Visa and Yellow Fever Vaccine
Vaccination against yellow fever
As a health protection measure, Costa Rica requires that travelers from areas where yellow fever is endemic, or countries considered at risk for transmission of the disease, be vaccinated before entering the country. Please bear in mind that
the yellow fever vaccine must be administered 10 days before entering Costa Rica (Decree No. 33934-S-SP-RE, of August 1, 2007).
The vaccine is required for travelers arriving from the following countries in the Americas:
Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. The same rule applies to the following African countries: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
Travelers must present their International Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate to the authorities at ports, airports and border crossings.
Entry visas for Costa Rica
Costa Rica’s immigration authorities have established that the passports of persons requiring a visa must be
valid for at least six months at the time the bearer enters the country. The passports of visitors who do not require a visa must be valid for
at least three months.
Citizens of
Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Venezuela require a visa issued by a Costan Rican consulate (maximum stay of up to 30 calendar days). Citizens of
Haiti and Jamaica enter Costa Rica with a restricted visa authorized by the Director General of Immigration. As an entry requirement, citizens of Honduras must present a “Criminal Record Certificate” without an apostille (see second attached link).
Citizens of any country that would normally require a visa but who travel with a service, official or diplomatic passport may apply for an official visa with IICA’s assistance.
IICA’s Legal, International Affairs and Protocol Unit (UJAIP) at Headquarters, in coordination with the Institute's Delegation in the country concerned, will provide the necessary support to obtain the visas mentioned above.
Citizens of any of the aforementioned countries who have an entry visa (tourist, crew member or business) for the United States of America or Canada (exclusively multiple entry visa) stamped in their passport and valid for at least the length of their stay in Costa Rica, are not required to obtain a visa from a Costa Rican consulate (for a stay of up to 30 calendar days).
Similarly, persons requiring a Costa Rican visa who are permanent residents of the United States of America, Canada or the European Union, with a right to multiple entries and whose document is valid for up to six months, do not need to apply for a consular visa to enter Costa Rica.
Citizens of all other IICA Member States not mentioned above do not require a visa to enter Costa Rica.
For other countries, please visit:
https://migracion.go.cr/Documentos%20compartidos/Visas/Directrices%20Generales%20de%20Visas,%20Octubre%202023.pdf
Honduras: https://migracion.go.cr/Documentos%20compartidos/Circulares%20y%20Directrices/2023/ALCA209_25_10_2023%20Sobre%20eliminacion%20de%20visas%20a%20Honduras.pdf
