Passport & Visa Information
and Working in Costa Rica !
Important:
Because of 911, many changes have been put into place
here in Costa Rica, with agreements between the United States:
Foreigners seeking to work for a Costa Rican Company must
enter Costa Rica with a tourist visa if they require
one because Consulates of Costa Rica do not issue
business visas
Required Entry Documents
U.S. Citizens Do Not Need a Visa
to Travel to Costa Rica.
Required Entry Documents:
U.S. citizens may enter Costa Rica without a tourist visa
and can stay up to 90 days.
U.S. citizens - regardless of their
age (*) - need the following documents to enter Costa Rica:
- a passport valid
for at least ninety (90) days (**)
- a pre-paid airline ticket
to exit Costa Rica or
proof of financial resources ($400.00 US - $1,000.00
US, in cash, traveler checks, and / or ticket (either to
return to your home country or to go to another
country).
(*) If a U.S. minor (U.S. Citizen 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.
(**) Your passport can not expire no earlier than
ninety days from the date that you arrive in Costa
Rica. For example, if you are going to fly to Costa Rica
on January 1st, your passport can not expire before
April 1st of the same year.
Note: 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.
Tourist Visa
If Costa Rica requires you to acquire a tourist visa, you
will be allowed to enter Costa Rica and stay either for 30,
60, or 90 days. Once you enter Costa Rica as a tourist, you
will have two choices:
1. Conduct your business until your tourist permitted
stay expires:
Business people who want to enter Costa Rica to do
business for a short period of time (less than 90 days),
usually enter Costa Rica with a tourist visa and conduct business
without getting a temporary residency permit
due to time constraints.
If your business will require you to stay in Costa Rica
a bit longer than your permitted stay, you can cross the
border into one of Costa Rica's neighboring countries,
(ensuring that the port of exit official stamps your
passport with the exit seal), and come back into
the country.
When you re-enter Costa Rica you will be granted
another 30, 60, or 90 days to stay as a tourist.
If you are
a business person who requires visa issuance authorization
to get a visa to enter Costa Rica and
want to stay longer to finish your course or study of
more than 30 days you file for an extension of stay
at the Immigration Department of Costa Rica.
2. File for an Employment Temporary Residence Permit (TRP).
The
employment TRP is granted to upper management executives, business
people, board members of a foreign
or international company, ESL (English as a Second
Language) teachers, technicians, scientist, professionals,
or people who intend to work for a Costa Rican
company or an International company with offices
in Costa Rica.
You will be required to leave Costa Rica upon labor
contract expiration so you must keep renewing
your contract in a timely manner.
The company must be accredited
by the Immigration
Department of Costa Rica. The company will be 100%
responsible for your stay as well as for your departure.
It takes between 90 and 180 days to process your
temporary resident permit request.
Business Temporary Residence Permit
(TRP) Required Documents:
- A passport valid for at least six months.
- Academic Degree
or equivalent. (*)
- Original Birth certificate. (*)
- Police Record from home country.
(*)
- Personal letter addressed to the Director
of the Department of Temporary Permits & Extension
of Stays at the Immigration Department stating your
name, last names, nationality, passport number, current address,
area of work specialization, name of your
employer (person or company), your job description,
your expected salary. The letter must be authenticated by
an attorney or you must sign it in front of the person receiving
your application at the Immigration
Department.
- Complete employment temporary residence
permit application issued by the Department of Temporary
Residence Permits.
- A recent face forward view passport
sized
photograph (Enclose four original photographs;
Costa Rican passport size photographs are
4.5 cm high X 3.5 cm wide (1.77 in. high X
1.37 in. wide).
- A receipt of Finger prints issuance (if
older than 10 years old), taken at the Archivo
Policial del Ministerio de Seguridad Publica
(Police Department at the Ministry of National
Security).
- They are open from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and
are located at the Centro Comercial del Sur
(Sur Shopping Center). You must bring your
passport and two frontal passport size
photographs.
- Labor contract according to the Labor Code
Article 24.
- An employer letter stating the reasons
why he / she wants to hire you.
- Copy of the Employer Tax
ID.
- Certified copy of all pages of your passport.
Each copy must bear the stamp and signature
of the attorney who authenticated them.
- Copy of all professional
degrees authenticated
and legalized.
- Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (Social
Security Administration) certification stating that the employer
is registered with them and it is
current with his / her dues.
- Additional documents may
be requested at
the Immigration Department's own discretion.
Once your temporary residency permit is approved,
you will be required to make a guarantee deposit
equaled to $100.00 US, then take the receipt to the Immigration
Department to pick up your temporary
residency permit.
If you are a professional, you will be required
to register with the proper professional association
in Costa Rica.
*Document is not required. However, in some cases
the Immigration Department of Costa Rica will require you
to submit it.
Document must be authenticated by a Consulate
of Costa Rica prior to coming to Costa Rica, translated
into Spanish (either in your home country by a Registered translator,
by a Costa Rican translator certified by
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Costa Rica, or by
a Costa Rican Notary Public who speaks the language
and certifies the translation), issued thirty days prior
to your arrival in Costa Rica, and be no more than
six months old after its issuance date.
Authentication & Certifications
Authentication Services rendered by Consulates of Costa Rica
in the U.S. The Consulate General in Washington, D.C. and the
other Consulates of Costa Rica in the U.S.
can only authenticate documents issued in the United States
of America.
Honorary Consulates of Costa Rica may not authenticate
powers of attorneys. If you have a document issued in
another country, you need to contact the nearest Embassy or
Consulate that is in charge of the area in which the document
was issued. |
