A year in Costa Rica
Costa Rica Digital Nomad (Estancia – Trabajadores y Prestadores Remotos de Servicios)
Program checked 2026-10-21 · official source
Money
- Income the program asks for
- USD 3,000 per month
≈ $3,000/mo · $36,000 a yearProgram record (official source)(opens in a new tab) · as of 2026-10-21
- Your income against it
- Add your income in Compass to compare.
- Cost of living
- Index ≈ 57 (New York = 100; lower is cheaper) — awaiting human review.
Estimate · Numbeo — Quality of Life Index by Country (Cost of Living, Climate, Safety, Health Care sub-indices)(opens in a new tab) · as of 2026-08-04
Community notes: Moderate — affordable vs US but rising in surf towns.
CasaSedora doesn't publish a monthly living-cost figure for any country yet — we won't invent one.
- Cash to make the move
- About $15,400 up front for one person.
Estimate · CasaSedora planning estimate — generic defaults, not a quote
Language
- Spoken there
- Spanish.
- Required for residency & citizenship
- Citizenship: MEP Spanish & Estudios Sociales exams + civics
Official source(opens in a new tab) · as of 2026-10-21
- Your readiness
- Starting from scratch is the usual case — sign in & set a goal in the Field Phrasebook to track your practice.
Timeline
Apply
No closing date on record. Processing time is not on record — check the official source.
Program record (official source)(opens in a new tab) · as of 2026-10-21
Your first stay
The permit or program runs 12–24 months.
Program record (official source)(opens in a new tab) · as of 2026-10-21
Permanent residency · year 3
Permanent residency after 3 years of temporary residency.
Estimate · Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería(opens in a new tab) · as of 2026-07-12
Citizenship eligible · year 7
7 years of official residency — 5 for Central Americans, Ibero-Americans and Spaniards by birth.
Estimate · Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería(opens in a new tab) · as of 2026-07-12
Does time on this kind of permit count toward citizenship? Does not count. The digital-nomad permit is a non-resident 'estancia'. Move to temporary residency to start the clock.