An idea born from experience

Cristina joined Richard Bexon on the Costa Rica Investments podcast, a show for people who invest in, live in, or are planning a move to Costa Rica. The conversation covered recent immigration changes, new demands on vacation rentals and how the real estate market is behaving.

What stood out most was a concrete proposal. There are roughly 50,000 Airbnb-style listings in Costa Rica, according to the estimate mentioned on the show, and many of their owners are foreigners who want to spend more time here but don’t fit the traditional investor residency route.

Cristina’s idea is a visa or immigration category for these owners, conditional on two things:

• Holding all permits the activity requires.
• Staying current with their tax obligations.

Rather than an entirely new category, it would work as a subset of investor residency, aimed at a profile that currently falls through the cracks. Cristina also mentioned her intention to bring the proposal to the Legislative Assembly.

A win for both sides

• For owners: a more accessible path to residency that fits their investment model, and greater legal certainty about their stay.
• For Costa Rica: more rentals operating formally, better tax collection and a better-regulated tourism sector.

Vacation rentals: enforcement is already here

The proposal comes at a time when municipalities are actively reviewing short-term rentals. Properties without the proper permits can be shut down until they get them in order.

In our team’s experience, the fix is usually straightforward: owners complete their licenses, permits, insurance and tax filings, and keep operating as usual. Requirements vary by property and canton, so each case is worth reviewing with an advisor.

At Blue Zone Legal we offer end-to-end support for vacation rental owners, covering permits, tax filings and invoicing.

Investor residency: progress and bottlenecks

The episode also covered where investor residency stands today:

• New approvals: applications are being approved under the updated rules, including cases where the asset is held by a corporation.
• Minimum investment: the provision that lowered it from US$200,000 to US$150,000 expired in July. From what our team has observed, the US$150,000 threshold is expected to remain, but there is no official publication confirming it yet.
• Delays: fingerprinting appointments are scarce, and banks are applying stricter criteria to the reference letters immigration requires.
• Corporations: 2026 changes have made holding assets through a corporation more expensive and complex, at odds with the country’s goal of attracting investment.

Real estate: a buyer’s market

Cristina described the current moment as a buyer’s market. In areas that boomed after the pandemic, supply now outpaces demand, and asking prices don’t always match what properties actually sell for.

She also flagged a few things to keep in mind:

• Some projects are starting to face foreclosure, especially those by developers with little experience in the country.
• The exchange rate has cut into the purchasing power of anyone earning in dollars and spending in colones.
• Promises of 8% or 9% annual returns are rarely realistic without deep local knowledge.

And with US$500,000 to invest? Cristina would go for a short-term rental near Los Sueños, about an hour and a half from San José, as a more affordable alternative to the priciest destinations.

Advice for anyone planning a move

To wrap up, Cristina shared a few recommendations for those considering Costa Rica: find a trusted advisor before arriving, do your research, don’t rush into a purchase, and come with patience, humility and respect for the local culture.

Every proposal starts with a conversation

For now, a visa for vacation rental owners is an idea, not an existing immigration category. But the sector’s growth calls for fresh thinking, and at Blue Zone Legal we believe this is a conversation worth having.

Our thanks to Richard Bexon for the invitation and for a platform that brings these topics closer to Costa Rica’s investor community.

You can listen to the full podcast episode on Spotify or watch the video interview on YouTube.

Own property in Costa Rica or considering a real estate investment? Whether you’re purchasing property, managing a vacation rental, or looking to ensure your investment is legally compliant, our team at Blue Zone Legal is here to guide you through every step. We also provide advice on residency options for foreign investors and property owners.

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