Costa Rica Rentista Visa: Need U.S. CPA for the income letter

gnostic New member

Member since 20 September 2021

gnosticNew member20 March 2026 22:16:11

Hey everyone, I am currently pulling my hair out over the Rentista visa paperwork and hoping someone here has a solution or a contact.

I easily exceed the $2,500/month income requirement through passive investment cash flow from my U.S. brokerage accounts. I have years of flawless statements proving this consistent income. My immigration attorney provided the standard DGME template for a U.S. CPA to sign, verifying my income for the next 24 months.

The Problem: For reasons I cannot understand, every single U.S. CPA I contact flat-out refuses to sign the template. Even with perfect brokerage statements, they are telling me they cannot "guarantee" future income and will only verify past income.

Since I know I can't be the only U.S. citizen who has hit this wall, I have three quick questions:

Does anyone have a contact for a U.S.-based CPA who actually understands this process and is willing to just sign the template? (I have all the statements ready to go).

Has anyone successfully bypassed the CPA requirement by getting a U.S. brokerage (like E*TRADE, Schwab, or Fidelity) to write a notarized letter verifying an automated $2,500/month withdrawal plan?

Did anyone else hit this wall and just give up and do the $60,000 Costa Rican bank deposit route instead? Is it worth the hassle to keep looking for a CPA, or should I just wire the $60k and buy my peace of mind?

Any advice, CPA contacts, or shared misery would be incredibly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

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daveandmarcia Serial expat

Member since 03 February 2023

daveandmarciaSerial expat21 March 2026 15:23:06

354

I don't know if this will help or not, but it's worth investigating.

Instead of trying to get a U.S.-based accountant to provide the document(s) you need, how about trying a "Public Accountant"* here in Costa Rica. The last time we went through this process (when we were applying for citizenship), we used a Costa Rican Public Accountant who examined our documents and wrote a detailed document that listed our incomes. The U.S. Embassy in San Jose provided the Social Security documents and the CR government accepted bank statements printed offline.

*Costa Rica has "public" accountants and "private" accountants. You'll need a public accountant to make the government happy.