Passport & Visa Information

General Entry Requirements:

All adults and children (from 0 - 16 years old*) require the following documents to enter Costa Rica:

    *    A valid passport with at least one blank visa page. The expiration date of your passport must be greater than either 30 or 180 days - depending on your country of citizenship - from your date of entry to Costa Rica.

    *   A pre-paid airline ticket to exit Costa Rica or a pre-purchased bus ticket to another country.  Proof of financial resources ($400.00 - $1,000.00 U.S. dollars in cash, traveler checks, and/or credit cards) to pay for the market value of a one-way airline ticket may also be valid depending on airline requirements either to return to your home country or to go to another country.

 *     If a minor (child under the age of 18) does not have his/her own passport, he or she must have a joint passport with one of his/her parents, legal guardian or the person traveling with him/her.

 *     A visa (if required. Please check below if you need a visa.)

United States and Canadian Citizen Entry Requirements:

U.S. and Canadian citizens may enter Costa Rica without a tourist visa and can stay up to 90 days with a valid passport.

U.S. and Canadian citizens - regardless of their age (*) - need the following documents to enter Costa Rica:

    *     A valid passport with at least one blank visa page. The expiration date of your passport must be greater than 30 days from your date of entry to Costa Rica.

    *     A pre-paid airline ticket to exit Costa Rica and/or ticket either to return to your home country or to go to another country.

    *      If a U.S. or Canadian minor (under the age of 18) does not have his/her own passport, he or she must have a joint passport with one of his/her parents, legal guardian or the person traveling with him/her.

The government of Costa Rica decreed that after November 17, 2003 the practice of accepting U.S. driver licenses/IDs and U.S. birth/naturalization certificates as entry documents is discontinued on a permanent basis.

Overstay Fines Effective March 2010:  It is important that you depart on or before the last day you are authorized to be in Costa Rica on any given trip. This is based on the arrival date stamped in your passport at the Immigration port of entry. You will be allowed to stay in Costa Rica for 30, 60, or 90 days depending on your nationality. 

Any person that overstays his/her authorized time to be in the country, as allowed by the Immigration and Naturalization Services of Costa Rica, will be required to pay a penalty charge of $100.00 U.S. dollars for each month in country without authorization, or expulsion equivalent to triple the time of violation. Example: A three month overstay violation equals a $300 U.S. dollar fine or a 9 month expulsion from Costa Rica.

Check Your Visa Entry Requirements:

Disclaimer: Visa and passport requirements frequently change. We update this information 24 hours after the Immigration Department of Costa Rica notifies us of any changes. The latest notification can be downloaded here. costarica.com is not liable for any changes in visa or passport requirements that are not reflected on this site.

Also helpful:  Extension of Stay

Read more about:

Tourist Visas 

Student Visas

Business Visas

Diplomatic Visas 

Official Visas

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