Giving Birth in Costa Rica; implications for the parents

When a baby is born to non-nationals, it will be a Costa Rican citizen. Parents can apply for residency after receiving a birth certificate, however neither of you can physically 'work' until they have been given a cedula....which may still take a year. Fees will apply for the parents application for Permanent Residency (not citizenship at this time) even if you do not use a lawyer. It is advisable that child can/should also be registered in your home country.

Like most expats, you probably want the baby to be delivered in a private hospital.

When entering the country as a tourist, you are required to show a return ticket out of Costa Rica, dated less than 90 days or less depending on your citizenship.

Thank you for your response Kohlerias.
Do you know if there any other prerequisites for the parents when applying for the residency visa? Or is the fact that the baby is born in Costa Rica sufficient?
For example, I believe in Chile you still would need to proof income or funds on bank account.

There is no financial information required as the parent of a CR citizen, however it is mandatory that you sign up for the CAJA socialized health care system, who will require it, to base your monthly premium on it.

For the application:

    Application Form
    Cover Letter
    Passport Size photographs
    Fingerprints
    Consular Registration
    Birth Certificate Police Records
    Copy of passport
    Certificate from the Civil Registry demonstrating the relation with a Costa Rican citizen
    Payment receipt for the application fee and the change of status fee

More info here

Please note that Costa Rica is considered to be the most expensive country to live in Central America.

When you are required to exit Costa Rica to renew your tourist visa at the max. of 90 days, until you have the necessary paperwork for residency, you may be asked for bank info. on re-entry.

Hello. We have a 7 year old girl, born in Liberia, and a 14 year old girl born in our country. The three of us were ¨permanent tourist¨(not to say illegal) at the time¨, never left the country in five years; so to get our residence  we had to leave Costa Rica. At first, we were afraid the Tico consulate in our country would reject our reentry on account of our time as illegals. Luckily we were given reentry and in three months we got our residence for the three of us. We had to pay a fee, two years later we had to re apply and to pay again, this time for five years. This year we can apply for citizenship if we want. We had to register with the CCSS; besides that, no other requirement is asked.

kohlerias wrote:

There is no financial information required as the parent of a CR citizen, however it is mandatory that you sign up for the CAJA socialized health care system, who will require it, to base your monthly premium on it.

For the application:

    Application Form
    Cover Letter
    Passport Size photographs
    Fingerprints
    Consular Registration
    Birth Certificate Police Records
    Copy of passport
    Certificate from the Civil Registry demonstrating the relation with a Costa Rican citizen
    Payment receipt for the application fee and the change of status fee

More info here

Please note that Costa Rica is considered to be the most expensive country to live in Central America.

When you are required to exit Costa Rica to renew your tourist visa at the max. of 90 days, until you have the necessary paperwork for residency, you may be asked for bank info. on re-entry.

It is not mandatory for a Costa Rica Citizen to sign up for caja.

A CR citizen, no, but the parents of a child born here are  not automatically/immediately CR citizens, although they can apply after living here as Permanent residents after 2 years.

They can live as tourist before applying for citizenship, without the caja.                 "There is no financial information required as the parent of a CR citizen, however it is mandatory that you sign up for the CAJA socialized health care system, who will require it, to base your monthly premium on it."     This is not true.

Of course,  I may be wrong,  although, as far as I am aware if the parents apply for Permanent residency due to the birth of their child, they are 'expected' to be affiliated with CAJA. If the parents continue to be just 'tourists' I guess you are right.

I looked carefully at Chile and Argentina before settling on having my first child in Costa Rica.

Chile has a better passport (it gets you into more countries visa free) , but it's more difficult, expensive and time consuming to get.  Also in Chile having a baby there is no help for the parents in getting residency, the parents have to go through the usual immigration process.

Argentina is easy to get citizenship for your baby and residency and then citizenship for the parents.  We didn't go to Argentina because the country is slightly unsettled now and besides that it's the southern hemisphere winter and I couldn't find a place with enough sun for me in August.

In Costa Rica, people say that it's easy for your baby who is born here to get a Costa Rican birth certificate and a passport  and after that it's easy for the parents to get residency because of the baby and it may also be easy to get a passport for the parents because of your baby.

Perhaps someone with more experience than me can write about what is need for the parents to get a passport based on having a baby in Costa Rica.

"Perhaps someone with more experience than me can write about what is need for the parents to get a passport based on having a baby in Costa Rica"

What you need to get a passport, here or anywhere else, is to be a citizen of the country . If you have a child born in Costa Rica, just apply for residence which is awarded fairly easy and fast. One thing, do not use a lawyer or you will be waiting forever or until your bank account is depleted; do it yourselves, we did it. Once you are residents, you wait five years to apply for citizenship, then you get the passport.

I think that the requirement is  after seven years in Costa Rica then you can apply for CR citizenship. Two years, if married to a CR citizen.

On this website, it lists government fees associated when you apply for residency based on the birth of a child, due even when you do not choose to use a lawyer.

Many seem to think it's free...but it's not.

Thanks for the tips.

There will be another Tico baby here in August so wish us luck.