ENTRY REQUIREMENTS TO COSTA RICA
Entry requirements for Costa Rican national and legal residents in Costa Rica

-Costa Rican nationals and foreigners with a legal residence in Costa Rica (duly identified) are not required to show a COVID-19 test in order to enter Costa Rica. They only require to complete the digital form called the Health Pass. The form is available at https://salud.go.cr/.

Entry requirements for tourists:
-All tourists must meet the requirements indicated at https://www.visitcostarica.com/en/costa-rica/planning-your-trip/entry-requirements



TYPES OF VISAS AND PROCEDURES ACCORDING TO THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN OF THE APPLICANT

Costa Rica has established entry requirements according the country of origin of the person who wants to travel to the country. There are four Groups of Countries, each one with specific requisites and conditions:

United Arab Emirates nationals do NOT need a visa to enter Costa Rica for tourism purposes and they can remain in the country for a maximum of 90 days. If you hold a valid multiple visa from the United States of America (B1-B2) or Canada, or a residence permit of a EU country, you do NOT need a visa to enter Costa Rica

Not all people wishing to travel to Costa Rica need a tourist visa. This will depend on your nationality, purpose of visit, country of residence and length of your stay. Visa requirements or exceptions are based in international treaties or agreements. Moreover, a visa does not guarantee your entry to Costa Rica; like the United Arab Emirates, this depends on the immigration officer upon arrival.

Though you may not need a visa, the following is still required to enter the country:

  • A passport valid for at least 3 months from the moment you enter Costa Rica. If you require a visa, your passport must be valid for 6 months from the moment of your entry.
  • NOTE: Some airlines and migration authorities require a minimum passport validity of 6 months, based on dispositions of the International Civil Aviation Organization.
  • Proof of transportation ticket as either a return ticket or to continue to a third country.
  • Proof of sufficient monetary means to finance your tourist stay in the country.


Nationals of the following countries or territories do NOT need a tourist visa to enter Costa Rica and can remain in the country for a maximum of 90 days:

Andorra Czech Republic Japan Paraguay Slovenia
Argentina Denmark Latvia Peru South Africa
Australia Estonia Liechtenstein Poland South Korea
Austria Finland Lithuania Portugal Spain
Bahamas France Luxemburg Principality of Monaco Sweden
Barbados Germany Malta Puerto Rico Switzerland
Belgium Greece Mexico Qatar Trinidad and Tobago
Brazil Hungary Montenegro Romania United Arab Emirates
Bulgaria Iceland Netherlands San Marino United Kingdom
Canada Ireland New Zealand Serbia United States of America
Chile Israel Norway Singapore Uruguay
Croatia Italy Panama Slovakia Vatican City
Cyprus
Nationals of the following countries or territories do NOT need a tourist visa to enter Costa Rica and can remain in the country for a maximum of 30 days:
Antigua and Barbuda Guatemala Mauritius Saint Lucia Tonga
Belize Guyana Micronesia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Turkey
Bolivia Honduras Nauru Samoa Tuvalu
Brunei-Darussalam Kazakhstan Northern Mariana Islands São Tome and Príncipe Ukraine
Dominica Kiribati Palau Seychelles Vanuatu
El Salvador Malaysia Philippiness Solomon Islands Venezuela
Fiji Maldives Russia Surinam
Granada Marshall Islands Saint Kitts and Nevis Taiwan
IMPORTANT
If you are a national of a country not mentioned in the two previous groups, then you DO need a visa to enter Costa Rica.

Consular Visas Nationals from the following countries or territories DO need a consulate visa to enter Costa Rica and can remain in the country for a maximum of 30 days:
Albania Chad Indonesia Moldavia Senegal
Algeria Colombia Ivory Coast Mongolia Sierra Leone
Angola Comoros Jordan Morocco South Sudan
Armenia Democratic Republic of Congo Kenya Mozambique Sudan
Azerbaijan Djibouti Kosovo Namibia Swaziland
Bahrain Dominican Republic Kuwait Nepal Tajikistan
Belarus East Timor Kyrgystan New Guinea Tanzania
Benin Ecuador Laos Nicaragua Thailand
Bhutan Egypt Lebanon Niger Togo
Bosnia and Herzegovina Equatorial Guinea Lesotho Nigeria Tunisia
Botswana Gabon Liberia Oman Turkmenistan
Burkina Faso Gambia Libya Pakistan Uganda
Burundi Georgia Macedonia Papua Uzbekistan
Cambodia Ghana Madagascar Republic of Congo Vietnam
Cameroon Guinea Malawi Rwanda Yemen
Cape Verde Guinea-Bissau Mali Saharawi Arab Republic Zambia
Central African Republic India Mauritania Saudi Arabia Zimbabwe
The individual applicant for a consular visa must personally present his/her Original documents directly to the Consulate. The Consular Officials of the Costa Rican Consulate hold the direct authority to grant or deny the visa.

Process - Please Call us for more Information

Restricted Visas

A restricted visa is an authorization for entry to Costa Rica that nationals from the following countries must obtain, according to the Entry Guidelines of the country. This authorization is under the exclusive purview of the Restricted Visas and Refugee Commission.

This Commission determines both the permit of entry and the maximum amount of days that a particular foreigner may stay in Costa Rica. The nationals of the following countries or territories must apply for a restricted visa:

Afghanistan Ethiopia Jamaica Somalia
Bangladesh Haiti Myanmar Sri Lanka
Cuba Iran North Korea Syria
Eritrea Iraq Palestine

Process for restricted visa applications

The documents you must present at the Consulate are as follows:

  1. Send a visa request letter addressed to the Consul, written by the interested party, his/her relative resident in Costa Rica, or his/her representative, indicating his/her circumstances and his/her kinship relationship with the requested foreigner. The letter must also include the following regarding the foreigner applying for the visa.
    • Full name
    • Nationality
    • Profession or trade
    • Purpose of trip
    • Estimated length of the trip
    • Exact address while in Costa Rica
    • Estimated date of entry and exit of the country
    • Costa Rican Consulate to which the visa authorization needs to be sent to, should the application be successful.
  2. Copy of the legalized foreigner’s entire passport, with Consular authentication, and translated to Spanish. The passport must be valid for at least eight months.
  3. Copy of the identification document of the person requesting the foreigner. This document must be verified before an official of the Consulate or, if it is defected, an authenticated copy of said document.
  4. Proof of economic solvency of the requesting party.
  5. Proof of economic solvency and kinship of the requested foreigner.
  6. Police records from the country of origin of the requested foreigner, where it is clearly stated that he/she has not been convicted in his/her country of origin or in the one where she/he has lived for the last three years, for the crimes specified in article 61 of the Costa Rican Constitution. This document must be duly authenticated by the applicant’s Consulate, legalized, and translated to Spanish.
  7. Certification issued by the competent authority of the country of origin of the requested foreigner that proves the relationship between the requesting and requested parties.
  8. Single status certificate issued by the country of requested foreigner, legalized, authenticated by the Consulate, and translated to Spanish, for the cases where this document might be necessary.
Important note: The clearance and approval of a visa request of a national belonging to the list of restricted-visa countries may take up to 60 days. So, please, plan accordingly.
 
Translate »