PROCEDURE TO APPLY FOR A TEMPORARY RESIDENCY DUE TO MARRIAGE WITH A COSTA RICAN CITIZEN
Who can apply?
Persons married to a Costa Rican citizen.
Application Requirements:
- Application form.
- Application letter indicating the following information:
- reason for the application
- full name
- nationality
- marital status
- age
- occupation
- current residence address
- contact information for notifications
- the letter will be signed in front of the consul on the day of the appointment
- 3 recent passport-size photos.
- Original and copy of a marriage certificate issued within the last 2 months by the Civil Registry of Costa Rica (Registro Civil).
- Original and copy of the following documents with less than 6 months of issuance and duly apostilled:
- International birth certificate.
- Criminal record from the place where the applicant has lived during the last 3 years.
- Copy of all the pages of the passport. The passport must have a minimum validity of 6 months.
Procedure to obtain an entry visa to Costa Rica at the Embassy or Honorary Consulate:
The interested person must send the documents to the Embassy of Costa Rica in Berlin. Once the documents have been revised an appointment at the Embassy will be given in order to sign the application form. Please bring the original passport to the appointment.
The interested person must send the documents to the Embassy of Costa Rica in Berlin at least one month and a half prior to the flight to Costa Rica.
If you start the process at an Honorary Consulate of Costa Rica in Germany, you must also do so a month and a half in advance, but you must coordinate previously with the respective Consulate.
Procedure to obtain a temporary residency in Costa Rica:
Once the Embassy has sent the documentation to the Immigration Department in Costa Rica (Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería), the applicant must submit the following additional documents to complete the request of residency:
- Copy of the personal identification card (cédula de identidad) of the Costa Rican spouse.
- Official Translation of documents written in a different language than Spanish, except for the passport and documents in "international version".
- Report of finger prints taken by the Ministry of Public Security (Archivo Policial del Ministerio de Seguridad Pública).
- Proof of registration at the Embassy of the applicant's home country in Costa Rica.
- Proof of social security affiliation in the Costa Rican Public Health Institution (Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social).
- Payment receipt for stamps, indicating the name of the foreign person, of the amount of ¢ 125 and ¢ 2.50; for each sheet submitted with the application, to the account 242480-0 of the Bank of Costa Rica (Banco de Costa Rica).
- Payment receipt of US$ 50.00, indicating the name of the foreign person. This money must be transferred in Colones to the account 242480-0 of the Bank of Costa Rica (Banco de Costa Rica).
- Other fees or documents requested by the Immigration Department in Costa Rica (Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería).
Cost:
- - Authentication of the signature in the application letter: See Tariff 9.
- - Additional costs requested by the Immigration Department (Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería) to finish the residency application procedure.
Legal Basis:
- - General Law 8764 of Migration and Foreign Affairs, Title VI, Chapter I. (Ley 8764 General de Migración y Extranjería).
For additional information in Spanish please click here.