Information for tourists, visitors and non-residents
- Entry requirements to Costa Rica as a tourist and visas
- Extension of time spent as a tourist
- Residences and special categories
- Yellow fever vaccination requirement
- Requirements for the importation of pets: dogs and cats
1. Entry requirement and visas:
The entrance to Costa Rica is enabled for tourists from all the countries of the world.
As of April 1, the temporary migration measures established in the framework of the national health emergency due to COVID-19 were repealed.
During the visit to Costa Rica, please abide by the health protocols established by private companies for carrying out any tourist activity in the country.
All tourists must comply with the migratory processes established in the General Law of Migration and Immigration and provide all the applicable entry and visa requirements.
1) Passport or valid travel document. Only machine-readable passports or travel documents will be accepted, in accordance with the guidelines established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and with the validity determined by these guidelines.
The period of validity of the passport and the period of permanence will be determined by the group in which the nationality of your passport is located (See CIRCULAR DG-0018-07-2022-DG-UV in point 2)
The United Kingdom is in the FIRST GROUP, so British passport holders can enter without a visa and stay as tourists for up to 90 non-extendable calendar days. Minimum validity of a British passport: up to one day.
2) Proof of economic solvency, with a minimum of USD$100.00 (one hundred US dollars) per month or fraction of a month of legal permanence in the country.
3) Ticket or return ticket to the country of origin or continuation of the trip, or the navigation plan in which the destination port is stated.
4) Not have an impediment to enter the national territory.
5) VISA, when required according to the provisions of CIRCULAR DG-0018-07-2022-DG-UV.
The visa constitutes an expectation of the right to enter a country.
You must review the visa guidelines to verify if in your case you need an entry visa or you may be subject to one of the two exceptions provided, which are:
EXCEPTIONS FOR GROUP INCOME WITH CONSULAR VISA OR VISA
Entry with visas and residences of the United States of America and Canada: Nationals of countries with consular or restricted visa requirements who have visas or residences in any category, including the category of refugee, with a minimum validity of three months in The United States of America and Canada may dispense with a visa to enter Costa Rica. The term of three months must be counted from the day of the intended entry to Costa Rica. The visas of the United States of America type C1, C2 and C3, correspond to transit visas and will not be accepted as an exception to enter Costa Rica.
Entry with residences from Switzerland, England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Norway, Iceland and the countries of the European Union: Nationals of countries with a consular or restricted visa requirement with a legal stay in any category or residences that allow multiple entries or with a minimum validity of three months, excluding the category of refugee, in Switzerland, England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Norway, Iceland and the countries of the European Union, may dispense with a consular visa to enter Costa Rica. The term of three months must be counted from the day of the intended entry to Costa Rica.
DIRECTRIZ DE VISAS ALCA 168_08_08_2022
VISAS FOR AIRPORT TRANSIT:
Any national of Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela, who intends to enter Costa Rica by air under the migratory category of Non-Resident, subcategory Foreign Person in Transit, to make the change of aircraft, must compulsorily present the requirements and respect the procedures, which you can see below:
Lineamientos Visas Venezuela y Visas Transito, Cuba, Nicaragua y Venezuela
2. Tourism extension
People who have entered the country as of March 5, 2021 as Non-Residents, Tourism Sub Category, as long as:
They have not been granted 90 days of permanence upon admission. It is important to clarify that the number of days to grant will be those that remain to complete the 90 days. Example: if the entry was granted 85 days, only the 5 days that remain to complete the 90 days will be granted, in case of complying with all the corresponding immigration and health requirements.
Those who make their appointment as long as they have their current legal permanence in the country.
If necessary, have validated the insurance before the ICT during your stay to maintain legal permanence.
Who can NOT extend their stay as tourists?
Those who have stayed more than 90 days in the country.
Who, despite having entered as of March 5, 2021, have been granted 90 days of stay in the country.
Those who, despite having entered as of March 5, 2021, have not validated their insurance before the ICT if required. Example: person who entered on April 1, 2021, was granted 30 days of stay and within those 30 days of stay did not validate their insurance before the ICT for the other days that they have stayed in the country.
Those who, despite having entered as of March 05, 2021, do not make their appointment within the granted legal permanence period. Example: person who entered on May 15, 2021, is granted 20 days and does not request the appointment within those 20 days.
You can see the requirements from the following website:
3. Residences and special categories
Residences
Foreigners who wish to remain in Costa Rica must request a migratory category and present the corresponding requirements.
The documentation must be submitted to the General Directorate of Immigration and Immigration.
Remember that for the presentation of the documentation, you must make an appointment by calling the Migration Call Center, 1311 or from the portal:
https://migracion.go.cr/Paginas/Portal-de-Citas-Web.aspx
To know the requirements of each of the migratory categories, you can access the website of the DGME Primera Vez
Likewise, you can present some of the procedures through Digital Migration, Procedure Now, with the opening of your digital file. For more information on this, visit: Digital-Migration (migracion.go.cr)
4. Yellow fever vaccine
The place of origin will determine if you require the International Certificate of Vaccination against Yellow Fever. If you are traveling from the United Kingdom and in the last six days you have not been in geographical areas considered at risk, you do not require the certificate.
Guideline with the list of countries for which the certificate is required.
Zonas geograficas fiebre amarilla 2018
In all that corresponds to this requirement, you must abide by the provisions of the Regulations on the International Certificate of Vaccination against Yellow Fever that you can observe from:
5. Requirements for importing pets: Cats and Dogs
These requirements are applied to the dogs and cats which are imported as pets or for breeding purposes.
Requisitos para la importación de mascotas: perros y gatos
In the following link you can access two menus to download the documents with the requirements, towards Europe and towards other countries:
http://www.senasa.go.cr/informacion/centro-de-informacion/informacion/sgc/dca/mascotas