The Founder of Simple Legal Consulting, Herman Duarte, Featured in La República Article
Herman Duarte, founder of Simple Legal Consulting, was recently featured in an article published by La República titled "Migration Reform and Gentrification in Costa Rica: Solutions for a Sustainable Future."
In the article, Herman Duarte analyzes key challenges within Costa Rica's migration system, including:
The practice of "perpetual tourists" and its impact on migration policies.
The need to streamline affiliation processes and other procedures in the Trámite Ya platform.
Proposals to reduce the tourist visa period and incentivize migration regularization.
The analysis also highlights how these reforms could help mitigate the effects of gentrification, ensuring that the country’s economic development remains inclusive and sustainable.
Read the full article here: Migration Reform and Gentrification in Costa Rica: Solutions for a Sustainable Future.
At Simple Legal Consulting, we remain committed to providing legal and strategic solutions to some of Costa Rica’s most pressing issues.
Immigration Reform and Gentrification in Costa Rica: Solutions for a Sustainable Future
Herman Duarte, Costa Rican lawyer. MSc. from the London School of Economics (LSE) and LLM from Stockholm University. Founder of Simple Legal Consulting, combining academic rigor with innovative legal solutions.
www.simpleCR.com
Disclaimer: This article focuses solely on administrative and economic aspects of Costa Rica's immigration system, specifically regarding tourists and individuals interested in residing in the country. It does not address humanitarian migration issues, such as refuge or asylum, which deserve a specialized approach rooted in human rights and solidarity principles.
Costa Rica's immigration system classifies countries into four categories to determine whether their citizens require a consular visa before entering the country or can enter freely with a stay of up to 180 calendar days. The law states that individuals who overstay their permitted time must pay a fine of USD $100 for each additional month they remain; alternatively, they will be prohibited from re-entering the country for three times the duration of their overstay. However, these sanctions are largely a myth, as they are rarely enforced in practice. This creates an incentive for some individuals to stay in the country without regularizing their immigration status, living as perpetual tourists who often become experts in the art of “border runs” (a practice involving traveling to a nearby border for an hour to exit and re-enter Costa Rica to renew the entry stamp or tourist visa, thus remaining “legal”).
Now, consider for a moment what would happen if you overstayed your visa by even one day in the United States... You would face a very clear consequence: losing your tourist visa and being barred from returning for at least 10 years. In Costa Rica, by contrast, the absence of penalties, combined with a lax system that imposes no annual visit limits and allows stays of up to 180 days, has created incentives for a group of people to settle in the country without contributing to the tax, fiscal, and social obligations of living in Costa Rica. For example, every tourist who seeks to become a resident must pay a fee to the General Directorate of Immigration and Foreigners; if the person does not apply for residency, the state collects nothing.
That shortsightedness in creating perverse incentives, combined with the difficulties in applying for and obtaining residency, generates a series of reasons to avoid regularizing immigration status. Fortunately, these incentives can be easily changed without incurring any cost, which could also help alleviate some of the social pressure surrounding gentrification in different regions of the country.
It is clear that urgent changes are needed to ensure a balance between the country’s appeal as an international destination and its economic, social, and environmental sustainability.
This article proposes three key reforms:
Eliminate the filiation process as a prerequisite for migration procedures on the “Trámite Ya” platform.
Reduce visa validity to 30 days with an annual limit on visits, encouraging those who wish to reside in the country to regularize their status.
A mix of supplementary ideas.
I. An Unsustainable Bottleneck: The Affiliation Process in the "Trámite Ya" System
A person seeking residency in Costa Rica has two options: apply in person by visiting the DGME offices with all original, apostilled, and officially translated documents, waiting in line for hours to submit the application; or apply conveniently online in just 10 minutes using the genius of the Trámite Ya website. This platform allows applicants to apply for nearly all available migratory categories (though the investor category, for instance, is yet to be included).
If you decide to initiate a process digitally, be aware that it involves two stages:
Affiliation Stage: In this first stage, the honorable DGME reviews a general information form (age, address, parents, marital status, etc.), a special power of attorney, informed consent, photograph, and passport. This stage typically takes 15–30 calendar days. Upon favorable resolution, a case number is created, allowing the applicant to proceed to the second stage.
Substantive Application Stage: Access to this stage is granted only after successfully completing the affiliation process by entering the case number assigned in the first stage. This is where the applicant selects the specific migratory category and submits all substantive requirements, including essential documents like criminal records, birth certificates, government application fees (it’s not a free process), and evidence of eligibility for the selected residency category. Available categories for digital applications include:
Rentista or Fixed Income: If you have a secure, fixed income of USD $2,500.
Pensionado: If you receive a pension of at least USD $1,000 per month.
Company Manager registered with COMEX.
Residency by Marriage or Costa Rican Children.
Digital Nomad Visa: If you’ve earned over USD $3,000 monthly or USD $36,000 annually in the last 12 months.
During this second stage, applicants must resubmit forms, powers of attorney, and passports, effectively repeating the work done in the first stage. It doesn’t take an engineer or a team of INCAE graduates to see that this duplication of requirements increases costs in both time and resources. It also contradicts the principles of administrative modernization and digitalization that should govern a 21st-century migratory system.
Between the two stages, it usually takes 15–30 days, but sometimes longer. The affiliation process is not only redundant but also creates a bottleneck that exacerbates the backlog of cases and the workload for DGME’s excellent professionals.
The problem has worsened since Trámite Ya experienced a cybersecurity breach in late 2024. As a result, the system has disabled the affiliation stage, making it unusable for new cases. All processes must now be completed in person. Additionally, cases pending resolution in the affiliation stage have been ordered by the DGME to be submitted physically for review, effectively rendering the digital system obsolete.
In this context, the proposal to eliminate the affiliation stage would benefit the country by revitalizing the invaluable Trámite Ya platform. Applicants could once again use it for substantive applications, breaking down barriers to accessing regularization processes.
Put yourself in a migrant's shoes: if you’re told you need to stand in line for three hours to start an application versus completing it online in just a few minutes, which would you choose? For many, those three hours in line might act as a perverse incentive to forego regularization, ultimately undermining the country’s migration system.
Furthermore, reviving the platform for digital applications will support the following points:
Reactivation of the Migration System: By eliminating this step, users can proceed directly to the substantive stage, easing pressure on the system and mitigating the effects of the cybersecurity breach that has overwhelmed DGME staff with more physical applications.
Resource Savings: Less paper, fewer document transfers, and fewer hours spent on repetitive tasks lead to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly system.
Greater Administrative Efficiency: Migration staff can focus on what truly matters: evaluating and resolving cases, thus optimizing response times.
Reduced Costs and Time for Users: Applicants would save money, time, and energy by avoiding duplicate efforts and unnecessary travel.
Incentive for Regularization: From a Law and Economics perspective, simplifying processes creates a positive incentive for people to regularize their migration status. When transaction costs—in terms of time, effort, and resources—are reduced, more individuals find it appealing to follow formal rules rather than operating informally. This approach not only improves tax collection and compliance with legal obligations but also strengthens trust in migration institutions.
II. The Problem with 180-Day Visas
Currently, Costa Rica allows visitors from nations classified in Group 1 to stay for up to 180 days without needing to obtain residency. This policy, introduced under the current administration, extended the previous 90-day period to 180 days. While this change promotes tourism, it has also enabled individuals to reside informally in the country without paying taxes or contributing formally to the economy. A clear example of this is the thousands of digital nomads who have chosen to stay in Costa Rica without applying for the digital nomad visa category, which allows the government to collect fees from each applicant.
It is worth analyzing the impact that extending the stay period has had on the country and whether this impact has been positive, expected, and desired. We must not forget that migrating to a country is a complex process that should follow the rules defined by its laws. In many cases, individuals staying under the extended visa period do not qualify for any migratory categories to formalize their status.
A migratory system that creates incentives for not regularizing migration status—such as making it easier to live in the country irregularly, long queues, and complex application processes—can lead to individuals choosing not to migrate legally. This, in turn, results in:
Overburdened Public Services: The strain on health services, infrastructure, and education significantly increases with the presence of unregularized individuals.
Promotion of Informality: Many visitors find ways to extend their stay beyond the 180 days without regularizing, creating a fiscal and labor void.
Investment Disincentives: A lax system fails to differentiate between those who contribute to the country’s development and those who take advantage of migratory leniency without reciprocating.
Labor Market Distortion: Informal work opportunities can lower wages and working conditions in certain sectors, particularly harming local workers.
Challenges in Public Planning: Authorities lack a clear record of how many people are staying in the country, making it difficult to plan for critical areas like infrastructure, health, public transportation, and emergency services.
Increased Risk of Labor Exploitation: People working without authorization often accept precarious or abusive conditions due to their lack of labor law protection, fostering unscrupulous employers.
Local Talent Drain: Overcrowded labor markets and unfavorable conditions for locals may drive young talent to emigrate in search of better opportunities elsewhere.
Increased Housing Prices and Overcrowding: The influx of unauthorized residents raises demand for housing, particularly in urban areas or high-employment zones. This drives up rental prices, overburdens housing infrastructure, and reduces access to affordable housing for local residents, leading to overcrowding and declining living conditions.
Job Scarcity and Declining Labor Conditions: The increase in unregularized workers intensifies competition for available jobs, particularly in sectors like construction, retail, and domestic work. By accepting precarious jobs without labor protections, these workers contribute to the proliferation of poorly paid, insecure employment, negatively impacting the entire labor market.
Addressing these challenges requires a migration system that encourages regularization, simplifies processes, and aligns with national goals for economic and social stability.
Reopening the discussion on the appropriate length of stay for tourists is crucial. Should it be 180, 90, 45, or 30 days? The exact figure should be based on a thorough technical analysis of the average length of stay for tourists, their financial contribution, and the potential impacts on local communities, whose voices must also be heard. Additionally, this could be combined with implementing an annual visit limit to address the issue of border runs—a deeply ingrained practice where individuals avoid regularizing their status by briefly exiting the country to return with a fresh 180-day entry stamp.
Reducing the stay period can create incentives for regularization and yield several benefits:
Encouraging Migratory Regularization: Foreigners wishing to reside in Costa Rica would need to apply for formal migratory categories such as rentista, investor, pensionado, specialized worker under employment, company manager, or digital nomad visa. These categories ensure that residents contribute economically and socially to national development. While not all applicants will qualify for their desired migratory category, the system will establish clear and effective filters, ensuring a transparent and orderly migration process aligned with the country's interests.
Increased Tax Revenue: A stricter system would facilitate the identification and registration of foreigners who, upon regularizing their status, would comply with tax and labor obligations. Additionally, they would pay application fees to the General Directorate of Migration and Foreign Affairs, increasing government revenue.
Population Saturation Control: A system that limits stay periods ensures that residents do so formally, reducing the strain on critical services.
Boosting Economic Development: Promoting existing residency categories attracts foreigners who contribute to the economy through job creation and knowledge transfer.
By reducing stay durations and addressing the challenges of informal residency practices, Costa Rica can create a migration system that aligns with its economic, social, and community objectives.
III. Bonus: Comprehensive Review and Differentiated Fees
Comprehensive Review of Economic Migratory Categories:
It is crucial to standardize the economic requirements for migratory categories in Costa Rica: $1,000 for pensionados, $2,500 for rentistas, $3,000 for digital nomads, and $150,000 for investors. These discrepancies stem from regulations created in different historical contexts, leading to inconsistencies and inequalities within the migratory system. Additionally, there is a growing influx of pensionados seeking residency to access social security benefits, which places significant pressure on the healthcare system and other public services. A thorough analysis of this trend is necessary to adjust policies and strike a balance between attracting foreign residents and ensuring the sustainability of national institutions.Implementation of Differentiated Application Fees:
Introduce a system of tiered application fees that offers accelerated processing options, providing decisions within as little as one week, as seen in countries like Panama, Dubai, and Qatar. These premium fees would generate additional revenue that could be allocated to counteract gentrification’s effects. The funds collected could support initiatives such as:Developing affordable housing.
Strengthening community infrastructure in affected areas.
Establishing local integration programs to promote harmony between incoming residents and existing communities.
This approach would ensure a balance between welcoming new residents and safeguarding the well-being of local communities, while enhancing Costa Rica’s reputation as a competitive and sustainable destination for foreign nationals.
IV. Conclusion
Costa Rica faces the challenge of balancing its appeal as an international destination with the need to maintain a sustainable system for its citizens and residents.
It is essential that reforms to Costa Rica's immigration system be designed with a comprehensive approach that balances administrative and economic efficiency with respect for human rights. While simplifying processes and establishing stricter controls, it is equally important to ensure that measures do not disproportionately penalize vulnerable groups, such as asylum seekers or those seeking a better quality of life in the country. Including orientation and support programs for migration regularization, as well as creating mechanisms for social integration, can foster a fairer and more sustainable system that addresses the needs of both citizens and migrants, promoting harmonious and respectful coexistence.
Eliminating the affiliation process for digital applications and reducing 180-day visas to 30 days, along with an annual visit limit, are essential measures to ensure that those residing in the country contribute to economic and social development. These reforms would not only ease the current burden on the system but also lay the groundwork for a future where public administration is synonymous with agility, transparency, and modernity. This is a necessary step toward a more equitable and sustainable future.