Fingerprints, the Caja, and the 90-day DIMEX clock — the fixed order of Costa Rica's arrival machinery.
Overview
Costa Rica's first-month machinery centres on converting your approval resolution into a DIMEX (Documento de Identidad Migratorio para Extranjeros) — the residence card that everything else (CCSS services, mainstream banking, driver's-licence conversion) keys off. The sequence is fixed by DGME: comply with the requirements listed in your approval resolution, register fingerprints with the Ministry of Public Security (applicants and dependents over 12), enrol with the CCSS — the Caja, whose proof of affiliation is a DIMEX precondition — then book the DIMEX appointment through the 1311 call centre, Banco de Costa Rica, or one of 25 Ventanilla Electrónica de Servicios desks inside Correos de Costa Rica post offices. You must complete the documentation within 90 days of notification of approval, and the card is delivered about one month after the appointment. Arrivals from yellow-fever risk countries must present the International Certificate of Vaccination at the border. Driver's-licence homologación at COSEVI only opens once you hold a DIMEX and have been in the country three months and one day consecutively — plan it for month four, not month one. Verified against migracion.go.cr, correos.go.cr, ccss.sa.cr, mopt.go.cr and ministeriodesalud.go.cr as of June 2026.
The DIMEX Machinery — Deadlines, Channels, Costs
Everything below comes from DGME's and Correos de Costa Rica's published DIMEX procedures.
| Step | Where | Timing / cost |
|---|---|---|
| Comply with your approval resolution | Requirements are listed in the resolution itself | Documentation must be completed within 90 days of notification |
| Fingerprint registration (registro de huellas) | Ministry of Public Security | Applicant and dependents over 12; required before the card issues |
| CCSS affiliation | CCSS (as employee, independent worker or voluntary insured) | Proof of affiliation is required for DIMEX issuance and every renewal |
| Book the DIMEX appointment | 1311 call centre, Banco de Costa Rica, or 25 VES desks in Correos post offices | Renewals at Correos VES cost ¢8,203.50 + VAT; first-issue amounts are confirmed when booking |
| Card delivery | Branch you selected, in person with ID | About 1 month after the appointment |
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See Paid Plans →Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to get my DIMEX after my residency is approved?
DGME's published DIMEX procedure requires you to complete the documentation process within 90 days of notification of your approval resolution. The requirements are listed in the resolution itself and typically include fingerprint registration at the Ministry of Public Security, proof of CCSS affiliation and payment of the card fees. Book the appointment through the 1311 call centre, Banco de Costa Rica, or one of the 25 Ventanilla Electrónica de Servicios desks in Correos de Costa Rica post offices; the card is then delivered, in person against your ID, about one month after the appointment.
When and how do I have to join the CCSS (the Caja)?
Immediately after approval and before the card: foreigners taking up or renewing temporary or permanent residence must show CCSS affiliation and contributions — as a salaried employee insured by an employer, as an independent worker, or as a voluntary insured under the CCSS's asegurado voluntario regulations. Contributions are assessed on your declared income, so bring documentation of your pension, rental or remote income. Keep payments current afterwards: proof of affiliation is re-checked at every DIMEX renewal, and arrears block the card precisely when you need it.
Can I open a Costa Rican bank account in my first month, before the DIMEX arrives?
Plan on limited banking until the card. Costa Rican banks generally build full account opening around the DIMEX as the identity document for foreign residents, so the realistic sequence is: approval resolution → fingerprints → CCSS → DIMEX appointment → card (about a month later) → mainstream account. Some banks will discuss simplified products on a passport — ask the specific branch what it will open in the interim — but do not architect your first month's finances around full local banking. Keep an international card and your foreign account running until the DIMEX is physically in hand.
How long can I drive on my foreign licence, and how do I convert it?
Conversion (homologación) runs through COSEVI under MOPT and is personal, in-person and appointment-only via the driver-accreditation system. You need a valid DIMEX, your valid foreign licence in good condition (with an official Spanish translation if it is in another language), a dictamen médico issued by a doctor registered with the Colegio de Médicos y Cirujanos (valid 180 days), photocopies of everything, and ¢5,000 payable once approved. Crucially, you must have been in Costa Rica for three months and one day consecutively since your last entry — so the conversion lands in month four; drive on your foreign licence lawfully in the interim while your stay remains legal.
I'm flying in via Colombia or Brazil — does the yellow-fever rule affect me?
Yes, check before booking. Under Decree 39997-S-G-SP-RE, travellers arriving in Costa Rica from yellow-fever risk countries must present the International Certificate of Vaccination to immigration, and those without it are refused entry. The Ministry of Health updated its dispositions in 2025–2026, maintaining mandatory vaccination for risk zones (South American risk countries such as Colombia, Brazil and Peru, and African risk countries feature in the current scheme) and allowing vaccinated travellers to enter without completing the former 10-day post-vaccination wait. Check the Ministry's current risk-zone list against your routing — transit rules depend on it.
What single mistake most often wrecks the first month?
Treating the 90-day DIMEX window as generous. The clock starts at notification of approval — often while people are still abroad packing — and the chain in front of the card (fingerprints at the Ministry of Public Security, CCSS affiliation with income documentation, appointment slots via 1311/BCR/Correos, then a month's wait for delivery) eats the window faster than expected. Read the approval resolution on day one, book the furthest-out step first, and don't leave the CCSS interview to week eight: affiliation is the precondition the card channel actually checks, and it requires its own paperwork.