the Registro Civil's Sección de Opciones y Naturalizaciones, part of the TSE. Residence permits are issued by a different body, the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME)^[1]. For the residence step itself (investment rules, real estate, renewals), see our Costa Rica investor residency guide. If you specifically want a passport bought with a one-off payment, Caribbean programmes such as Grenada citizenship by investment or Dominica's CBI route are the relevant comparison. Our guide to citizenship by investment versus residency by investment explains the trade-off.

Law 9996 (in force since publication in La Gaceta No. 135 on 14 July 2021) lowered the investor minimum to US$150,000 "for the term established by this law" (Article 8)^[24]. Qualifying assets include real estate, registrable movable assets, shares, securities and productive or national-interest projects^[4][7]. Most foreign applicants buy titled property registered in their own name, because it is the easiest asset to prove at the National Registry^[22]. Under Decree 43926 the property must be registered to you personally (a company-held property does not qualify), and a mortgage is allowed only if your own down payment is at least US$150,000, so borrowed money cannot make up the qualifying amount. Shares count only in companies with economic activity in Costa Rica, securities must be bought through a SUGEVAL-registered brokerage, and investments can be combined to reach the minimum^[29].

Temporary investor residency is issued for two years and must be renewed. You have to keep the investment and stay enrolled in the national health fund (CCSS, known as the Caja) to renew it^[18][22]. Investor residence is not a work permit: Article 13 of Decree 43926 bars investor residents and their dependants from any paid manual or intellectual work, so investors live on the returns of their own investment^[29]. After three consecutive years you can apply to switch to permanent residency under Article 78 of the Migration Law (Law 8764)^[18]. For naturalisation the category does not matter. What matters is how long you have held official residence and whether you actually live in Costa Rica.

Article 15 of the Constitution and Law 1155 set the conditions. The TSE's official checklist turns them into the following requirements^[1][2]:

• Official residence: seven years for most nationalities, or five years for Central Americans, Spaniards and Ibero-Americans by birth. Only time with an approved legal status counts. Tourist stays do not, and the Registro Civil checks your entry and exit records^[1][20].
• Identity document: a valid DIMEX or other DGME-issued ID. A passport is not accepted as ID for this procedure^[1].
• Birth certificate: apostilled or legalised, translated by an official translator, and normally issued no more than three months before filing^[1].
• Two witnesses who give sworn statements, before the Registro Civil or a notary, about how long you have lived in Costa Rica, your means of living and your good conduct^[1].
• Means of living: a salary letter, an employer order or a certificate from a licensed public accountant (CPA)^[1].
• Spanish and civics: pass the Ministry of Education (MEP) exams in Spanish and Social Studies with at least 70 out of 100 in each. Older adults (65 and over) and people with a certified permanent impediment are exempt. Studies completed and approved in Costa Rica can replace the exams^[1][9][18].
• Criminal record: a national or federal police certificate from your country of origin or last country of residence, issued no more than three months before filing^[1]. Since August 2024 a final conviction for an intentional crime with a sentence of more than three years in the last ten years bars naturalisation, with narrow exceptions for recognised refugees, stateless people and asylees whose convictions were known when protection was granted^[3].
• No repeated minor offences: a sworn statement that you have no repeated contravenciones^[1].
• Intention to keep living in Costa Rica and an oath to respect the constitutional order^[2].

Once the file is complete, you must collect the notice of application and publish it in the official gazette, La Gaceta. If you do not publish it on time, the TSE rejects the application outright^[1].

Residency and citizenship treat families differently. Under investor residency, Article 6 of Decree 43926 lets the main applicant include a spouse, minor children, adult children with a declared disability, and unmarried children under 25 who are studying and financially dependent. Parents are not on the list. Each dependant needs their own application, DIMEX card and Caja enrolment, so government fees, card fees and health contributions apply to every person. Dependants may study, but Article 13 of the decree bars investors and their dependants from paid work^[29][22].

Naturalisation, by contrast, is individual. Each adult must meet the residence period, exams and conduct requirements on their own. Article 17 of the Constitution says nationality acquired by a naturalised parent passes to their children while they are minors, as the law provides. Minors also do not file the criminal-record or contravention statements^[1][2]. A financially dependent applicant, such as a student aged 18–25, can rely on the means of living of the person who supports them, with extra proof^[1].

Two shortcuts matter for families:

• Spouse of a Costa Rican: a foreigner who has been married to a Costa Rican for two years and has lived in Costa Rica for those same two years can apply for naturalisation^[2][18].
• Children born in Costa Rica: a child born in Costa Rica to foreign parents can be registered as Costa Rican by birth (Article 13). This is a different status from naturalisation and carries full political rights^[2].

The path has two legal stages: residence with DGME, then nationality with the TSE.

The Constitution sets the minimum: seven years of official residence for most foreigners, five years for Central Americans, Spaniards and Ibero-Americans by birth, and two years of marriage and residence for spouses of Costa Ricans^[1][2]. That minimum is not the whole timeline.

• Before the clock starts: the residence application itself takes months. Practitioner estimates range from 6 to 18 months for investors^[22]. Time spent waiting as an applicant is generally not counted as official residence^[20].
• The residence period: seven years from approval, with your entries and exits reviewed. There is no published day-count rule like the 30-of-60-months test in the US, but lawyers warn that long absences can push your eligibility date back^[20].
• The TSE stage: the official resolution period is 285 business days, roughly 13–14 months. La Nación reported in July 2025 that cases now take more than a year, some up to 18 months, with nearly 8,000 applications pending^[1][8].

Overall, an investor from outside Latin America and Spain should expect about 9–11 years from investment to passport. A Latin American or Spanish investor on the five-year clock should expect about 7–9 years. Faster legal routes exist elsewhere in the region: see our comparison of the residency programmes with the fastest path to citizenship.

Costa Rica taxes individuals on a territorial basis. Foreign-source income of individuals is currently not taxed, whether they are residents or naturalised citizens^[12][13]. Article 6 of Law 9996 also says investors, rentistas and pensionados are not automatically tax resident because of their immigration status^[24]. Citizenship therefore does not change your tax position. Where you live and where your income arises are what matter.

• Local income: progressive rates of up to 25% for individuals, and 15% withholding on Costa Rican dividends and interest^[12].
• Capital gains on Costa Rican assets: 15%. For the first sale of an asset held before 1 July 2019 you can choose a 2.25% tax on the sale price instead. Non-residents pay 2.5%, withheld by the buyer^[13].
• Property: 0.25% a year municipal tax, a 1.5% transfer tax on purchase, and a solidarity (luxury-home) tax where construction value exceeds ₡143 million (2026)^[14][15].
• VAT: 13% standard rate^[14].
• PwC's summary lists no net-wealth, inheritance or gift tax for individuals^[14].

Law 9996's income-tax exemption on the income declared to qualify applies only to people approved within the window that closed on 14 July 2026. Approved beneficiaries keep it for ten years^[4][6]. This may change: bill 25.796, sent to the Legislative Assembly on 22 September 2026, would tax Costa Rican tax residents at 15% on foreign dividends, interest, rents, royalties and capital gains, net of foreign tax paid. It is at an early stage and may be amended or rejected^[33]. US citizens remain taxable in the US on worldwide income whatever their Costa Rican status.

Costa Rica allows dual and multiple nationality. Since the 1995 constitutional reform, Article 16 says Costa Rican status "is not lost and is irrenounceable"^[2]. Costa Rican law does not require naturalised citizens to give up their original nationality. The oath is a promise to respect the constitutional order, not a renunciation^[18][20]. Some older guides still say naturalised citizens must renounce. That reflects the pre-1995 rules.

The rules of your other country still apply. Some countries withdraw nationality when a citizen voluntarily naturalises elsewhere, so check your home country's law first. If you are building a portfolio of passports, our article on whether you can hold triple citizenship covers the combinations.

A naturalisation can be annulled. Law 1155 (as reformed in 2024) declares void any naturalisation obtained by fraud, by false information or by hiding a disqualifying conviction. The Registro Civil can cancel the letter of naturalisation, and the decision can be appealed to the TSE^[3].

Once naturalised, you receive a Costa Rican cédula and can apply for a passport like any other citizen. The ordinary passport costs US$75 plus ₡250 and is valid for ten years^[19]. Henley & Partners' 2026 data gives Costa Rican passport holders visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 148 destinations, three fewer than in 2025. It ranks first in Central America, just ahead of Panama (147), and includes visa-free short stays in the Schengen area^[10][11]. Schengen visits will also need an ETIAS travel authorisation once that system starts; the EU has said the last quarter of 2026, with no exact date set by 2 October 2026^[26]. The United States, Canada and Australia still require visas^[11].

Political rights come with some limits. Naturalised citizens can vote only 12 months after receiving their letter of naturalisation, cannot become President or Vice-President, and need ten years of residence after naturalisation to sit as a deputy^[23]. Citizenship also removes the need to renew a DIMEX.

A Costa Rican passport also opens a useful second door. Spain lets nationals of Ibero-American countries naturalise after two years of legal residence, against the usual ten^[28]. See our guide to Spanish citizenship for investors.

It suits families who actually want to live in Costa Rica: retirees, remote business owners who can spend most of the year there, and Latin American or Spanish nationals who qualify for the five-year clock. For them, citizenship is a by-product of a life they already plan. The rentista and pensionado routes can be cheaper than investing, because the deposit or pension does the work^[17].

Look elsewhere if you want a passport without relocating, you need it within five years, or you will not learn Spanish to exam level. Caribbean citizenship by investment takes months rather than a decade. In Latin America, Paraguay and Panama offer faster or cheaper residence-to-citizenship routes (see below).

• Panama citizenship via the Qualified Investor route: immediate permanent residence, then naturalisation after five years. Since 16 September 2026 new (first-sale) property still qualifies from US$300,000, but resale property needs US$500,000^[27]. Compare it with the Panama investor residency page.
• Paraguay naturalisation after three years of permanent residence on the Investor Pass route, launched in April 2026. The residence step is covered on our Paraguay residency by investment page.
• Uruguayan citizenship through residence: three years with family or five without, and residence itself needs proof of income rather than an investment.
• El Salvador's fast-track citizenship for investors: a crypto-funded route with a capped annual quota.
• Mexico residency through financial solvency: no investment needed, and naturalisation after five years of legal residence.
• For a passport without relocating: Grenada and Dominica, ranked in our cheapest citizenship by investment ranking.

To see every country side by side, start from the citizenship by investment hub.