Embassy of Costa Rica in Canada.

Welcome to our Tourism Section. Here you will find many useful information about visiting Costa Rica. If you have any question please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yellow Fever Vaccination Requirement to Enter Costa Rica

The Costa Rican government instituted a requirement that starting on November 1st, 2007, persons traveling to Costa Rica from certain countries in South America and Sub-Sahara Africa must have an International Certificate of Vaccination against Yellow Fever. Those affected countries are: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana and Venezuela

Entry Requirements.

Citizens holding valid passports from the following countries are permitted to stay in Costa Rica for 90 days without a visa.

Canada, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, , Denmark, Finland, France and dependencies Germany, Greece, Holland and dependencies, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad & Tobago, United Kingdom, United States of America, Czech Republic and Uruguay.

TRAVEL DOCUMENTS:

a) A valid passport is required to enter Costa Rica; passports must be valid for 30 days upon arrival (this overruled previous requirements).
b) Canadians under 18 years of age can enter the country either with their own passport or included at one of his/her parent passport.

Effective January 15, 2008, nationals of countries that require a consular visa to enter Costa Rica are no longer required to apply for the visa, if the visitors are holders of:

A valid visa (multiple entries) to enter the United States of America (B1, F1, H1B, G4, etc.) for the European Union, and/or Canada. The visa must be stamped on the passport and be valid for a minimum of 6 months. Or a permanent residency (green card) in the United States of America, Canada and/or the European Union for a minimum of 6 months. The passport expiration date needs to be over 30 days from the day of arrival to the country Visitors are allowed to remain in the country for up to 30 days. All visa extensions should be requested at the Immigration Office in San José, Costa Rica.

NOTE: for more information please visit the follow website for the Immigration Costa Rica web site. (Please note that the content of this web page is in Spanish and English).

A partir del 15 de enero de 2008, los ciudadanos de países que requirían de visa consular para entrar al país, ya no necesitarán aplicar para la visa si tienen:

Una visa válida (entradas múltiples) para entrar a los Estados Unidos de América (B1, F1, H1B, G4, etc.) y/o cualquier país de la Unión Europea. Esta visa debe estar estampada en el pasaporte y ser válida por más de 6 meses. O Residencia permanente (green card) en los Estados Unidos de América y/o la Unión Europea con una vigencia no inferior a 6 meses. El pasaporte debe ser válido por 30 días a partir del día de entrada al país Visitantes pueden permanecer en el país por 30 días. Si se desea extender la visa, debe tramitarse en la Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería en San José, Costa Rica

Common Questions.

Thanks for your interest in Costa Rica. Enclosed you will find some of the most common questions/answers that can help you know better Costa Rica.

1) How to get there?

You have two ways of going to Costa Rica:
a) Commercial flights b) Charter flights

Commercial flights:
There are all year round and the most popular route is -Toronto or Montreal/Miami/San Jose (flights time approximately 5 hrs).

Charter flights:
There are available from any Travel Agency especially from the beginning of November to the end of April; the costs of charter flights are normally 50% less expensive than commercial flights.
We have two International Airports: International Airport Juan Santamaria ( 15 minutes of San Jose downtown) and International Airport in Liberia (capital of the Province of Guanacaste).
Main ports: Caldera Port (Pacific coast) and Limon Port (Caribbean coast).

2) Do Canadians require a “Visa” to visit Costa Rica?

3) Do you need any vaccination before entering the country?

No, all main contagious diseases have been controlled many years ago.
Tap water can be drunk everywhere. A mosquito repellent is recommended if you are visiting the rain forest.

4) How costly is the food compared to Canadian prices?

5) Departure Tax:

At your departure you will be asked to pay US$26 dollars which can be paid in cash or credit card.

6) How is the Costa Rican currency compared with the Canadian dollar?

For one Canadian dollar you will receive approximately 460 colones. Costa Rica has a free movement of capital as well as public and private banking system. The Canadian bank of Nova Scotia has many branches in San Jose.

7) Provinces:

Costa Rica has seven beautiful provinces, all of them offer many places to visit and things to do. They are: San Jose (capital), Heredia, Cartago, Alajuela, Puntarenas(Pacific coast), Guanacaste (Pacific coast), Limón (Caribbean coast). Almost the 30% of our territory are National Parks.

8-Getting around

Rent a car is an excellent idea to get around and discover Costa Rica. Due to our small territory (51.000 km2), you could go from coast to coast in one day. You are allowed to drive with your Canadian driver license and passport.
-A good bus service is the most popular and cheapest way to get around. Taxi Service is very good and cheaper than it is in Canada. It would be a good choice if you want to go directly from the Airport to any place. For example, if you are traveling from Liberia Airport to any beach in the Province of Guanacaste, you could take a taxi, it is not as expensive as you may think.
-Another very good choice is taking an organized tour; most of them are contacted by your Hotel.

9-Lodging

Costa Rica offers all types of lodging facilities, since five star Hotels, all included resorts until Bed and Breakfast or small rooms and bath for rent (cabins). In some areas camping facilities are available.
For list of Hotels, please see: www.hotels.co.cr

Getting married in Costa Rica

Many couples from around the world have chosen to celebrate their most important day in our tropical paradise.

According to Costa Rican legislation, civil marriages are celebrated by a Notary Public; catholic marriages are celebrated by catholic priests, who act as a representative of the Church and notary publics at the same time.

3- If you have been married before, you will require these additional documents:
a) A certified copy of the divorce statement.
b) A certified copy of your previous spouse’s death.

4- Documents described above must be certified by the Consulate of Costa Rica, before arrival and must be issued no more than six months prior to the marriage ceremony. Certification fees: US$40 payable by deposit to the account No. 0005-4608-520, Bank of Montreal, Embassy of Costa Rica-Consular Services, please enclose the original and a copy of the receipt with the documents.The above documents should be authenticated by Foreign Affairs Canada, Authentication Office, for information call them at: (613) 2995-0119.

5- Two witnesses (non relatives preferred) must have the following documents:
a) For non Costa Rican citizens: A passport valid for at least six months.
b) For Costa Rican citizens: A Costa Rican identity card (cédula de identidad).

7- If you are marrying a Costa Rican citizen, your future spouse will require the
following documents:

a. A valid Costa Rican identity card (cédula de identidad).
b. A Certificate of Single Status issued by the Civil Registry. (Certificado de Soltería del Registro Civil).

Registration of your marriage in Canada

You should arrange with your lawyer in Costa Rica the presentation of the appropriate documents in order to register the marriage in Canada.

1- Marriage Certificate issued by the Costa Rican Civil Registry (Registro Civil). Usually it takes up to six weeks to get the certificate from this office.
2- Translation (Spanish to English or French) of the marriage certificate by an Official Translator of the Costa Rican Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
3- Authentication from the Authentication Office of the Costa Rican Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
4- Authentication from the Canadian Embassy in Costa Rica.
5- Presentation of the documents described above to the Vital Statistics Office in your Province for the appropriate registration in Canada.

Taking your Pet to Costa Rica

1) An International Health Certificate issued by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, that states that the pet has all the vaccines (Issue date of certificate must be no more than 3 months old). This document does not need to be authenticated by the Consulate of Costa Rica.

Learning Spanish in Costa Rica

If you want to learn Spanish in a beautiful and peaceful place, near the beach and meeting friendly people, the best option is Costa Rica. The country offers a great amount of Private Schools; most of them offer homestay with a “tico” family, tours and other services.

Spanish courses are also available at University Level.

Please see underneath some Spanish Schools in Costa Rica.

1) Costa Rica-North American Cultural Centre:
(506) 2225-94-33 Fax: (506) 2224-1480
www.cccncr.com

2) Forester Instituto International:
(506) 2225-3155 Fax: 2225-9236
www.fores.com

3) Centro Linguístico Conversa:
(506) 2221-76-49 Fax: (506) 2233-2418
e-mail: conversa@sol.racsa.co.cr

4) Instituto Interamericano de Idiomas(INTENSA):
(506) 2225-6009 Fax: (506) 2253-4337
e-mail: spanish@intensa.com
www.intensa.com

5) Academia de Idiomas Escazú:
(506) 2228-7736
e-mail: spanish@sol.racsa.co.cr
www.crspanish.com

6) Instituto de Lenguaje Pura vida: Heredia city.
(506) 2237-0387
e-mail: puravida@amerisol.com

7) Escuela de Lenguas Modernas, Universidad de Costa Rica
[506] 2207-47-03
www.ucr.ac.cr

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