Visa policy of Costa Rica explained

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 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 valign=top Japan Liechtenstein Mexico Monaco Montenegro New Zealand^3 Norway^3 Panama valign=top Paraguay Peru Qatar San Marino Serbia Singapore South Africa valign=top Switzerland Trinidad and Tobago United Arab Emirates United Kingdom^3 United States^3 Uruguay Ukraine 30 days ^2 ^4 Antigua and Barbuda Barbados Belize Dominica El Salvador^1 Fiji Grenada Guatemala Guyana Honduras Kiribati Malaysia Maldives Marshall Islands Mauritius Nauru Palau Philippines Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa Seychelles Solomon Islands Suriname 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.

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.

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

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 Iraq Jamaica Myanmar Somalia Sri Lanka 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.

Visitor statistics

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

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

Notes and References

1. Web site: 28 March 2023 . Alcance N°54 A La Gaceta N°57 . 18 September 2023 . Diario Oficial La Gaceta . 37 to 52 . es.
2. Web site: 31 August 2023 . Alcance N°166 a La Gaceta N°159 . 18 September 2023 . Diario Oficial La Gaceta . 61 to 62 . es.
3. Web site: 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 . 3 October 2006 . . 11 December 2017.
4. Web site: 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 . 13 September 2007 . . 11 December 2017.
5. Web site: 1983 . Statement of Treaties and International Agreements - Registered or filed and recorded with the Secretariat during the month of January 1982 .
6. Web site: 1969 . Statement of Treaties and International Agreements - Registered or filed and recorded with the Secretariat during December 1968.
7. Web site: 1969 . Statement of Treaties and International Agreements - Registered or filed and recorded with the Secretariat during November 1968.
8. Web site: 1972 . Statement of Treaties and International Agreements - Registered or filed and recorded with the Secretariat during November 1971 .
9. Web site: PDF.js viewer. www.pravno-informacioni-sistem.rs. 2 April 2018.
10. Web site: 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）. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. 14 February 2018. 2 October 1974.
11. Web site: 1997 . Statement of Treaties and International Agreements - Registered or filed and recorded with the Secretariat during the month of December 1996 .
12. Web site: 2005 . Statement of Treaties and International Agreements - Registered or filed and recorded with the Secretariat during the month of May 2005 .
13. http://www.imprentanacional.go.cr/pub/2014/04/03/COMP_03_04_2014.pdf pp. 25–26
14. Web site: 2017 . Statement of Treaties and International Agreements - Registered or filed and recorded with the Secretariat during the month of June 2017 .
15. http://www.imprentanacional.go.cr/pub/2016/11/28/ALCA272_28_11_2016.pdf pp. 9–14
16. http://www.diarioextra.com/Noticia/detalle/507026/no-m-s-visas-a-hondure-os
17. Web site: Визы в Коста-Рику потребуются с 1 февраля. 22 January 2008 .
18. Web site: Costa Rica, Honduras impose reciprocal visa requirements after Costa Rican 'safety' concerns. Reuters. 9 October 2023.
19. Web site: Informes Estadísticos - Anuarios . es . Instituto Costarricense de Turismo . 11 December 2017.