Big news for many foreign investors has just been approved… Costa Rica has just passed a package of incentives and benefits for foreigners looking to move to Costa Rica. Law project 22.156 has passed a first debate in the Legislative Assembly, which came in response to Costa Rica’s budget crisis sparked by the pandemic.
What exactly is in this package and what does it mean for you?
Most noteworthy is the government’s decision to reduce the minimum investment requirement from $200,000 to $150,000 in order for foreigners to obtain investor status residency. The investment may be in active business, real estate, stocks or securities, or in forest plantations. It is also only required that this investment is made by a family as a whole, not by each individual. Therefore, your immediate family could also gain residency with a single member’s investment.
Beyond that, Costa Rica also extended the duration which you can hold onto your investor status to ten years instead of the current two years after making your initial investment.
Another exciting component to this bill, and what everyone has been hoping for, is the mention of tax-free vehicle importation. This new legislation now allows for two vehicles to be imported free of all customs and value-added taxes, for personal or family use.
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Importing vehicles into Costa Rica
People who qualify can import “up to two land, air or sea transportation vehicles, for personal or family use, free of all import, customs and value added taxes,” the text reads. It also mentions a one-time tax exemption from importing household goods.
Project 22.156 is designed to make it easier for foreigners to come down and start a life here in Costa Rica.
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