Visitors to Costa Rica must obtain a visa from one of the Costa Rican diplomatic missions unless they are citizens from one of the visa-exempt countries.
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 exemption Ordinary passports Citizens of the following countries and territories may enter Costa Rica without a visa for the following period:
180 days1 All European Union member states3 33 33 3
30 days2 4 1 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 - Length of stay extendable up to 90 days.
In addition, citizens 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 changes30 May 1966: Spain 5 July 1968: Israel 13 September 1968: Austria 1 September 1971: France October 1971: Yugoslavia (applies today to Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia) 16 September 1974: Japan 6 December 1996: Brazil 24 November 2003: Latvia 12 April 2014: Russiapp. 25–26 (resumed) 13 December 2015: Peru 14 December 2016: Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Qatar, Taiwan, Ukraine, United Arab Emiratespp. 9–14 25 October 2023: Honduras (resumed)
Cancelled: Colombia: 1 April 2002 Russia: 1 February 2008 (was resumed in 2014) Venezuela: 21 February 2022 Kazakhstan: 29 May 2023 Honduras: 10 October 2023
Substitute visa Citizens of other countries who would normally require visas may enter Costa Rica for a maximum stay of 30 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 6 months on arrival.
Any Schengen Area member state2 11 3
1 - For holders of residence permits only. 2 - For holders of multiple-entry "C" and "D" visas only. 3 - 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.
Non-ordinary passports In addition, holders of diplomatic or service/official passports of China (30 days), Colombia, Cuba (30 days), Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Indonesia, Morocco (30 days), Saudi Arabia, Singapore (180 days), Thailand and Vietnam may enter Costa Rica without a visa for up to 90 days (unless otherwise noted).
Restricted visa with a prior authorization required
Citizens of the following countries must have their visa approved by the Commission for Restricted Visas before arrival:
Transit visa 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, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Yemen to apply for transit visas before transiting through the country.
Visitor statistics Most visitors arriving in Costa Rica were from the following countries of nationality: Country 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 1,199,241 1,233,277 1,077,044 997,262 929,402 429,990 440,049 446,870 463,959 476,678 201,921 188,104 175,771 172,730 160,398 106,783 94,499 84,940 75,045 72,568 104,795 99,917 97,135 68,340 98,275 81,091 78,273 69,427 63,214 64,552 78,032 65,063 57,600 55,677 56,756 76,173 71,392 47,499 39,545 35,198 70,960 67,939 66,450 63,916 54,754 69,803 61,503 54,773 49,681 39,728 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