Costa Rican citizenship by descent: who qualifies, the law, and what it takes

Q: Can you claim Costa Rican citizenship through a parent?

Possible. A child of a Costa Rican parent is Costa Rican by birth once registered at the consulate or Civil Registry, but you must register before turning 25. If you were born before 2001: unlikely. If you were born in 2002 or later: likely. If the parent is your mother and you were born before 2001: unlikely. If the parent is your mother and you were born in 2002 or later: likely.

Q: Can you claim Costa Rican citizenship through a grandparent?

Possible. Nationality passes from parent to child; each generation registers in turn, so your parent establishes their Costa Rican nationality first, then you. Registration must be filed before age 25 (Art. 13(2)); later, naturalisation applies.

Q: Can you claim Costa Rican citizenship through a great-grandparent?

Possible. Nationality passes from parent to child; each generation registers in turn, so your parent establishes their Costa Rican nationality first, then you. Registration must be filed before age 25 (Art. 13(2)); later, naturalisation applies.

Through a parentPOSSIBLECitizen by descent Through a grandparentPOSSIBLECitizen by descent, generation by generation Through a great-grandparentPOSSIBLECitizen by descent, generation by generation

Ways to apply: Citizen by descent (Art. 13)
Dual citizenship: Kept, however you apply

Each answer assumes none of your ancestors became a citizen of another country before their child was born. Below is what changes each answer.

On this page

01Who qualifies
02Dates that matter
03Through your mother
04Keeping your citizenship
05Ways to apply
06The documents
07What it takes
08Where the records live
09Law changes
10Other options
11Sources

Who qualifies, generation by generation

POSSIBLE

Can you claim Costa Rican citizenship through a parent?

Citizen by descent

A child of a Costa Rican parent is Costa Rican by birth once registered at the consulate or Civil Registry, but you must register before turning 25.

What would settle itYour age: registration is open to you only until your 25th birthday, unless your parent registered you as a child.

A child born abroad to a Costa Rican by birth is Costa Rican by birth if registered in the Civil Registry, by the Costa Rican parent while a minor or by the child personally until turning 25. Political Constitution of Costa Rica, Art. 13(2): children of Costa Rican parents born abroad, registered in the Civil Registry before age 25, Art. 13(2)

What changes the answer

UNLIKELY
If you were born before 2001
The window to register as a Costa Rican by birth closes at 25; unless your parent registered you as a child, the option now is naturalisation, which needs residence in Costa Rica.
LIKELY
If you were born in 2002 or later
Citizen by descent
UNLIKELY
If the parent is your mother and you were born before 2001
The window to register as a Costa Rican by birth closes at 25; unless your parent registered you as a child, the option now is naturalisation, which needs residence in Costa Rica.
LIKELY
If the parent is your mother and you were born in 2002 or later
Citizen by descent

POSSIBLE

Can you claim Costa Rican citizenship through a grandparent?

Citizen by descent, generation by generation

Nationality passes from parent to child; each generation registers in turn, so your parent establishes their Costa Rican nationality first, then you. Registration must be filed before age 25 (Art. 13(2)); later, naturalisation applies.

What would settle itWhether your parent can be registered as a Costa Rican national first.

A child born abroad to a Costa Rican by birth is Costa Rican by birth if registered in the Civil Registry, by the Costa Rican parent while a minor or by the child personally until turning 25. Political Constitution of Costa Rica, Art. 13(2): children of Costa Rican parents born abroad, registered in the Civil Registry before age 25, Art. 13(2)
Each generation must itself be registered in time: your parent before 25, then you before 25. Political Constitution of Costa Rica, Art. 13(2): children of Costa Rican parents born abroad, registered in the Civil Registry before age 25, Art. 13(2)

POSSIBLE

Can you claim Costa Rican citizenship through a great-grandparent?

Citizen by descent, generation by generation

What would settle itWhether your parent can be registered as a Costa Rican national first.

A child born abroad to a Costa Rican by birth is Costa Rican by birth if registered in the Civil Registry, by the Costa Rican parent while a minor or by the child personally until turning 25. Political Constitution of Costa Rica, Art. 13(2): children of Costa Rican parents born abroad, registered in the Civil Registry before age 25, Art. 13(2)
Each generation must itself be registered in time: your parent before 25, then you before 25. Political Constitution of Costa Rica, Art. 13(2): children of Costa Rican parents born abroad, registered in the Civil Registry before age 25, Art. 13(2)

The dates that matter

No date named in Costa Rica’s rule decides who qualifies. The answers above turn on the family’s facts, not on when anyone was born or left.

Claiming through your mother or grandmother

In Costa Rica’s rule, the answer changes when the ancestor you descend through is a woman:

UNLIKELY
If the parent is your mother and you were born before 2001
The window to register as a Costa Rican by birth closes at 25; unless your parent registered you as a child, the option now is naturalisation, which needs residence in Costa Rica.
LIKELY
If the parent is your mother and you were born in 2002 or later
Citizen by descent

Dual citizenship with your home country

You keep your citizenship.

On every open route, the rule lets a citizen of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina or South Africa keep that citizenship.

Holding this citizenship alongside another is addressed by the law cited; check the current position before relying on it. Political Constitution of Costa Rica, Art. 13(2): children of Costa Rican parents born abroad, registered in the Civil Registry before age 25

Every way to apply, and the law behind it

Citizen by descent

Open to you through a parent

POSSIBLE
Through a parent

The law

A child born abroad to a Costa Rican by birth is Costa Rican by birth if registered in the Civil Registry, by the Costa Rican parent while a minor or by the child personally until turning 25. Political Constitution of Costa Rica, Art. 13(2): children of Costa Rican parents born abroad, registered in the Civil Registry before age 25, Art. 13(2)

What would settle an unsure case

Your age: registration is open to you only until your 25th birthday, unless your parent registered you as a child.
Whether your Costa Rican parent registered your birth with the Civil Registry while you were a minor; if so, you are already Costa Rican.

Citizen by descent, generation by generation

Open to you through a grandparent or a great-grandparent

POSSIBLE
Through a grandparent

The law

A child born abroad to a Costa Rican by birth is Costa Rican by birth if registered in the Civil Registry, by the Costa Rican parent while a minor or by the child personally until turning 25. Political Constitution of Costa Rica, Art. 13(2): children of Costa Rican parents born abroad, registered in the Civil Registry before age 25, Art. 13(2)
Each generation must itself be registered in time: your parent before 25, then you before 25. Political Constitution of Costa Rica, Art. 13(2): children of Costa Rican parents born abroad, registered in the Civil Registry before age 25, Art. 13(2)

What would settle an unsure case

Whether your parent can be registered as a Costa Rican national first.

The documents, as the rule lists them

Citizen by descent

Through a parent

Your parent’s Costa Rican birth certificate or identity document
Your birth certificate, apostilled and translated

Citizen by descent, generation by generation

Through a grandparent or great-grandparent

Your ancestor’s Costa Rican birth certificate
Birth and marriage records for each generation, registered in turn

Most countries also want proof that your ancestor didn’t become a citizen somewhere else before their child was born: the naturalization record with its date, or a letter saying there isn’t one.

What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides

Citizen by descent

Time: A few weeks to a few months at the consulate or Civil Registry, and it must be filed before you turn 25.
Cost: About $150–350: registration fee, apostilles and certified translations.
The hard part: The age-25 deadline. Filed on time, bring your parent’s Costa Rican cédula or birth certificate and your own apostilled birth certificate; filed late, the option becomes naturalization instead.
Who decides: The Costa Rican consulate for your address, or the Registro Civil directly, before age 25.
The first record: Your parent’s Costa Rican birth certificate (certificación de nacimiento), from The Registro Civil, part of the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE). Request the certificación online through the TSE’s portal or at a Registro Civil office with the full name and approximate date; it issues in days to a few weeks. tse.go.cr

How it’s filed

Where: The TSE’s Sección de Inscripciones in San José (or a regional office), or the Costa Rican consulate for your state, which sends the file to the Registro Civil. office list
How: In person; you appear in person
Form: No form (‘No aplica’): a declaration made in person at the Sección de Inscripciones or a consulate
Appointments: Each consulate books its own appointments by phone or email (listed with each consulate); Los Angeles uses Calendly for passports and cédulas
Fee: No fee
Decision: 4–17 weeks

Your consulate

Every office in the United States (6)

Consulate of Costa Rica in Atlanta

Serves Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina

How: In person; you appear in person
Address: 6425 Powers Ferry Rd NW, Suite 297, Sandy Springs, GA 30339

678-653-8707, concr-us-ga@rree.go.cr.

Who qualifies, generation by generation

Can you claim Costa Rican citizenship through a parent?

What changes the answer

Can you claim Costa Rican citizenship through a grandparent?

Can you claim Costa Rican citizenship through a great-grandparent?

The dates that matter

Claiming through your mother or grandmother

Dual citizenship with your home country

Every way to apply, and the law behind it

The law

What would settle an unsure case

The law

What would settle an unsure case

The documents, as the rule lists them

Citizen by descent

Citizen by descent, generation by generation

What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides

Citizen by descent

How it’s filed

Citizen by descent, generation by generation

How it’s filed

Where each record lives, and how to ask for it

Translations

The passport

Recent and pending changes

If descent doesn’t reach you

Every source on this page

Check your family for Costa Rica.

Who qualifies, generation by generation

Can you claim Costa Rican citizenship through a parent?

What changes the answer

Can you claim Costa Rican citizenship through a grandparent?

Can you claim Costa Rican citizenship through a great-grandparent?

The dates that matter

Claiming through your mother or grandmother

Dual citizenship with your home country

Every way to apply, and the law behind it

The law

What would settle an unsure case

The law

What would settle an unsure case

The documents, as the rule lists them

Citizen by descent

Citizen by descent, generation by generation

What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides

Citizen by descent

How it’s filed

Citizen by descent, generation by generation

How it’s filed

Where each record lives, and how to ask for it

Translations

The passport

Recent and pending changes

If descent doesn’t reach you

Every source on this page

Check your family for Costa Rica.