LEGAL PERMANENCY /VISA COSTA RICA

IMMIGRATION INFORMATION

PURCHASING YOUR PLANE TICKET

Because of more stringent immigration laws now imposed by the Costa Rican government, airlines are required to ensure that all passengers coming to Costa Rica have either a return ticket or some form of visa before boarding the plane. There are four different ways you can satisfy this requirement.

1. Purchase a round trip ticket with a return date no later than 90 days after entering Costa Rica.

2. Purchase a ticket to fly to Panama or Nicaragua (more expensive than a bus ticket, but possibly less expensive than flying back to the U.S.)

3. Ask your Big Brother to buy you a bus ticket to either Panama or Nicaragua (approximately $25 per person).

4. Obtain a provisional student visa (see instructions below.)

DOCUMENTS YOU WILL NEED TO APPLY FOR A STUDENT VISA

If you desire to obtain a student visa, please bring the following documents with you to Costa Rica.

1. Birth certificate (for all members of the family, including children).

2. Police record for all adults, 18 years or older, from the state in which have lived for the last two years.

3. If only one spouse will be studying, a marriage certificate.

All these documents must be accompanied by an apostille seal that can be obtained from the relevant governmental office (usually your Secretary of State).

Note: When you get to Costa Rica, you will need to pay approximately $150 per person in fees for the student visa. If you did not obtain a provisional student visa before coming to Costa Rica, you will need to pay an additional $200 per person (for changing your immigration status from “tourist” to “student).

For U.S citizens only: To check locations, phone numbers and addresses of all the Costa Rican consulates and the embassy, go to http://www.explorecostarica.com/newsmanager/publish/Costa_Rica_Consulates_in_the_United_States.shtml.

HOW TO OBTAIN A PROVISIONAL STUDENT VISA

BEFORE YOU COME TO COSTA RICA

Obtaining a provisional student visa before coming to Costa Rica has two advantages: a) you will not need to purchase a ticket out of Costa Rica, and b) you will not have to pay $200 per person to change your immigration status from “tourist” to “student” after you arrive. If you decide to get a provisional student visa, you will need to do the following:

1. Get original documents (birth certificate, marriage certificate [if applicable] and police reports) at the relevant governmental offices (usually your Secretary of State), together with the apostille seal.

2. Ask the Institute to send you a special letter (not the usual acceptance letter) to show that you have been accepted into the Spanish study program.

3. Take these documents, or mail them, to a Costa Rican embassy or consulate in the country where you live.

4. Take your passport(s) to the embassy or consulate, so that they can stamp the provisional visa into the passport. (If you cannot go yourself, you can authorize someone else that lives closer to the consulate to do it for you. They will need to have a notarized letter from you authorizing them to act on your behalf.)

REMAINING AS A TOURIST

If you decide not to apply for a student visa and choose instead to remain as a tourist, you must leave the country every 90 days for 72 hours. The Institute has scheduled one or two long weekends into the calendar, so that you can do this without missing classes.

Students who are coming for only one trimester, will want to weigh the consequences of overstaying the 90-day limit, which are: 1) exposing themselves to the unlikely possibility of being deported and 2) paying a fine of $100 the next time they come to Costa Rica OR waiting the required period of time before returning. (The period of time required = three times the amount of time that one overstayed. For example, if you overstayed by one month, you must wait at least three months before you can return, or else pay a fine of $100 when you re-enter the country.)

If you have any questions concerning the immigration process, please feel free to contact Grettel Pérez at < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >;.