Citizenship

The naturalization process for many of the categories is very similar. In order to become naturalized a resident must visit the office of Options and Naturalization a division of the Supreme Election Tribunal's Civil Registry located on Calle 15 between Avenidas 1:00 and 3:00 P.M.

For most countries the resident does not need to give up home country citizenship, Costa Rican law permits both.

Permanent  residents from the pensionado, rentista and inversionista categories can obtain Costa Rican citizenship by complying with the following requirements:

• Present 2 witnesses that declare upon the time of knowing the applicant, their conduct and their economic status.
• Present a valid passport and your residency bond should be in effect.
• Show income or that applicant has the economic means to live here. This can be from a salary, bank accounts, pensions, etc.
• A certificate from the Computer Department of Immigration showing exits and entries into Costa Rica. This is from the first entry into Costa Rica through the day the request is made.
• For residents from other Latin American countries they need to show they have resided in Costa Rica for a minimum of five COMPLETE years or 1825 days.
• For foreign residents from other countries they need to show a minimum of 7 COMPLETE years of residing in Costa Rica or the corresponding total of days.
• For permanent residents and inversionista residents they need a certificate from the National Council of Immigration showing the names of their parents, your date and place of birth and current status with immigration. For pensionados and rentistas they need the same document from the Costa Rica Tourism Institute (ICT).
• Take a written test with the Public Education Department in Costa Rican geography, general history, and a test of the Spanish language.  Generally there are 4 test periods over the year.