NOTE: Please remember that in order to carry on any of the following processes in the Consulate, you will need an appointment. In order to schedule your appointment, please read the requirements for the selected process and either email [email protected]
- Renewal of identity card (cédula de identidad)
- New identity card (cédula de identidad)
- New passport
- Permit for minors to leave Costa Rica
- Registration of children of Costa Rican citizens born abroad
- Application for Certificate of Delinquency
- Power of Attorney
1.Renewal of identity card (cédula de identidad)
Process
The renewal of your identity card has to be requested in person, at no additional cost, and requires you to schedule an appointment with the Consulate.
The day of your appointment, please bring the following documents:
Requirements
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Expired identity card or copy of your birth certificate, the former being less than a year old.
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Two passport size photographs with a light gray background.
NOTE: If your identity card (cédula de identidad) has been expired for more than ten years, you are required to come to the Consulate with two Costa Rican witnesses who must bring their original valid identity card (cédula de identidad) along with a copy.
Processing time:
Please take into account that the process in the Consulate can last about 45 minutes. Once your request has been processed this will be sent to the Civil Registry of Costa Rica for the appropriate action which can take up to two months. Your new identity card must be picked up personally at the Consulate.
To renewal of identity card, please send an email to: [email protected]
2. New identity card (cédula de identidad)
Process
A new identity card has to be requested in person, at no additional cost, and requires you to schedule an appointment with the Consulate.
The day of your appointment, please bring the following documents:
Requirements:
- Passport or copy of your birth certificate.
- Two passport size photographs with a light gray background.
NOTE: The applicant must be accompanied by two Costa Rican witnesses (can be relatives or other Costa Ricans who can confirm your identity) with their original valid identity card.
Processing time:
Please take into account that the process in the Consulate can last about 45 minutes. Once your application has been received, it will be sent to the Civil Registry of Costa Rica for appropriate action which can take up to two months. Your new identity card must be picked up personally at the Consulate.
To get a new passport, please send an email to: [email protected]
4.Permit for minors to leave Costa Rica
Process
The permit for minors (less than 18 years of age) to leave Costa RIca is an authorization given by a minor’s mother or legal guardian so that the minor might leave Costa Rica.
This process does not have any additional cost and requires an appointment in the Consulate.
The mother, father, or legal guardian of the minor must arrive at the Consulate with a valid Costa Rican identity card, or a passport should this person not be Costa Rican.
Requirements:
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The person attending the appointment must bring the minor’s birth certificate, the document having been obtained from the Civil Registry of Costa Rica less than a year ago.
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Two passport size photos of the minor with a light gray background.
Once the documents have been presented at the Consulate, they will be immediately sent to the Department of Minors in the Office of Migration, where the information will be input into the system. Once this is done, the child will have no trouble exiting Costa Rica.
The minor’s temporary exit permit will be valid for 30 days from the moment that the Office of Migration receives the documents.
If one of the parents is in Costa Rica, this person must go to the Office of Minors in the General Directorate of Migration and Aliens in La Uruca to carry on the appropriate process.
To get an appointment for a permit for minors to leave Costa Rica, please send an email to: [email protected]
5.Registration of children of Costa Rican citizens born abroad
Process
Those Costa Rican parents whose child has been born abroad and wish to request Costa Rican nationality for him or her have two options:
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If the Costa Rican parent is considering travel to Costa Rica, the process can be completed at the Civil Registry and the registration of your child will be much faster. To do this, you will only be required to present a birth certificate of your child with an apostille from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country where the document was issued (if it is the United Kingdom: www.gov.uk/legalisation-document-checker)
Afterwards, the parent must contact (in Costa Rica) an official translator so that the document is translated into Spanish so that it can be presented to the Civil Registry for the registration. The registration process has no additional cost.
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The other option is to schedule an appointment at the Consulate and bring the following documents:
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Birth certificate of the child, with apostille from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country where the document was issued (if it is the United Kingdom:
www.gov.uk/legalisation-document-checker).
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The birth certificate must be translated to Spanish and the translated version must be notarized by a public notary and taken to the Consulate. In the Consulate, the parent must fill out a birth form that will be sent to the Civil Registry along with the documents.
On the day of the appointment, the parents of the child must attend and bring a valid identity card (cédula de identidad). Please take into account that you do not need to bring your child to the Consulate for this process, unless he or she is between 18 and 24 years old, in which case your child must be present with a photo ID.
The registration of birth must be made before the person in question turns 25 years old. After this age, the parents are no longer able to register their child as Costa Rican and he/she will first have to request residence to then become a naturalized citizen.
6.Application for Certificate of Delinquency
Process
If you reside outside of Costa Rica and need to get your Certificate of Delinquency, you will have to make a specific request (in a letter) to the Consulate. The application letter must be sent to the Consulate via email to [email protected] and it must indicate:
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Applicant’s full name
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Copy of applicant’s identity card ( cédula de identidad) or passport
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Applicant’s date of birth
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Full name of both of the applicant’s parents
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Full name, copy of identity card (cédula de identidad), and phone number of the person in Costa Rica who is authorized to pick up the applicant’s certificate of Delinquency
The certificate will not be sent by email or post to the Consulate or the applicant. It can only be collectec by the authorised person at the Judicial Registry. This process has no additional cost.