The notice must be provided in writing, but if the contract is made verbally, notice can be given verbally in the presence of 2 witnesses. The duration of notice is as follows:
Companies that wish to hire foreign nationals must first register with the General Directorate of Migration and Foreigners. Once registered, the employer may sponsor foreign workers for temporary residence with work authorization, which is employer- and position-specific.
The application is a joint process between the employer and the foreign national. The employer sponsors the application once registered, and the foreign national applies for temporary residence with work authorization, either from abroad through a Costa Rican consulate or from within Costa Rica when legally permitted.
The application requires at a minimum:
Work permits are granted as part of temporary residence and are typically valid for 1 year or for the duration of the employment contract, whichever is shorter. They are renewable, provided the employment relationship continues.
Employees receive paid annual leave of at least 2 weeks after 50 weeks of service, or 1 leave day per month if they have worked for less than 1 year. Employees are paid their regular wages during annual leave.
If there is a good reason for which an employee cannot enjoy their annual leave, they can accumulate the leave allowance up to 3 times and agree to take payment in lieu of leave. Annual leave can be divided into a maximum of 2 parts.
Part-time employees are also entitled to annual leave.
In Costa Rica, the labor law indicates that regular working hours are 8 hours per day, 6 hours for night shifts, and 7 hours for mixed shifts. The standard workweek is 48 hours. However, in jobs that are not unhealthy or dangerous, an ordinary day shift of up to 10 hours and a mixed shift of up to 8 hours may be stipulated, provided that the weekly work does not exceed 48 hours.
The daily work time limit for persons above 15 years and below 18 years of age is set at 7 hours (42 hours a week). The working hours for persons above 12 years and below 15 years of age cannot exceed 5 hours a day.
Costa Rica's Labor Code provides 4 months of paid maternity leave to pregnant employees: 1 month before and 3 months after childbirth. To benefit from this leave, an employee must submit a medical certificate stating that the delivery will probably occur within 5 weeks from the certificate's date of issue.
The benefit amount for the entire duration of maternity leave is equal to the employee's salary. Benefits are funded equally by the employer and Costa Rica's Social Security Fund.
An employee who adopts a minor is also entitled to 3 months' paid leave immediately following the arrival of the child.
The government sets the minimum wage annually according to occupation. The minimum wage effective January 1, 2026, ranges from CRC 12,436.41 (Costa Rican colones) per day (unskilled) to CRC 796,921.00 per month (university graduate).
Salary can be paid monthly, fortnightly, weekly, daily, or hourly, per piece, etc. The parties will set the term for the payment of the salary, but said term may never be more than a fortnight for manual workers, nor a month for intellectual employees and domestic servants. If the salary consists of participation in the profits, sales, or collections made by the employer, it must be paid biweekly or monthly.
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