Proposed Bill with Incentives to Attract New Residents

The Costa Rican Congress or Asamblea Legislativa has a bill on the legislature floor that if passed will make it easier for expats to achieve residency status as Inversionistas(Investor), Pensionados (Retiree with a pension), or  Rentistas.

The bill, written in the wake of the Covid 19 pandemic, outlines a series of incentives  to attract expats to move to Costa Rica. The bill proposes easing the residency requirements for these three different categories and includes the following proposed changes:

• One time 100% tax exemption on household goods  and vehicles
• Exoneration of income tax on some claimed income
• A 20% tax exemption on land transfers
• Lowering the required investment amount for inversionistas from $200,000 USD to $150,000 USD
• Providing a special section in Immigration to handle these residency applications allowing for swifter and more efficient processing