Moving to Costa Rica with family: plan each person's status

One move can involve several applications

Make a household roster with each person's nationality, age, relationship, intended activity, and existing immigration status. Then identify the proposed main applicant and the evidence for that person's route. A marriage, partnership, or parent-child relationship matters differently across categories, so avoid assuming one dependent checklist applies everywhere.

Read the rules for the selected category

For the digital nomad program, official guidance describes spouse or partner, child, disability-related, and accompanying older-relative situations, each with its own supporting evidence. It identifies recent marriage or civil-union records and relevant birth certificates, among other documents. Use that page only for the nomad route; a residence application based on a Costa Rican family connection follows different rules.

Prepare civil records as a connected set

Compare names across passports and civil records. Make changes of surname, previous marriages, differing spellings, and custody arrangements visible to the person reviewing the file. Ask which records are actually required before ordering every document you own.

• Create one checklist and one document folder for each applicant.
• Record the issuing country and date of every relationship certificate.
• Confirm the exact dependent definition before relying on age alone.
• Plan health coverage and document costs for every person.
• Keep school enrollment, travel permissions, and immigration tasks on separate checklists.

Share a useful summary first

A first inquiry can describe the household and the route you are considering without identifying children by full name or sending their documents. Include a target move month and explain whether everyone intends to travel together. This is enough to begin organizing the questions that need an individual answer.