# Visa policy of Costa Rica

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 they 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:
| 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 |
| 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 |
$_{1-Passportmustbevalidforatleastonedayonarrival.}$ $_{2-Passportmustbevalidforatleastthreemonthsonarrival.}$ $_{3-IncludingoverseasterritoriesofAustralia,Denmark,France,Netherlands,NewZealand,Norway,UnitedKingdom,UnitedStates.}$ $_{4-Extendableupto90days.}$
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 :
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.
* Canada
* European Union All European Union countries $^1$
* Iceland$^1$
* Norway$^1$
* Switzerland$^1$
* United Kingdom$^1$
* United States$^2$
$_{1-forholdersofresidencepermitsonly.2-GreenCardsorU.S.visasmustbevalidformorethansixmonthsonarrivalexceptforholdersofBorDvisas.NotapplicabletoholdersofC1,C2,andC3visas.}$

## Further Authorization Required

Holders of passports of the following jurisdictions must have their visa approved by the Commission for Restricted Visas before arrival:
| Afghanistan  Azerbaijan  Bangladesh  Cuba  Eritrea  Ethiopia  Haiti | Kazakhstan  Kyrgyzstan  Iran  Iraq  Jamaica  Myanmar  Mauritania  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.

## Visitor statistics

Most visitors arriving to Costa Rica were from the following countries of nationality:
| 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 |