Costa Rican visa resources
Documents Required for a Costa Rican Application
The civil-status, identity and category-specific documents commonly required for residence applications, and the legalisation rules that apply to them.
Important
A typical residence application requires a signed application letter, two recent passport-sized photographs, a valid passport, a legalised or apostilled birth certificate, and a criminal-record certificate (usually covering the last three years of legal residence) that is also legalised or apostilled. Category-specific evidence is added on top: an employment contract or company registration, proof of investment, bank certification of guaranteed income, pension certification, proof of enrolment, or a marriage/birth certificate proving a family link.
Foreign documents must be legalised through consular channels or apostilled under the Hague Convention, and where the document is not in Spanish an official translation is generally required. A marriage celebrated abroad must be registered with Costa Rica's Civil Registry (Registro Civil).
Proof of payment of the applicable government fee is submitted with the application, and CCSS (social security) enrolment is completed after approval for most resident categories.
Next steps
Official sources
For the most accurate and up-to-date information, always refer to the official government sources.
Verified against official sources · last reviewed 2026-08-21. Information only — not legal advice.