The Rentista Residency Category (based on investment income) is of major interest to many persons contemplating moving to live in Costa Rica.
This Category requires the following documentation for each Applicant, which must be issued current within six months of the Application date, as submitted to the Costa Rican Immigration Department:
1. An original Birth Certificate, issued by the State, or Province in which you were born, and authenticated by the Costa Rican Consulate which has jurisdiction. In the case of U.S. citizens, the Certificate must be certified by the Secretary of State.
2. If applying with a spouse, a Marriage Certificate issued in the same manner as paragraph #1.
3. A Criminal Records Search conducted by the police in the jurisdiction where you reside and authenticated by the Costa Rican Consulate.
4. A notarized copy of all pages of your Passport (this can be done by a Costa Rican Notary, which saves the authentication process).
5. A Financial Responsibility Letter from a recognized financial institution indicating a monthly income from investment sources of at least $2,500.00 U.S. per month, notarized and authenticated by the Costa Rican Consulate if issued in a foreign country.
6. Registration with the Embassy of your home country in Costa Rica.
Fingerprinting will also be necessary by the Costa Rican Police and the subscription to the Costa Rican Public Health Insurance, following the grant of Residency.
The documentation will have to be translated into Spanish by a recognized interpreter and formalized into an Application by a Costa Rican Notary, prior to submission to the Immigration Department. 
An interesting change to the Application requirements for this Category under the new Regulations to the Law, just published at the end of January, 2011, is that the period for establishing a monthly income of $2,500.00 U.S. per month, has been reduced from a five year to a two year period (Regulation Article 76 e).
This has the effect of reducing the investment funding required for this Residency Category from the previous requirement of a $150,000.00 U.S. funded investment to a $60,000.00 U.S. funded investment. This change will open-up an opportunity for many would-be Applicants that didn’t previously exist.
Original article by Rick Philps (rphilps@plawcr.com)
Source: Solutions Costa Rica
