- Digital nomad visa
- Yes
Overall8/10Easier visas than about 90% of cities
Good to know
Good to Know
- For most US, Canadian, UK, EU, Australian and NZ nomads, entry is visa-free and can go up to 180 days, but the actual number of days stamped is decided by the individual officer — don't assume you'll automatically get the full 180 unless your return ticket supports it.
- You must show proof of onward or return travel to board your flight and to clear immigration; airlines in particular may refuse boarding without it if you're on a one-way ticket.
- Tamarindo sits inside Guanacaste province, served by Liberia's international airport, where the same entry rules and officer discretion apply as at San José.
- Since this is a tourist entry, not a residency status, you cannot legally work for a Costa Rican employer on it — remote work for foreign clients is generally the accepted (though technically gray) practice most nomads rely on, with the formal Digital Nomad Visa as the compliant alternative for longer stays.
- Keep your entry stamp/receipt — you may be asked to show it again on departure.
- The $3,000/$4,000 monthly income thresholds are set in US dollars — you'll need to show the colón equivalent at the Central Bank's reference rate, but the underlying requirement is USD-denominated.
- Health/travel insurance from a standard trip-insurance provider is generally not accepted — Costa Rica requires longer-term residency-style medical coverage with at least USD 50,000 in coverage for your full stay.
- This visa is one of the more tax-friendly nomad programs available: as long as all your income comes from outside Costa Rica, you owe zero local income tax on it, even if you stay year-round.
- Don't take local freelance or employment work while on this visa — even small Costa Rican-sourced jobs can violate visa terms and trigger local tax obligations.
- Many people in Tamarindo and along the Guanacaste coast still live for years on rolling 90-day tourist-visa border runs rather than the Digital Nomad Visa — it's common but not the officially sanctioned route for working remotely long-term.
- Get quotes for a proper accountant or immigration lawyer for document translation/apostille — incomplete or incorrectly translated paperwork is one of the most common causes of delay.
Visa Free Entry
- Process
- There is no advance application for Group 1 nationals. You simply arrive with a valid passport and proof of onward travel, and an immigration officer issues an entry stamp on the spot indicating the number of days you may stay.
- Baseline Rule
- Costa Rica uses a nationality-based four-group entry system administered by the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME). Most nomads from Western countries fall into Group 1, which is visa-free.
- Official Source
- Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME), Costa Rica's immigration authority, publishes the current group lists, stay limits, and required documents.
- Overstay Consequences
- Overstaying the authorized period can result in fines and possible temporary bans on re-entry, determined by DGME at exit or on a later attempted entry.
- Proof Of Funds Amount
- CRC 45,600
- Who Qualifies Group 1
- Citizens of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, most European Union member states, plus Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, among others, do not need a visa for tourism.
- Departure Tax Reference
- CRC 13,200
Airport departure tax, usually already bundled into airline ticket prices.
- Extending Or Resetting Stay
- Extensions from inside the country are possible but reportedly cumbersome, and most tourists instead leave the country and re-enter to reset the tourist stamp; frequent short 'border runs' can raise scrutiny from immigration officers and are not a guaranteed method for extending a stay indefinitely.
Max Stay Days
- Groups 3 And 4
- Nationals of many Asian, African, Middle Eastern and some Latin American countries (e.g. China, India, Colombia, Nicaragua, Venezuela) need a consular or restricted visa in advance, though holding a valid US, Canadian, EU/Schengen, UK, Japanese or South Korean visa or residence permit can substitute for a Costa Rican visa in many cases.
- Group 2 Examples
- Nationals of countries like Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, the Philippines, Malaysia, Russia, Taiwan and Turkey get visa-free entry but only up to 30 days, extendable once to 90.
- Important Caveat
- The 180 days is a ceiling, not a guarantee. The immigration officer at the airport has final discretion and stamps a specific number of days directly into the passport, sometimes matching the traveler's return ticket date rather than the full 180.
- Group 1 Western Nationalities
- Up to 180 days, per a November 2025 DGME directive (Alcance N° 148 a La Gaceta N° 216) that expanded the previous 90-day norm.
Entry Requirements
- Passport valid for at least one day beyond arrival for Group 1 nationals (many airlines and some officers still expect 6 months of validity, so this is the safer standard to travel with).
- Proof of onward or return travel (flight, bus ticket to a neighboring country, or cruise ticket) within the authorized stay period.
- Proof of economic means: officially a minimum of US$100 per month (or partial month) of planned stay, though officers rarely ask to see it.
- No mandatory tourist card fee since 2019 — entry itself is free for visa-exempt nationalities.
- Yellow fever vaccination certificate only required for travelers arriving from specific countries in South America and Africa (e.g. Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela, Guyana, and several African nations).
Digital Nomad Visa And Tax
- Launched
- 2022 (Law 9996)
- Visa Name
- Estancia para Trabajadores y Prestadores Remotos de Servicios (commonly called the Costa Rica Digital Nomad Visa)
- Who It Is For
- Remote employees of foreign companies and self-employed freelancers/entrepreneurs whose clients and income are based outside Costa Rica. Immediate family (spouse, children under 25) can be included as dependents.
- Visa Ease Tier
- high
- Key Restriction
- Holders cannot work for a Costa Rican employer or provide services to Costa Rican clients; doing so violates the visa terms.
- Application Path
- Applications are filed online through Costa Rica's official immigration portal, Trámite Ya. Applicants upload documents, pay the government fee, and immigration issues a decision — typically within about 15 (working or calendar, sources vary) days if the file is complete. Once approved, applicants generally have up to 90 days to enter Costa Rica and then must complete in-country steps (biometrics registration and obtaining the DIMEX residence card) within roughly three months of arrival to activate the permit.
- Visa Ease Tier Rationale
- Costa Rica offers up to 180 days visa-free entry for most Western nationals plus a legitimate, well-documented digital nomad visa with tax exemption on foreign income, though the $3,000/month income requirement and documentation add moderate burden.
- Minimum Health Insurance Coverage
- CRC 22,750,000
This is a minimum required coverage level, not a fee — actual premiums for nomad-style policies are usually far lower than this figure.
Tax Notes
- Caveat
- The exemption only covers foreign-sourced income. Earning money from Costa Rican clients or local work is both a visa violation and becomes taxable locally at progressive rates (roughly 10-25%).
- System
- Fully legal and regulated
- Home Country Taxes
- The Costa Rican exemption has no bearing on tax obligations elsewhere. US citizens and green-card holders, for example, remain fully subject to US federal tax on worldwide income regardless of Costa Rican residency, and Costa Rica has no totalization or broad double-tax treaty network with most nomad home countries.
- Territorial Tax System
- Costa Rica taxes only Costa Rican-sourced income. Foreign salaries, freelance income from foreign clients, foreign investment income, and foreign pensions are not taxed locally.
- General Tax Residency Trigger
- Under ordinary Costa Rican tax law, a person becomes a tax resident by being physically present in the country for more than 183 days (continuous or discontinuous) within a fiscal year, and short trips abroad do not reset that count.
- Digital Nomad Visa Specific Treatment
- Digital Nomad Visa holders are explicitly exempted by law from Costa Rican income tax on their foreign-sourced earnings for the full duration of the visa (including any renewal period), even if they remain in the country beyond 183 days. There is no requirement to file a local tax return on that foreign income.
Visa Benefits
- Tax-free import of essential work equipment (laptops, tech gear)
- Ability to open a Costa Rican bank account
- Ability to validate/exchange a home-country driver's license for a Costa Rican one
- No direct path to permanent residency or citizenship from this visa category
Application Fees
- Renewal Fee
- CRC 40,950
- Government Application Fee
- CRC 45,500
- Payment Notes
- The government fee must be paid by bank transfer to Banco de Costa Rica and must arrive net of bank fees; the sending and receiving banks (around USD 15 on the CR side) are on top of the base fee.
Income Requirement
- Family Applicant
- CRC 1,820,000
- Individual Applicant
- CRC 1,365,000
- Notes
- Income must be verifiable through recent bank statements, an employment/freelance contract, or a CPA-certified affidavit, and must originate entirely from outside Costa Rica.
Required Documents
- Valid passport with at least 6 months' remaining validity
- Completed online application form
- Proof of stable monthly income (bank statements, typically 3-6 months, plus a certified affidavit or employer/accountant letter)
- Proof of health/medical insurance covering the full stay, with minimum coverage of USD 50,000
- Marriage certificate or proof of civil union (issued within the last 6 months) if applying with a spouse
- Birth certificates for accompanying children
- All non-Spanish documents officially translated into Spanish (and apostilled/notarized where required)
Duration And Renewal
- Renewal
- Renewable once for an additional year, for a maximum total stay of up to 2 years on this visa category
- Initial Validity
- 1 year
Renewal Conditions
- Must still meet the same income requirements
- Must have maintained valid health insurance for the full period
- Must have a minimum number of physical-presence days in Costa Rica during the first year to qualify for renewal (sources differ on the exact threshold — see internal note)
- Pay the renewal fee
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.