Costa Rica's visa directives put nationals of countries including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, EU states, Australia and Japan in the first group, which enters without a visa for up to 180 days, and list as entry requirements proof of economic means of at least USD 100 per month or part of a month of stay and a return or onward ticket. Nationals of countries that need a consular visa may enter without it if they hold a multiple-entry visa or residence of the United States or Canada, a residence of the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland or an EU country, or a multiple-entry Schengen C or D visa.
Every fact on this page verified on or after: Aug 25, 2026· How this site works
Requirements differ by nationality. Select your passport above, or scan the full table below.
Compare every country: Where a visa you already hold gets you in somewhere else
Consular tariff for granting a consular visa. Costa Rica's foreign ministry tariff sets USD 50 for a visa consulted with and authorized by the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería, and USD 100 for a multiple-entry visa it authorizes.
It depends on nationality. Costa Rica's visa directives set a minimum passport validity of one day for the first group (including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, EU states, Australia and Japan), with the stay granted not running beyond the passport's validity; 90 days for the second group; and 180 days for nationalities that need a consular visa. Salvadoran nationals may enter with a passport valid up to its expiry date, and the stay granted will not run beyond the passport's validity.
No official source we could read states a travel insurance requirement for entering Costa Rica. The entry requirements in Costa Rica's visa directives are a valid passport, a visa where required, proof of economic means, a return or onward ticket, and no entry ban.
Under article 42 of Costa Rica's General Migration Law, as set out in its visa directives, foreigners entering must provide a return ticket to their country of origin or an onward ticket, or a navigation plan showing the destination port.
Costa Rica's visa directives list proof of economic means as an entry requirement: at least USD 100 for each month or part of a month of legal stay.
The UK government says Costa Rican immigration authorities can fine overstayers 100 US dollars for each month and refuse their future applications to enter Costa Rica. The Canadian government says overstaying the authorized 180-day period may lead to deportation, and deported persons are not allowed to re-enter for 5 to 10 years.
The UK Foreign Office says cash, traveller's cheques or goods worth 10,000 US dollars or more must be declared, that you will get a certified declaration showing you brought them in, and that without it your money or goods could be seized when you leave.
Costa Rica's health ministry makes yellow fever vaccination mandatory at least 10 days before entry for anyone coming from a country on its list of countries with active transmission: in the Americas Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, French Guiana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago, and in Africa countries including Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
Requirements normally count any country you have been in shortly before arrival, not only where you boarded.
International Health Regulations (2005), Article 36 and Annex 7; WHO International Travel and Health, Annex 1, 18 November 2022 (revised 3 January 2023)
Costa Rica's Traffic Law (Law 9078, art. 91 a) says drivers holding a foreign driving licence who are in the country under any of the stay sub-categories of the General Migration Law, or in transit, may drive the vehicle their licence allows for a period identical to the one authorised for their legal stay.
Verified Oct 10, 2026 · Source: sinalevi.go.cr (opens in a new tab) · Ley 9078 Compare every countryCanada's travel advice says heavy rains, particularly from mid-May to the end of November, can cause severe flooding, flash floods and landslides, and that the hurricane season runs from mid-May to the end of November in the Pacific and from early June to the end of November in the Atlantic and Caribbean.
Costa Rica's visa directives list among the entry requirements proof of economic means of at least USD 100 for each month or part of a month of stay, and a return ticket to your country of origin or an onward ticket.
The UK Foreign Office advises against leaving luggage in a parked car, either in view or in the boot, and says muggings and theft are significant problems, particularly on the Atlantic coast.
The UK government says rip currents are very common on Costa Rica's beaches and there are often no lifeguards, that drownings are the second most common cause of accidental death, and to seek reliable local advice.
Australia's Smartraveller advises boiling drinking water or drinking bottled water in Costa Rica.
| Passports | Visas & entry authorisations | Max stay |
|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Embassy visa | — |
| Albania | Embassy visa | — |
| Algeria | Embassy visa | — |
| Andorra | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Angola | Embassy visa | — |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Argentina | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Armenia | Embassy visa | — |
| Australia | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Austria | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Azerbaijan | Embassy visa | — |
| Bahamas | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Bahrain | Embassy visa | — |
| Bangladesh | Embassy visa | — |
| Barbados | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Belarus | Embassy visa | — |
| Belgium | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Belize | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Benin | Embassy visa | — |
| Bhutan | Embassy visa | — |
| Bolivia | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Embassy visa | — |
| Botswana | Embassy visa | — |
| Brazil | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Brunei | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Bulgaria | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Burkina Faso | Embassy visa | — |
| Burundi | Embassy visa | — |
| Cabo Verde | Embassy visa | — |
| Cambodia | Embassy visa | — |
| Cameroon | Embassy visa | — |
| Canada | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Central African Republic | Embassy visa | — |
| Chad | Embassy visa | — |
| Chile | Visa-free | 180 days |
| China | Embassy visa | — |
| Colombia | Embassy visa | — |
| Comoros | Embassy visa | — |
| Costa Rica | Free movement | — |
| Côte d'Ivoire | Embassy visa | — |
| Croatia | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Cuba | Embassy visa | — |
| Cyprus | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Czechia | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Embassy visa | — |
| Denmark | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Djibouti | Embassy visa | — |
| Dominica | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Dominican Republic | Embassy visa | — |
| Ecuador | Embassy visa | — |
| Egypt | Embassy visa | — |
| El Salvador | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Equatorial Guinea | Embassy visa | — |
| Eritrea | Embassy visa | — |
| Estonia | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Eswatini | Embassy visa | — |
| Ethiopia | Embassy visa | — |
| Fiji | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Finland | Visa-free | 180 days |
| France | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Gabon | Embassy visa | — |
| Gambia | Embassy visa | — |
| Georgia | Embassy visa | — |
| Germany | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Ghana | Embassy visa | — |
| Greece | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Grenada | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Guatemala | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Guinea | Embassy visa | — |
| Guinea-Bissau | Embassy visa | — |
| Guyana | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Haiti | Embassy visa | — |
| Honduras | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Hong Kong | Embassy visa | — |
| Hungary | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Iceland | Visa-free | 180 days |
| India | Embassy visa | — |
| Indonesia | Embassy visa | — |
| Iran | Embassy visa | — |
| Iraq | Embassy visa | — |
| Ireland | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Israel | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Italy | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Jamaica | Embassy visa | — |
| Japan | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Jordan | Embassy visa | — |
| Kazakhstan | Embassy visa | — |
| Kenya | Embassy visa | — |
| Kiribati | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Kosovo | Embassy visa | — |
| Kuwait | Embassy visa | — |
| Kyrgyzstan | Embassy visa | — |
| Laos | Embassy visa | — |
| Latvia | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Lebanon | Embassy visa | — |
| Lesotho | Embassy visa | — |
| Liberia | Embassy visa | — |
| Libya | Embassy visa | — |
| Liechtenstein | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Lithuania | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Luxembourg | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Macau | Embassy visa | — |
| Madagascar | Embassy visa | — |
| Malawi | Embassy visa | — |
| Malaysia | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Maldives | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Mali | Embassy visa | — |
| Malta | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Marshall Islands | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Mauritania | Embassy visa | — |
| Mauritius | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Mexico | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Micronesia | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Moldova | Embassy visa | — |
| Monaco | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Mongolia | Embassy visa | — |
| Montenegro | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Morocco | Embassy visa | — |
| Mozambique | Embassy visa | — |
| Myanmar | Embassy visa | — |
| Namibia | Embassy visa | — |
| Nauru | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Nepal | Embassy visa | — |
| Netherlands | Visa-free | 180 days |
| New Zealand | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Nicaragua | Embassy visa | — |
| Niger | Embassy visa | — |
| Nigeria | Embassy visa | — |
| North Korea | Embassy visa | — |
| North Macedonia | Embassy visa | — |
| Norway | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Oman | Embassy visa | — |
| Pakistan | Embassy visa | — |
| Palau | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Palestine | Embassy visa | — |
| Panama | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Papua New Guinea | Embassy visa | — |
| Paraguay | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Peru | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Philippines | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Poland | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Portugal | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Qatar | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Republic of the Congo | Embassy visa | — |
| Romania | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Russia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Rwanda | Embassy visa | — |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Saint Lucia | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Samoa | Visa-free | 30 days |
| San Marino | Visa-free | 180 days |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Saudi Arabia | Embassy visa | — |
| Senegal | Embassy visa | — |
| Serbia | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Seychelles | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Sierra Leone | Embassy visa | — |
| Singapore | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Slovakia | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Slovenia | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Solomon Islands | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Somalia | Embassy visa | — |
| South Africa | Visa-free | 180 days |
| South Korea | Visa-free | 180 days |
| South Sudan | Embassy visa | — |
| Spain | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Sri Lanka | Embassy visa | — |
| Sudan | Embassy visa | — |
| Suriname | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Sweden | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Switzerland | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Syria | Embassy visa | — |
| Taiwan | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Tajikistan | Embassy visa | — |
| Tanzania | Embassy visa | — |
| Thailand | Embassy visa | — |
| Timor-Leste | Embassy visa | — |
| Togo | Embassy visa | — |
| Tonga | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Tunisia | Embassy visa | — |
| Turkey | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Turkmenistan | Embassy visa | — |
| Tuvalu | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Uganda | Embassy visa | — |
| Ukraine | Visa-free | 180 days |
| United Arab Emirates | Visa-free | 180 days |
| United Kingdom | Visa-free | 180 days |
| United States | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Uruguay | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Uzbekistan | Embassy visa | — |
| Vanuatu | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Vatican City | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Venezuela | Embassy visa | — |
| Vietnam | Embassy visa | — |
| Yemen | Embassy visa | — |
| Zambia | Embassy visa | — |
| Zimbabwe | Embassy visa | — |
Stay lengths are for ordinary tourist visits. Click a nationality for its full guide.
No. Costa Rica's visa directives put the United States in the first group, which enters without a visa for up to 180 days, with a minimum passport validity of one day; the stay granted by the immigration officer will not run beyond the passport's validity. The entry requirements include proof of economic means of at least USD 100 per month or part of a month of stay and a return or onward ticket.
Costa Rica's visa directives say first-group nationals (including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, EU states and Japan) can stay up to 180 days and second-group nationals up to 30 days, extendable to a total of 90 days; the immigration officer at entry decides the stay granted.
Yes, if you hold one of the documents Costa Rica's visa directives accept: a multiple-entry visa or residence of the United States or Canada valid for at least 1 day (US C1, C2 and C3 transit visas are not accepted), a residence of the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland or an EU country that allows multiple entries or is valid for at least 90 days, or a multiple-entry Schengen C or D visa. With a US or Canadian visa or residence, the stay granted will not run beyond its validity.
Only if you come from a country on Costa Rica's list of countries with active yellow fever transmission: in the Americas Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, French Guiana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago, plus the African countries on the same list. Costa Rica's health ministry says vaccination is mandatory at least 10 days before entry for anyone coming from those countries.
The UK government says that when leaving by air you may need to pay a departure tax of USD 29, that most airlines include it in the ticket price, and that if you have to pay it you can use cash or card. No official source we could read states the tax for leaving overland.
Every fact on this page is compiled from and periodically re-checked against these official sources:
Something wrong or out of date? Tell us, with the official source
Costa Rica visa and entry requirements
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Andorra
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cabo Verde
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Comoros
Côte d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czechia
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
North Korea
North Macedonia
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Palestine
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Republic of the Congo
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
São Tomé and Príncipe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Korea
South Sudan
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Vatican City
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe