What can you move/bring into Costa Rica?

You can bring homeopathic medicines, essential oils,  clothes, shoes. Framed art prints would very likely survive well inside a house, more so if you have air condintioning. I've seen people hang canvas art on their outer walls under protected roofs, but they probably put a layer of clear varnish on them & I couldn't say how long before they need a cleaning. With bringing bigger or more delicate things like art you will need to find an importer, which can work out, but I've heard many people have issues with things showing up 6 months later & either damaged or “missing”. Maybe someone else can recommend a good import company.

If you are buying a property worth $150k or more you can get permanent residency, which waves import tax  on up to two vehicles. It's still very pricy to import, but you wont be charged the 100% import tax. Keep in mind you'd only want to import cars that you can find parts for in Costa Rica.

It's unclear if you've visited the country yet if you're asking if you can bring clothes and other basics. I'd recomendad visiting stores down there and seeing what you can or cant find.

I'm planning to bring about 4 suitcases, plus maybe a large tote via airplane. That way I won't have to pay import tax, and wait 6 months for broken or missing items. 1 for clothes, 1 for bedding, 1 kitchen/non-common gardening gear, 1 for all my beauty care. You'll be able to find items in all these catagories in country, but maybe not specific items. My biggest personal item would be a kitchenaid stand mixer bc of how much I paid for it & how difficult or expensive it seems to find to re-buy in country. I've found other stand mixers in CR, but very pricy for lesser quality.

What you bring depends on your means and the life style you want to live. Someone once said ~If you come rich (and live the same way) you'll lose money trying to sustain the same level of comfort & entertainment etc, poor people that come to Costa Rica either make money or improve their standard of living.

Wow! Thank you so much for all the time and effort to respond to all my questions and share other perspectives. I am grateful for your thoughtful response. Where did you find the information about homeopathics and essential oils being allowed?

@Ktlemongrass.....Poor people coming into Costa Rica,what are you talking about ?? !! The only poor they let in are Nicaraguenses who are our agriculture and construction labor force....These other poor foreigners or tourists asking if they can bring in their shoes and a toothbrush they won't make it in.......Costa Rica can pick and choose who can stay ! The U.S.and Europe can learn a lot from Costa Rica's common sense......Can they not ?

Above, you asked, "Where did you find the information about homeopathics and essential oils being allowed?"

The question is better framed, "what can you NOT bring into Costa Rica?"

As a tourist arriving by air, you can bring a three-month supply of virtually any medications, cosmetics, supplements, etc. You may NOT bring firearms or ammunition, live plants including seeds and bulbs, and a few other items.

If you are moving your household goods from North America via container (highly recommended), you can bring anything that's neither restricted nor prohibited.

Do a Google search on "Items that are restricted for importation to Costa Rica". And a second search on "Items that are prohibited from importation to Costa Rica". Restricted items require an import permit from the government. (Hopeyou love bureaucracy.) Prohibited items may not be imported under any circumstances.

We brought everything but the snowshoes in our container and would do it again. As compared to selling your household goods in a garage sale and taking a few pennies on the dollar, it will be cheaper and it will save you many headaches. True, you can pretty much (pretty much) replace everything when you get here, but (1) you don't know where to look, (2) there isn't the selection you're used to, and (3) due to import duties and shipping costs, the same or similar items (consider stand mixers, for example) will be much more expensive here.

@daveandmarcia

Very helpful info - thank you!!

I should have added above that, in addition to the household belongings we brought, I wish we had brought a vehicle. There was room in our forty-foot shipping container, so the freight cost would have been nothing. Government fees still would apply.

If I planned on owning a vehicle here in Costa Rica, I would either import one from the U.S. or buy a new one from the brand importer here. I can go on and on if anybody's interested.

@daveandmarcia when you apply for residency dont you get to import 2 vehicles without import tax? im a little confused on where there is some other tax. what ports and company did you use for shipping? thanks!

@daveandmarcia  Please do "go on" 😊! I for one would love to hear any and all input on this topic 😊!  Thanks so much.

Laura Spiers, above, you asked, ". . . " when you apply for residency don't (sic) you get to import 2 vehicles without import tax?"  The answer, if what I've read is correct, is a qualified "well, yes and no".

What I've read is that an arriving aspiring legal resident may import two vehicles free of import duties and (maybe) other government fees. There is, however, a catch.

The catch is that, upon entry into Costa Rica, every imported vehicle is charged the same fees whether it's owned by a resident-to-be or a car importer/dealer. After the owner has achieved legal residency and after a year (I think) has passed, only then can that legal resident apply for a refund of the import duty which refund may or may not actually be granted during the remaining lifetime of the owner the way things work here. So the answer is "well, yes and no".

When you think about this from the government's point of view, it makes sense. If they waived the import duty when the vehicle first arrived, and if you didn't have to keep it for a year, then every visitor to Costa Rica who told Immigration that they would be applying for legal residency would bring in two vehicles duty-free and immediately sell them at a price much lower than what legitimately imported "For Sale" vehicles would cost.

Laura, above you also asked ". . . what ports and company did you use for shipping?"

The simple answer is "don't worry about it."

What's important, whether you're importing household goods, vehicles or anything else is that you use a Costa Rica-based container shipping company. It's a simple matter to arrange for a container to be delivered to your home in North America, to have it trucked to the logical port of exit (the company will know),  to have it loaded onto a Costa Rica-bound container ship, and to have it off-loaded in the logical Costa Rican port of entry. I could probably arrange it, and certainly any legitimate U.S. moving company (think Bekins, North American Van Lines, Mayflower, etc) could do the same.

What's not so easy is getting your shipment through the port of entry here, through Costa Rican Customs, and ultimately to your home. That requires local knowledge and local contacts.

The moral of this story is, use a Costa Rican container shipping company and avoid a world of hassles all in a language you may not speak (at least fluently).

We used a Costa Rican container shipping company and did not have a stellar experience, so I'm not going to tell you who they are.

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You

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I've seen this type of question on other forums.  Those who pay to have shipping containers delivered to their new homes in CR either say it was Great!!   or they tell horror stories.

So it's a gamble.

I did my homework and the 'word' that I got from Real Expats... people actually living here and not spending a few months at vacation homes was:  Don't ship.  Bring whatever you can WITH you on the plane. 

So I did just that.  I realized that there were going to be many other hassles and hurdles coming here and dealing with Residency, real estate, healthcare, climate, language, etc.,  I really didn't want a big headache trying to bring my grandmother's ugly old rocking chair and an old dresser... when those things were not going to be deal breakers on being 'happy' here.

I bought some large canvas 'suitcases' and some 18" and 20" square cardboard boxes (which I reinforced with extra cardboard and then taped the heck out of them) and went to work.  I had to make 5 trips here for various reasons (closing on the property I bought; bringing 3 cats; going back to USA to sell property, etc.) so I had plenty of opportunity to bring 'stuff'.  Yes... I had to pay the airline extra for checking extra bags, and even for 'overweight' items... but it was worth it.  I had my 'stuff' in My Possession when I landed... there was never EVER an issue at customs in SJ...  never.  And because I packed it... nothing was broken.  I was able to take the actual suitcases back to refill in the states, and bought more boxes at Staples.

I brought tons of clothes... but nothing for winter because there is No Winter here... and I'm not going back to the states as long as U-Know-Who lives and walks... so I won't be needing sweaters or parkas.  I brought tons of dishes (vintage 1930's glass dishes) and pots and pans and other kitchen stuff... even a few small appliances.   I wrapped and packed it all with my clothes, towels, bedding, etc... so it traveled well.   Because I was using American Airlines... they, at the time, (2018) allowed for cardboard boxes... amazing what fits in a box that size.

I also brought tools... mostly hand tools, but a few power tools, and many other tool-oriented items like levels, tape measures, etc.   From what I can tell... it was very economical for me to bring the tools... as they are not cheap here because virtually everything in CR at Hardware stores is imported.  I did buy some power tools here... and I was warned by Ticos to stay away from cheap Chinese brand power tools. You can find the same good NA and Euro brands here that we had in the states.

I also brought Art... but just sculpture and oil paintings... an expat friend told me that the humidity here would not be friendly to works on paper... and because I live without AC...  paper was a no-no.  Glad I did this...  art makes a house a home.

I brought many things... but no furniture.   I bought all of my furniture and lighting and appliances here... and I took my time doing that so that I could refine my searches and not settle for some of the ugly stuff that is sold here (tons of ugly furniture here!).  I even found acceptable Mid-Century furniture in SJ at a place called Nordico... and excellent regionally manufactured furnishings from tropical hardwoods (from Nic.) at a place called Masaya.   It took some time... but I'm so glad I didn't go on one massive shopping spree... because Surprise!!!   you really don't need that much here...  I spend more time in my $39 hammock, outside the house, than anything else!!

I noticed something that one commentor wrote and I'll comment on that... He/she wrote that selling everything they 'had' at a garage sale back in the States would only result in making 'pennies' on the dollar, so it was advantageous? to ship it all...  How much did that Shipping Container and home delivery and pick up, COST ?? (plus insurance) on 'stuff' that's only worth a few pennies on the dollar???  My guess is, more was spent on shipping it than what the stuff was worth.  So why bother??

I, on the other hand, did my due diligence when the decision was made to sell 'everything'... I called an auction house and they sent an appraiser.  He took photos and then designated which items would go into which auctions.... They took most of my furniture and art.   They sold them at a variety of different auctions, according to 'theme' ...  like contemporary, mid-century, art only, etc.  Not surprising, many of my items sold for way more than I had originally paid back in the 80's and 90's when I was a young collector.  What the auction didn't take, I either sold at a trendy flea market (people will buy anything!!) or I donated it to charity thrift.  And I was able to 'gift' some of it to good friends and family members who had made it clear, over the years, that they liked certain things.  Everybody was happy.

I made enough to buy all new furniture for my home in western San Carlos canton (bought a property for $54K on 1500 sq meter lot); as well as most of my construction 'finish' materials (the existing house was an old farmhouse, which I gutted, renovated, added on, did lots of garden hardscaping, etc.)   I put a total of another $35K into it ... so I'm still under $100K; all in.

So that's my two cents.  But we are all different people.

Amazing... I really don't miss nor think about any of the stuff that is gone.  Maybe the tropical heat is helping to melt it all away.  I still have a few pieces of art, my family photos, and a great new life.

Peace to you all

rainagain, above you asked what it cost to ship our household goods to Costa Rica. 'kay, here goes . . .

The total cost, door-to-door, was about $5,300 in 2005. That included Costa Rican Customs' charge. My understanding is that now aspiring expats/residents can import household goods tax-free.

I did all the packing.

We shipped all our artwork, which we insured for about $125,000, in that $5,300 price. There was plenty that we did not insure, but my estimate is that the total replacement cost of everything in the container would have easily exceeded $150,000. We shipped virtually everything but, as I wrote above, the snowshoes.

I knew a guy who was the national fire insurance claim manager for a major insurance company. He told me that no one really appreciates the value of all the contents in their home, so for his adjusters, settling a claim for a total loss in a house fire was easy. Just write a check for the face amount of the policy and walk away. We accumulate stuff a piece or two at a time and don't keep track of what we spent. Imagine trying to put a replacement value on just your Christmas tree ornaments, the ones you've owned for years.

We did not ship appliances which was a mistake. There was plenty of space in the container, so there would have been no added cost there. Those appliances would, however, have increased the Customs duty somewhat.

When folks who are considering relocating to Costa Rica visit us. I do a presentation about why it makes sense to ship. I use our Oneida stainless steel flatware (service for 12) as an example. At a theoretical garage sale, visitors have offered as much as $25 for the lot. Today, at Amazon replacing those knives, forks and spoons would cost at least $300.

Now, you could take that $25, and go shopping, but you're new and don't know where to begin. And when you do find flatware for sale, there isn't much selection, the quality isn't what you (almost) gave away, and the "replacement" cost would be more like $400 due to shipping and import duty charges, but you only have the $25 from the garage sale. You'll be about $375 short.

Now, you apply that $375 shortfall across every single thing you own (except the snowshoes) and it's pretty clear that investing in a container shipment will likely put you way ahead.

But there are two other concerns . . .

First, you own things, in part, because they're dear to you. I'm talking about the wedding pictures, the ashtray you kid made at summer camp, your grandmother's hutch, and things that you acquired for the simple reasons that they are either beautiful or truly useful like artwork, the stand mixer, the food processor, the toaster, the microwave, the Christmas ornaments, and on and on. And don't forget that garageful of perfectly functional tools most of which you'll end up replacing. Try to replace all those things that cost more here, and which you virtually gave away, with the proceeds from your garage sale.

Second, you don't know what's available to buy here in Costa Rica and, as a newbie, you don't know where to start looking. If you think that there's a nearby WalMart, Home Depot, or Lowe's, rotsa ruck!

When you consider the financial hit you'll take by ridding yourself of all the things you bought over the years because you either needed them or just because you liked them, and suddenly it becomes clear that keeping the stuff that's important to you in your new surroundings makes good sense. Whether it's a Picasso or a black velvet Elvis, if you like it, if it brightens your day, you'll miss it sooner or later.

Then consider the hassle of shopping in a totally foreign environment that you're not familiar with, in a language you may not speak fluently, and in a foreign currency. And in the meantime, 'til the washer and dryer are delivered, try to find a laundromat. "Surely, there must be . . .", well, no.

P.S. I always (ALWAYS) recommend you use a container importer who's based here in Costa Rica. Only they have the experience and the contacts to get your goods to you with the minimum of problems.