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CCSS insurance and tax status of foreign residents in Costa Rica: what immigration law requires

Last verified: 2026-10-29 · Status: Stable

Foreigners in Costa Rica pay the same taxes and social security charges as Costa Ricans. Residents and most special categories must be insured with the CCSS from the grant of status and keep it uninterrupted to renew their card. Investors, rentistas and pensioners are not automatically tax residents, and digital nomads are expressly outside Costa Rican income tax on their foreign pay.

The rule

1. Foreign individuals in the country pay the same tax and social security charges as Costa Ricans and must make the deposits required by the law.Ley 8764, art. 32, 2009-08-19 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. Permanent and temporary residents and most special categories must be insured with the CCSS (or insurance it endorses) from the grant of status, uninterruptedly, to renew their card; once approved they must apply to the CCSS for enrolment.Decreto Ejecutivo 37112-G, art. 31 and art. 32, 2012-03-21 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. Exempt from the insurance requirement: interns, business visitors, intracompany transferees, after sales staff, students, volunteers, invited persons, artists and performers and trafficking victims.Decreto Ejecutivo 37112-G, art. 35, 2012-03-21 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. Non direct insured persons show their insurance card or current payment receipt; pensioners show their pensioner insurance card.Decreto Ejecutivo 37112-G, art. 34, 2012-03-21 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. Residence is cancelled for not paying taxes and public charges where not exempt.Ley 8764, art. 129(2), 2009-08-19 official text · verified 2026-10-29

6. Investors, pensioners and rentistas are not automatically tax residents; they become so only under the Income Tax Law and its regulation, and are subject to due diligence for exchange of information.Ley 9996, art. 6, 2021-07-05 official text · verified 2026-10-29

7. Digital nomads are exempt from the tax on profits, are never habitual residents for tax purposes and their foreign income is not Costa Rican source.Ley 10008, art. 16, 2021-08-11 official text · verified 2026-10-29

8. Investors, pensioners and rentistas who carry on economic activities in Costa Rica must register in the tax registry (RUT).Decreto Ejecutivo 43926-MGP-H-TUR, art. 20, 2023-02-14 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Worked example

A pensioner with a US$1,500 foreign pension joins the CCSS voluntarily after approval to meet the renewal condition; an employed executive is covered through payroll from day one.

Step by step

After approval, enrol with the CCSS before booking the card appointment.
Employers add foreign staff to the CCSS payroll from the first day of work.
Get tax advice on residence where days in Costa Rica are long; see the taxes section.

Common traps

Exempted categories under art. 35 still need private cover where their own rules require it.
A lapse in voluntary CCSS payments shows up at renewal.

Sources

← Overstays, cancellation of residence and deportation in Costa Rica: the US$100 monthly fine and the five year banTrade and customs in Costa Rica: how the Central American customs code, the Ley General de Aduanas and PROCOMER fit together →

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