Persons Over 100 Years Old And Another 2,000 Foreign Pensioners Apply For Residency In Costa Rica

(MENAFN- Costa Rica News) From 2020 to 2024, the General Directorate of Migration and Foreigners (DGME) received 2,348 applications from foreign pensioners to remain in the country. Of these applications , 1,605 were from men and 743 were from women. During this period, the DGME approved 1,887 temporary residencies under the pensioner subcategory. This represents an approval rate of 80.36%.

This is one of the findings of a report prepared by the School of Tourism at the Universidad Hispanoamericana (UH), entitled Technical Analysis of the Migration of Foreign Pensioners to Costa Rica.

The analysis published by the University of Havana (UH) indicates that the majority of applications are from people between the ages of 65 and 69 (691 applications), followed by those between the ages of 60 and 64 (550), and those between the ages of 70 and 74 (465).

Furthermore, the report indicates that there are also very young people seeking this type of permit. For example, the report highlights that there were 10 applications from people between the ages of 30 and 34. Of these, only four were approved. There were also 16 applications from people between the ages of 35 and 39, and 16 were approved.

At the other extreme, there were 17 people between the ages of 85 and 89 who applied. There were also nine cases in which people were between the ages of 90 and 94. The records show that there was one application and one approval for those between the ages of 95 and 99. Finally, there was only one application from a person over 100 years old.

These are the main countries of origin of applicants:

United States: 1,633

Canada: 332

Germany: 76

France: 51

Switzerland: 36

Spain: 30

Italy: 23

United Kingdom: 22

Colombia: 21

Nicaragua: 14

Temporary residency for foreign pensioners

Costa Rica grants temporary residency for foreign pensioners for a period of two years. It is renewable, and the process can take several months. The law allows them to bring in belongings only once, free of taxes and duties. Additionally, they are authorized to import up to two vehicles, exempt from import taxes, customs duties, and VAT.

Million-dollar incomes

The analysis conducted by the team from the Universidad Hispanoamericana indicates that the minimum income in Costa Rica for 2020, due to the residency approvals for 144 people, reached $1,728,000.

But as approved applications grew to 505 in 2022, income reached $6,060,000. In 2023 and 2024, 424 and 474 such applications were approved. The estimated economic income for the country is over $5,000,000 each year.

The report indicates that the 1,887 approved applications would have generated a minimum income of approximately $22,644,000. This is based on a minimum income of $12,000 per year.-

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