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Working in Costa Rica as an Expat

August 17, 2021 Live, Q&A

Quick comment from: we just want to clarify that this article is from the author’s perspective. What we want to highlight is that working in Costa Rica is not as simply as applying and getting hired. The legal process is going to be different for each person, similar to other countries Costa Rican law is designed to ensure preference for local workers. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published last month their employment analysis and Costa Rica’s unemployment rate was of 17.7% and experts predict that it won’t improve due to the global crisis we are still going through, this is just so that we can all understand that there are plenty of local talent applying for jobs. As always if you have questions we are here to help you, now back to the article.

 

Costa Rica was once a place where expatriates came to live off their pensions and retirement, enjoying the golden years, where now increasingly a younger generation wants to come to work and play. Some expatriates who wish to have a way of making money while enjoying the beauty of Costa Rica start up a business or invest in an existing one. However, not all of us have that kind of capital, and some of us just want to get out of the fast-pace routine and be employees in a different culture , before walking down to the beach to relax in the Pacific or Caribbean waves.

Expats often work in the fields of tourism, real estate, and English language teaching, amongst others. Some work in call centers to top up the savings accrued before arriving in the country. Costa Rica is unlikely to pay the salaries many people can earn back home, but if that’s the reason for coming to Costa Rica, you’re missing the point. This is a place to enjoy and to celebrate a relaxed way of life. Here are a few tips on living the dream and paying for it as you go with a steady job.

  • Work visas. First point – you can’t legally work in Costa Rica without a work permit or the correct Residency status, and work permits are most certainly not easy to get. Costa Rica protects its workforce, and you are unlikely to get a permit for a job that a Tico can do. It’s very difficult for businesses to hire foreigners if a Tico has applied for the same job. If you have Temporary Residency based on Marriage or Permanent Residency (may it be because you have held Temporary for at least 3 years or because you have had a child in Costa Rica), you are allowed to work. Also, if you have been a legal Resident for at least 5 (for Central Americans, Iberoamericans and Spanish by birth) or 7 years (all other nationalities including US, Canadian, European, etc.) you may be eligible for Citizenship. As a Citizen you can work in the country.
  • Where to work? Most jobs, and most industries, are found in the Central Valley area. So if you’re looking for a well-paid job you will be fishing in a bigger pond applying here. However, many expatriates naturally want to live by the coast, and there are jobs in the coastal areas too. Just not as many and they are apt to be more seasonal. In other words, you’re more likely to be laid off in the beach towns in low-season, or if there’s a down-turn in tourism, or in the rainy season. So, if you are looking to combine making a living and surfing all year round, bring money with you. It might be that it is only there as a safety net, but better to have it than not.
  • Corporate work. There are many multinational companies in Costa Rica. Walmart, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Shell, IBM, Amazon, Pfizer, and Proctor & Gamble are just a few of the organizations that employ thousands of people in Costa Rica, attracted by the generous tax incentives offered by the Costa Rican government. If you’re looking for a well-paid (for Costa Rica) job in the Central Valley, these companies tend to recruit all year long and prioritize English-speakers when recruiting. Most of them have an English test as part of the recruitment process, which is why English language schools are very popular in Costa Rica (more on that below).

Some high-paid jobs require an English level of C1 (e.g., low advanced), which few Costa Ricans possess, which is where you can come in. Costa Rican law dictates that these companies can fill a maximum of 10% of their positions with foreign workers . However, that still leaves a healthy market for expatriates who can demonstrate value to a company since multinational call centers communicate with clients around the world and use English as their lingua franca.

A great benefit to these positions is that you can apply for them and be recruited before you even leave your native soil. Eddie, a friend from Ireland told me, “I wanted to be somewhere in Central America, I wasn’t sure where. So, I went on the Glassdoor (recruitment) website and applied for jobs in Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru. All of those places that looked amazing. I didn’t know then, but most of these kinds of jobs are in Costa Rica’s Central Valley and that’s where I got accepted, working for Walmart as a quality auditor. So, I packed my bags, quit my job in Dublin, found some digs in San Jose, and bye-bye winter! It’s a great salary for the region and I’ve travelled to Peru, Colombia, Nicaragua and Panama on long weekends and vacations. It worked out very nicely.”

These major companies (and some small companies as well) are generally accredited by the Immigration Department.  Due to their current influx of foreign workforce, companies can be accredited (following a process) at the Immigration Department and thus, receive incentives such as having their work permit applications approved in a matter of months with much less scrutiny than a normal work permit. Applicants can also work whilst the application is ongoing which is a right reserved solely for accredited company-sponsored work permit applications. Any other work permit application must be approved before you can actually work. Generally the HR Department of the company knows if the company is accredited or not so you can check that when going through the hiring process .

Another place to look is on virtual job fairs such as CINDE’s Job Link which happens online a couple of times a year. These job fairs look for a wide variety of positions and it’s possible you find something there.

  • English Teaching. The one of most common job for expats is teaching English. For Ticos, speaking a high standard of English or any other additional language, is an almost essential skill, allowing them to get better-paid jobs, advance in their career and/or work outside of Costa Rica. English is a worldwide language and used by most international businesses, so the Tico who speaks English has a great advantage in the recruitment process. Therefore, English teachers are constantly sought in Costa Rica.

One of the problems English schools have is not recruiting, but retaining employees, as many young people use their English qualification to travel, spending a few months teaching in one place, then moving on to another, sometimes in the same country, sometimes moving onto the next country on their list. If you’re willing to spend anywhere between $200 – $600 on an intensive TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course, you really do have a passport to travel. English teachers don’t earn a lot in Costa Rica, between $8-15 an hour, or around $1,000 a month, but that goes a long way if you know how to budget in Costa Rica. (See my article on Living on a Budget in Costa Rica for advice on how that can be done.) English teaching positions can be obtained before you leave your home country, and many jobs come with board on lodgings. Check out the English teaching jobs on Craigslist, Dave’s ESL Café, Facebook expat groups, and other websites. Do some background research on the schools you apply to, as not all of them are as reputable as they seem, and the hours promised may not be available. But there are many large and medium-sized schools where you can have a rewarding and fulfilling career helping Costa Ricans achieve their own dreams by learning to speak a language you got for free! Make sure to bring your qualifications with you as most schools want to see the originals.

  • Non-Governmental Organizations (N.G.O.s) . If you have funds to support you, volunteer work in Costa Rica is abundant. This can range from internships with ministries that work in conservation, school building, affordable housing construction, and environmental projects. A friend of mine works on turtle conservation on the Caribbean coast and says “I saved to come here and really wanted to do this kind of work. I love it for itself but think about it on your resume. ‘Turtle conservation in the Costa Rican Caribbean.’ It really says something about you!”
  • Telecommuting (working remotely). If you have skills in a business market that would allow you to freelance or work remotely from anywhere in the world, you can live in Costa Rica while ‘telecommuting’ to a job that is located outside of the country. Popular jobs include IT consulting, web design, copywriting/editing, and translation, and this type of work can provide flexibility, as well as a better income than what you may get by working for a company in Costa Rica. Telecommuters tend to be among the expats who earn a good salary in Costa Rica. As long as you receive your salary from another country, this is a very easy way to work in Costa Rica, just switch on your laptop and log in to your workplace. There are no current regulations for telecommuting (there is a law for Digital Nomads that has been approved, however, the ruling that will dictate how this law is used is yet to be published. The current law does not prohibit digital nomads). You don’t need a sponsor or a residency work visa.

These are just some of the ways to earn a living or support yourself while living in Costa Rica. Before you enter Costa Rica, or while you’re here, there are many ways to search for jobs in Costa Rica. I have listed a few that might help you find that job in paradise. Good job hunting!

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