Moving to Costa Rica in 12 months time.

Strongly suggest you rent in the in the considered area for an extended time period prior to purchasing property. I say this for anywhere in the country.

When applying for Residency  under Rentista or Pensionado under Rentista status, the amount includes the applicant, their spouse and all their children which are under the age of 25, if they are attending university full time else they must be 18 and under. Rentista status require that you deposit US$60K when making the initial application, then a furher US$60k two years later,

For some reason I couldn't edit my previous post.

Also, if your children are over 18 and not at university, they will not be covered by your health premium and they must apply as an individual for Residency, with the same monetary requirements as you. An expensive undertaking.

Nor can ANY of you  legally work until a Permanent Resident which could take between 4-5 years from your initial application

Many thanks for your reply. I will look into this a lot further as these are the traps which can befall the unwary person. Sometimes the dream becomes a harsh reality and it is best to be well informed so it doesn't become a nightmare.
Thankyou and please keep in touch

A Rentista Visa (which I have) only requires you to have $60,000 in your bank account for 1 day, to get a letter from the bank manager confirming that you have it (to notionally provide you with an income of $2,500 / month, for 24 months).  You can then spend or invest the money elsewhere the next day.  This letter then needs to be notarized 4 times by the embassy and consulate...(big procedure).  You need to repeat the process after 2 years, with another (or the same) $60k. I highly recommend Laura Gutierrez, Immigration Consultant, [email protected].
    If this visa is obtained, you will also have to pay health care premiums ("CAJA"), which can be significant.  As a healthy single guy in my 50s, my premiums are about $250 / month, USD, ie. 10% of my notional $2,500 monthly income.  A family would be higher.  However, this does give you access to their free health care system of course, which is about the same as that in Canada, IMHO.

THankyou CanFarmBoy,
All of this helps immensely. One question how long does the Rentita visa take to get.
Thanks

There is a huge backlog for all Residency applicants right now and has been for the past few years, so expect your application to take at least 18 months +...

The Immigration offices have been closed for months now.

We applied for Rentista status and it took nearly 3 years, but of course, others  have been quicker.

It's a wait and see scenario...

thankyou Kohlerias