Getting Married in Costa Rica: Legal Implications for Foreigners
Costa Rica is not just a stunning wedding destination; it’s also home to thousands of expats who have fallen in love and decide to tie the knot here. Whether you’re marrying another expat or a Costa Rican citizen, it’s important to understand that a wedding here carries legal implications, both locally and internationally. Here’s what you need to know before saying “I do” in paradise.
International Recognition of Marriages Performed in Costa Rica
Marriages performed in Costa Rica are legally recognized internationally, including in the United States, Canada, and most European countries, as long as they are properly registered. The most common type of ceremony is performed by a notary public; however you can also be married by an official at the Civil Registry or by a Catholic priest if both parties meet the church´s religious requierments. After the ceremony, the marriage must be registered with the Civil Registry for it to be legally binding.
To get married in Costa Rica, foreigners typically need to provide:
- A valid passport
- An apostilled copy of their birth certificate
- A sworn statement of non-married status
These documents must be translated into Spanish by an authorized official translator, if they were originally issued in another language, and submitted to the notary public in advance. Working with a local attorney as you make wedding plans helps ensure compliance and avoid last-minute issues.
Marital Property Regime
According to Mario Umaña, Family Law attorney at ECIJA, “In the absence of a prenuptial agreement, the community property regime applies, granting each spouse the right to half of the net value of the total assets acquired by both spouses during the marriage. However, there are some exceptions to this regime, such as assets received by inheritance or gift, those acquired before the marriage or those acquired during the spouses’ separation.”
This means that if you do not sign a prenuptial agreement, any assets acquired during the marriage, even those held in only one person’s name, will be considered joint marital property. While married, formal spousal consent is not required to buy and sell assets; however, upon separation or divorce, all assets acquired during the marriage will be considered shared and will be divided equally between the parties in divorce court.
This can have major implications for expats who own assets, both in Costa Rican and abroad, and plan on continuing to grow wealth, and should ideally be discussed before the marriage is official. While this may be a sensitive topic, it is recommended to work with a competent family attorney and work out an acceptable prenuptial agreement, prior to exchanging vows.
Mario Umaña explains that “prenuptial or postnuptial agreements are contracts that spouses may enter into either before or during the marriage to regulate their present and future assets. They must be executed in a public deed before a notary public and registered with the National Registry in order to be legally valid.” Also, he stresses that these agreements are important to prevent property-related conflicts and to minimize legal disputes and uncertainty within the marital relationship.
Marriage Can Affect Immigration Status
Marriage to a Costa Rican citizen may make you eligible for residency, but it is not automatic. You still must apply for residency, submit all of the required documentation, pay the fees and wait to have your file reviewed.
It is a common misunderstanding that applying for residency as the spouse of a Costa Rican will somehow make the process easier. However, this is simply not true. The National Immigration Department will still require the same apostilled documents from your country of origin and payment of the same fees. Also, processing times are generally the same across residency categories. In fact, this residency category has an additional step which is a personal interview carried out by an Immigration official.
Another important detail to consider is that for the first three years of residency status, the residency is considered to be “temporary” and must be renewed each year. During this time, the resident must remain married to the Costa Rican citizen in order to remain a legal resident. If the marriage ends during this period, the foreign spouse may lose legal residency status.