Costa Rica 180 Tourist Visa - Everything you need to know

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Күн бұрын

Costa Rica Extended it’s tourist visa from 90 days to 180 days, here is what you need to know:
**If you enter Costa Rica on September 8th and after you are eligible to receive up to 180 days for your tourist visa - you must present your return ticket as a requirement to enter the country
**Please remember this 180 days is not guaranteed, if you have a return ticket for example for 100 days they may only give you a 100 day visa
If you have a return ticket for 45 days for example, and you only received a 45 day visa, you can request immigration for an extension but they will only extend to the 90 days, not the 180
**If you entered into Costa Rica prior to September 8th, you still need to leave the country by the visa expiration date in your passport. This does not automatically extend your visa to 180 days.
**Driver’s license! ----- As of right now September 11th, your driver’s license is only valid for 90 days. I know this makes no sense. In order to renew your driver’s license you will need to leave the country and stamp back in to be able to drive. If you do not plan to drive while here in Costa Rica and you have a 180 day stamp, you may stay. Why? Immigration law and traffic law here in Costa Rica are two separate entities. So just because Immigration has stated you may stay past 90 days, traffic law still upholds that your driver’s license will expire if you go past your 90 days. They are trying to fix this, it may happen tomorrow or next year, Costa Rica is unpredictable.
**Residency or perpetual tourism? Should you be a perpetual tourist now that this rules makes it easier or should you file for residency? I ALWAYS recommend that if you are able to file for residency and you KNOW that you want to stay long term in this country and put down your roots here, then you should file residency. Remember that tourist visas are never 100% guaranteed. Imagine if you built a whole life here and then one day could not re-enter? If you are unsure if Costa Rica is the place for you yet long term or unable to file for residency, then go ahead as a “perpetual tourist.”
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Пікірлер: 33

@Charles-qt4hq Жыл бұрын

Excellent synopsis. Well done!

@chrisv_b Жыл бұрын

Thanks for u-date and clear information. Pura vida

@thomass2935 Жыл бұрын

super helpful, thanks again!

@TheDow1976 Жыл бұрын

Do you go to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua at the end of your visa? We used to do that back in '08-'09. Lots of fun!

@BruceCassidy-c3g Жыл бұрын

Residents no longer receive a passport stamp when arriving by air or sea. What is the impact on driving legally if your passport has no stamp and you are stopped by transit police

@cayetanocanales7662 10 ай бұрын

Thx for the video.

@victorgorgizi2522 11 ай бұрын

Can I convert tourist visa to residency in Costa Rica?

@Kattywagon29 Жыл бұрын

I am in the process of filing for residency - just gotta get a bank account open. Once I get my "golden ticket" showing that I am just awaiting approval, does that mean I don't have to worry about the driver's license situation, or do I still have to leave and come back? If so, is there an alternative, like an international driver's license?

@Dd214medaddy Жыл бұрын

there is no alternative, and you still need to leave every 90 days to legally drive. If you are pulled over you will get a steep fine and a big chance your plates will be taken from the vehicle with an additional fine. we are parents of a tico with a permanent residency application and are currently on month 6th of our application, and have been told its possible it can take up to 18th months

@Kattywagon29 9 ай бұрын

@@SarahElenaDesignsLife "You still need to renew your visa every 180 days to legally drive..." Wait, did they fix things??? I have my "golden ticket" while waiting for my residency paperwork to be processed (on month 5 now), but despite the 180-day visa upgrade for tourists, I have still been leaving every 90 days to reset my driving privileges. Are driving privileges synced up to be 180 days now too?

@SarahElenaDesignsLife 9 ай бұрын

@@Kattywagon29 Hi there ! No you’re right. It is the 90 days still. I have one of my assistants assisting with replying to comments. It IS still 90 days.

@Kattywagon29 9 ай бұрын

@@SarahElenaDesignsLife I got hopeful for a second, but I figured I would give you a chance to respond before I started scouring the internet for news of the change. 😃

@kartrshing466 5 ай бұрын

Great beautiful as a flower god bless you mam

@vivduv Жыл бұрын

I know this a different subject but since you know so much about Costa Rica….. I have learned that you need a passport to sail on a cruise that makes a port stop in Limon, Costa Rica. However some people that are going on the same cruise are arguing that you DON’T! Do you have any insight? We have passports of course!

@SarahElenaDesignsLife Жыл бұрын

For U.S. citizens, a valid passport is required for entry into Costa Rica. This means that if your cruise includes a port stop at Limon, Costa Rica, you will need to have a valid passport with you. Additionally, the passport should be valid for at least six months beyond your planned date of departure from Costa Rica

@paulstewart323 10 ай бұрын

I have read that your passport needs to be valid for one day longer than your stay. Can you please clarify what you mean by needing to have your passport valid for 6 months beyond your stay?

@athe98 3 ай бұрын

And when you have a car (mine) how does it work ?:) i canr find the information on internet…

@TheDow1976 Жыл бұрын

Question: Does being a "perpetual tourist" negatively affect one's ability to own property in CR? I prefer to have 1 foot in the US and 1 foot down there, in the future, but inquiring minds want to know.

@SarahElenaDesignsLife 9 ай бұрын

You can own property being a tourist, that's totally fine

@TheDow1976 Жыл бұрын

I was actually riding my horse like that with hands up just 2 days ago.🙂