Visa policy of Costa Rica

Entry and exit stamps.

The visa policy of Costa Rica requires that any foreign national wishing to enter Costa Rica must obtain a visa from one of the Costa Rican diplomatic missions, unless they hold a passport issued by one of the 95 eligible visa exempt countries or if the fulfill the requirements for a substitute visa. Costa Rican visas are documents issued by the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería, which is part of the Ministry of Interior and Police, with the stated goal of regulating and facilitating migratory flows.

Visa policy map

Visa policy of Costa Rica

  Costa Rica

  Visa not required

  Restricted visa

  Visa required

Visa exemption

Holders of passports of the following jurisdictions do not require a visa to visit Costa Rica:^[1][2]

180 days ^1 All European Union member states[3][4] ^3  Andorra  Argentina  Australia^3  Bahamas  Brazil  Canada  Chile  Iceland  Israel  Japan  Liechtenstein  Mexico  Monaco  Montenegro  New Zealand^3  Norway^3  Panama  Paraguay  Peru  Qatar  San Marino  Serbia  Singapore  South Africa  South Korea   Switzerland  Trinidad and Tobago  United Arab Emirates  United Kingdom^3  United States^3  Uruguay  Ukraine  Vatican City 30 days ^2 ^4  Antigua and Barbuda  Barbados  Belize  Bolivia  Brunei  Dominica  El Salvador^1  Fiji  Grenada  Guatemala  Guyana  Honduras  Kiribati  Malaysia  Maldives  Marshall Islands  Mauritius  Micronesia  Nauru  Palau  Philippines  Russia  Saint Kitts and Nevis  Saint Lucia  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Samoa  São Tomé and Príncipe  Seychelles  Solomon Islands  Suriname  Taiwan  Tonga  Turkey  Tuvalu  Vanuatu

_{1 - Passport must be valid for at least one day on arrival.
2 - Passport must be valid for at least three months on arrival.
3 - Including overseas territories of Australia, Denmark, France, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, United Kingdom, United States.
4 - Extendable up to 90 days.}

In addition, nationals of China who hold passports endorsed "for public affairs" do not require a visa to enter Costa Rica for a maximum stay of 30 days.

Date of visa changes

30 May 1966: Spain[5] 5 July 1968: Israel[6] 13 September 1968: Austria[7] 1 September 1971: France[8] October 1971: Yugoslavia (applies today to Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia)[9] 16 September 1974: Japan[10] 6 December 1996: Brazil[11] 24 November 2003: Latvia[12] 12 April 2014: Russia[13] (resumed) 13 December 2015: Peru[14] 14 December 2016: Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Qatar, Taiwan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates[15] 25 October 2023: Honduras[16] (resumed) Cancelled: Colombia: 1 April 2002 Russia: 1 February 2008[17] (was resumed in 2014) Venezuela: 21 February 2022 Honduras: 10 October 2023[18]

Visa is not required for holders of diplomatic or service/official passports of Barbados (30 days), China (30 days), Colombia, Cuba (30 days), Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Indonesia, Morocco (30 days), Singapore (180 days), Thailand and Vietnam for up to 90 days (unless otherwise stated).

Substitute visas

Nationals who would normally require visas may enter Costa Rica for a maximum of 90 days if they are holding a valid, multiple-entry visa or residence permit issued by the following countries. Residence permits and visas must be valid for more than six months on arrival.^[1]

Canada  European Union All European Union countries ^1  Iceland^1  Norway^1   Switzerland^1  United Kingdom^1  United States^2

_{1 - for holders of residence permits only.
2 - Green Cards or U.S. visas must be valid for more than six months on arrival except for holders of B or D visas. Not applicable to holders of C1, C2, and C3 visas.}

Further Authorization Required

A tourist visa for Costa Rica

Holders of passports of the following jurisdictions must have their visa approved by the Commission for Restricted Visas before arrival:^[1]

Afghanistan  Azerbaijan  Bangladesh  Cuba  Eritrea  Ethiopia  Haiti  Kazakhstan  Kyrgyzstan  Iran  Iraq  Jamaica  Myanmar  North Korea  Palestine  Somalia  Sri Lanka  Syria  Tajikistan  Turkmenistan  Uzbekistan

Costa Rica also requires citizens of Afghanistan, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Republic of Congo, Cuba, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, India, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), North Korea, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Yemen and Nicaragua to apply for transit visas before transiting through the country.^[1]

Visitor statistics

Most visitors arriving to Costa Rica were from the following countries of nationality:^[19]

Country	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013
United States	1,199,241	1,233,277	1,077,044	997,262	929,402
Nicaragua	429,990	440,049	446,870	463,959	476,678
Canada	201,921	188,104	175,771	172,730	160,398
Mexico	106,783	94,499	84,940	75,045	72,568
Panama	104,795	99,917	97,135	68,340	98,275
El Salvador	81,091	78,273	69,427	63,214	64,552
Guatemala	78,032	65,063	57,600	55,677	56,756
United Kingdom	76,173	71,392	47,499	39,545	35,198
Germany	70,960	67,939	66,450	63,916	54,754
France	69,803	61,503	54,773	49,681	39,728
Spain	69,782	67,453	65,188	64,303	52,950
Total	2,959,869	2,925,128	2,660,257	2,526,817	2,427,941

See also

• Visa requirements for Costa Rican citizens

References

1. "Alcance N°54 A La Gaceta N°57" (PDF) (in Spanish). Diario Oficial La Gaceta. 28 March 2023. pp. 37 to 52. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
2. "Alcance N°166 a La Gaceta N°159" (PDF) (in Spanish). Diario Oficial La Gaceta. 31 August 2023. pp. 61 to 62. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
3. "REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on cases where visa waiver non-reciprocity is maintained by certain third countries in accordance with Article 1(5) of Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement, as amended by Regulation (EC) No 851/2005 as regards the reciprocity mechanism - COM(2006) 568 final". European Commission. 3 October 2006. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
4. "THIRD REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on certain third countries' maintenance of visa requirements in breach of the principle of reciprocity in accordance with Article 1(5) of Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement, as amended by Regulation (EC) No 851/2005 as regards the reciprocity mechanism - COM(2007) 533 final". European Commission. 13 September 2007. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
5. "Statement of Treaties and International Agreements - Registered or filed and recorded with the Secretariat during the month of January 1982" (PDF). 1983.
6. "Statement of Treaties and International Agreements - Registered or filed and recorded with the Secretariat during December 1968" (PDF). 1969.
7. "Statement of Treaties and International Agreements - Registered or filed and recorded with the Secretariat during November 1968" (PDF). 1969.
8. "Statement of Treaties and International Agreements - Registered or filed and recorded with the Secretariat during November 1971" (PDF). 1972.
9. "PDF.js viewer". www.pravno-informacioni-sistem.rs. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
10. "一部査証及び査証料の相互免除に関する日本国政府とコスタ・リカ共和国政府との間の取極（口上書）" (PDF). Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. 2 October 1974. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
11. "Statement of Treaties and International Agreements - Registered or filed and recorded with the Secretariat during the month of December 1996" (PDF). 1997.
12. "Statement of Treaties and International Agreements - Registered or filed and recorded with the Secretariat during the month of May 2005" (PDF). 2005.
13. pp. 25–26
14. "Statement of Treaties and International Agreements - Registered or filed and recorded with the Secretariat during the month of June 2017" (PDF). 2017.
15. pp. 9–14
16. "Diario Extra - No más visas a hondureños".
17. "Визы в Коста-Рику потребуются с 1 февраля". 22 January 2008.
18. "Costa Rica, Honduras impose reciprocal visa requirements after Costa Rican 'safety' concerns". Reuters. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
19. "Informes Estadísticos - Anuarios" (in Spanish). Instituto Costarricense de Turismo. Retrieved 11 December 2017.