Countries › Costa Rica › Guide › 3. Investing › Foreign investment in Costa Rica: equal treatment, no screening or registration, and the treaties that protect investors

Foreign investment in Costa Rica: equal treatment, no screening or registration, and the treaties that protect investors

Argentina. For full detail on Argentina, go to The Argentine Thread.

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

Costa Rica has no general foreign investment law, no approval or registration of foreign capital and no screening body: the Constitution gives foreigners the same individual and social rights as nationals, subject only to exceptions set by the Constitution and specific laws. The exceptions that matter are sector specific (coastal concessions, private power generation, state fuel and some infrastructure monopolies) and are covered on their own page. Investors are protected by approved investment treaties, CAFTA DR and ICSID, and money moves in and out freely.

USD figures use the Banco Central de Costa Rica reference selling rate of ₡454.82 per US dollar published for 29 October 2026 (indicator 318 on bccr.fi.cr), rounded to the cent. Amounts set in salarios base use the 2026 salario base of ₡462,200 (Circular 246-2025 of the Consejo Superior del Poder Judicial, under Ley 7337 art. 2).

Key facts

Foreigners have the same rights as nationals, subject to constitutional and legal exceptions	yes yes or noConstitución Política art. 19, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
General foreign investment screening or approval	none textLey 7638 art. 2 and 8 (no approval function), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Approved treaties rank above ordinary laws	yes yes or noConstitución Política art. 7, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Costa Rica Argentina agreement: maximum time for a transfer to count as without delay	2 monthsLey 8068 art. 7(3), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
ICSID contracting state	yes yes or noLey 7332, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
ICSID Convention in force for Costa Rica	1993-05-27 dateLey 7332, as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. Foreigners have the same individual and social duties and rights as Costa Ricans, with the exceptions and limitations that the Constitution and the laws establish. They may not intervene in political affairs, are subject to Costa Rican courts and authorities, and may not resort to diplomatic channels except as international agreements provide.Constitución Política, art. 19, 1949-11-07 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. Treaties and international agreements duly approved by the Legislative Assembly rank above ordinary laws from their promulgation or the date they set. This is why an investment treaty or CAFTA DR prevails over a conflicting statute.Constitución Política, art. 7, 1949-11-07 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. Private monopolies are prohibited, as is any act, even one based on a law, that threatens or restricts freedom of trade, agriculture and industry. New monopolies in favour of the State or the municipalities need a two thirds vote of all members of the Legislative Assembly.Constitución Política, art. 46, 1949-11-07 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. The Ministerio de Comercio Exterior (COMEX) defines and directs foreign trade and foreign investment policy and leads investment negotiations, while PROCOMER designs and coordinates export and investment programmes and supports COMEX in running the special export regimes such as free zones and inward processing. Neither law creates an approval or registration step for foreign capital.Ley 7638 (30 Oct 1996), art. 2(a) and (b); art. 8(a) and (b), 1996-10-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. Investment agreements approved by law on SCIJ include Argentina (Ley 8068 of 14 Feb 2001), the Czech Republic (Ley 8076), Paraguay (Ley 8069), the Netherlands (Ley 8081), Korea (Ley 8217 A) and Switzerland (Ley 8218, both 8 Mar 2002), Qatar (Ley 9099 of 30 Oct 2012), the People's Republic of China (Ley 9352 of 4 Apr 2016) and the United Arab Emirates (Ley 9778 of 12 Nov 2019). The approval law date is not the date the treaty entered into force internationally; confirm status with COMEX before relying on one.Approval laws for bilateral investment agreements, Ley 8068, 8076, 8069, 8081, 8217 A, 8218, 9099, 9352 and 9778, 2019-11-12 official text · verified 2026-10-29

6. Under the Argentina agreement each party must allow investors of the other unrestricted transfer of capital, profits, dividends, interest, loan repayments and sale or liquidation proceeds, without delay, in freely convertible currency at the rate of the transfer date; a transfer counts as without delay if made within the time normally needed for formalities, never more than two months from a complete request. Similar transfer clauses appear in the other agreements.Ley 8068 (Acuerdo con Argentina para la Promoción y Protección Recíproca de las Inversiones), art. 7, 2001-02-14 official text · verified 2026-10-29

7. Costa Rica approved the ICSID Convention by Ley 7332; it has been a contracting state since 27 May 1993, so treaty and contract claims can go to ICSID arbitration where the instrument allows it.Ley 7332, art. 1, 1993-03-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Partner	Approval law	Law date	Published in La Gaceta
Argentina	Ley 8068	14 Feb 2001	No. 44, 2 Mar 2001
Czech Republic	Ley 8076	14 Feb 2001	No. 44, 2 Mar 2001
Paraguay	Ley 8069	14 Feb 2001	No. 45, 5 Mar 2001
Netherlands	Ley 8081	14 Feb 2001	No. 45, 5 Mar 2001
Korea	Ley 8217 A	8 Mar 2002	No. 86, 7 May 2002
Switzerland	Ley 8218	8 Mar 2002	No. 86, 7 May 2002
Qatar	Ley 9099	30 Oct 2012	No. 12, 17 Jan 2013
China	Ley 9352	4 Apr 2016	No. 116, 16 Jun 2016
United Arab Emirates	Ley 9778	12 Nov 2019	No. 238, 13 Dec 2019

Investment agreements approved by Costa Rican law (SCIJ approval law records)

Worked example

A US company capitalises a new Costa Rican S.R.L. with US$500,000 (₡227,410,000). No investment authority approves or registers the money; the bank applies its own know your customer checks, the company registers its shareholders and beneficial owners with the Banco Central RTBF, and the parent can later repatriate dividends and capital through the banking system (see fx/dividends-and-profit-repatriation).
An Argentine investor holds a Costa Rican hotel company. If Costa Rica blocked a dividend transfer, Ley 8068 art. 7 requires transfers within at most two months of a complete request, and art. 12 gives treaty arbitration after six months of amicable talks (see disputes/investment-arbitration).

Step by step

Pick the vehicle (entities/choosing-an-entity) and check sector limits (investing/restricted-activities-and-ownership-limits).
Decide whether to apply for a special regime before investing: free zone (investing/free-zone-regime) or tourism contract (investing/tourism-incentives); both require new investment, so apply before spending.
Open a bank account and bring in capital through the banking system; keep the transfer records for later repatriation and tax basis.
File beneficial ownership with the Banco Central RTBF and register with Hacienda for tax.
Check whether your home country has an approved investment agreement with Costa Rica and structure the holding company accordingly.

Common traps

Approval by law is not the same as entry into force: a treaty in SCIJ may not yet bind the other state, or may have been terminated. Confirm with COMEX.
There is no foreign investment registry that grants rights, so the proof of foreign origin of capital is your bank and corporate records; keep them.
Equal treatment does not override sector laws: coastal land concessions, private power generation and state monopolies have nationality or ownership limits.
Foreign companies waive diplomatic protection under art. 19 except as treaties provide, so treaty coverage matters for State disputes.

Sources

← Costa Rica's population, regions and labor market: where people live and workFree zone regime in Costa Rica: who qualifies, the US$150,000 entry ticket, how PROCOMER and COMEX grant it, and how to lose it →

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