Requirements for Costa Rica Travel

More than a million people are traveling to Costa Rica every single year. If you are planning a trip to Costa Rica for business, pleasure or a combination of both, you should be aware that there are requirements that you, if traveling internationally, must follow before you visit Costa Rica. In order to obtain the Costa Rica information that you need, you should contact either the Costa Rican consulate or the Costa Rican embassy as far in advance as you can, to make sure you are prepared for the trip ahead of time and have met all of the requirements.

Travelers to Costa Rica who are coming from the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom can travel to Costa Rica without a visa as long as they have a passport which is valid. If you are traveling using your passport without a visa, then you should know that your passport has to be valid for at least six months beyond whatever period of time you wish to stay. Passports used by United Kingdom nationals must be endorsed either with 'British Citizen', 'British Overseas Territory Citizen', or 'British Overseas National' in order for them to be valid. If you were not aware of this Costa Rica information, you may end up trapped at the airport and unable to enjoy everything that Costa Rica has to offer.

Travelers from New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and South Africa can stay in Costa Rica for as many as thirty days without having a visa. They must apply for an extension of stay if they stay longer than these initial thirty days. If you are a citizen of another country and not sure which Costa Rica information to pay attention to, your best bet is actually to contact the Costa Rican embassy or consulate directly in order to verify whether one will need a visa or not for travel to Costa Rica.

There is more Costa Rica information that you should know before you travel. For example, you must have an onward or return ticket. If you overstay your visa or your entry stamp, you have to pay a fee of around $45 in order to obtain an exit visa, which is required from the Immigration Department if you plan on staying for more than thirty days. Shorter stays of thirty days or less do not require an exit permit, as long as the traveler is holding a disembarkation card. There is an airport departure tax which all travelers must pay, either through the airport or a travel agent.

If a child is traveling but is traveling alone or without one or both of his or her lawful parents, then it is necessary to produce documents to show the child's relationship to any accompanying travelers. If pets are traveling, health certificates are required to be issued through a licensed veterinarian at least two weeks before the date of travel. All animals who travel to Costa Rica are required to be tested and vaccinated for distemper, parvovirus, leptospirosis, rabies and hepatitis.

Here is a piece of Costa Rica information that many people are not aware of: When you are in Costa Rica, it is necessary for you to always carry a copy of all of your travel documents, if you want to avoid inconveniences which can come quite unexpectedly. If your passport is lost during travel to Costa Rica, you must immediately contact the embassy or consulate for your country so that you can obtain a replacement passport within twenty four hours.