According to data published by Our World in Data Costa Rica’s ratio of Covid-19 vaccinated population is 4.8 per 100 inhabitants, slightly under the world average of 5 per every 100. The country registers over 250 thousand vaccines applied, 77% of which correspond to first doses while 23% to second doses. On March 23 Costa Rica received the biggest lot of vaccines yet, a total of 119 thousand...

On March 26, U.S. President Joe Biden invited 40 world leaders to the Leaders Summit on Climate he will be hosting on April 22 and 23, the White House informed; this is the first action taken by Biden to return the United States to the Paris Agreement after former President Donald Trump announced the decision to leave in 2017 which didn’t become effective until November 2020. “The Leaders Summi...

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica In my March 14th article about the validity of foreign drivers’ licenses used by tourists, I also mentioned that it was pending an official resolution. At long last, we finally have that resolution, and it will be published in the official newspaper La Gaceta in the next few days, according to the MOPT website. The resolution covers two categ...

The Minister of Tourism, Gustavo Segura, announced that Costa Rica will be ready to open land borders as of April 5th for tourism purposes. The country reopened its air and sea borders in August 2020. The Costa Rican Tourism Board considers it is ready to proceed with the normal operation of land borders, which also allows European tourists to move freely between Costa Rica, Panama, and Nicaragua...

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica While unofficial at this writing, MOPT (Costa Rica Ministry of Public Works and Transportation) has issued a recent communication. The validity of foreign drivers’ licenses for TOURISTS with valid visas has been extended to June 1, 2021. This is in keeping with the recent TOURIST visa extensions from March 2, 2021, to June 1, 2021. The offici...

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica If you go to the MOPT (Costa Rica’s Ministry of Public Works & Transportation) website (English translation), you will see a very misleading headline: “Drivers can use foreign license for 6 more months.” https://www.mopt.go.cr/wps/portal/Home/inicio/ We wish. Not true for those of you who just had your TOURIST visa extended to Ju...

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica As mentioned again in my February 24 article here, throughout 2020, the Costa Rica government repeatedly extended visa expiry dates. That last extension, up until last night, was until today: March 2, 2021. They had announced that there would be no further extensions. The previously announced land border openings to tourists were also push...

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica With the impending March 2 visa expiry looming, people are understandably getting very stressed out. Due to fear of COVID, many do not wish to move about unnecessarily, let alone leave Costa Rica to get a renewed visa stamp. Understandably, the idea seems preposterous and counter to so-called COVID safety initiatives. Foreigners also wish to ...

The owner of the luxury hotel La Mansion Inn of Manuel Antonio, Harry Bodaan, has received a six-month extension of his house arrest, accused of the murder of anesthesiologist Dra. Maria Luisa Cedeno Quesada at his hotel in July. The doctor’s family has commented, “This is a very painful crime, terribly atrocious and terribly violent. What the family wants is justice – that is swift and final.” ...

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica Tensions are running high as we continue to endure COVID and its impact on tourists and those seeking legal residency in Costa Rica. Readers under stress are least capable of absorbing reams of information, so I will be as concise as possible in addressing or re-addressing some key issues. March 2 visa expiry date: Out of compassion for tour...

It has been a common practice for expatriates to buy real estate property and vehicles in Costa Rica and proceed by placing the title on a corporation created with the sole purpose of protecting said assets from possible liabilities, liens by creditors and other contingencies. Then these corporations do not generate any type of income and therefore maintain the status of inactive for tax purposes....

Costa Rican authorities seized 2 tons of cocaine that were found hidden inside a container in APM Terminals in Moín, Limón. Scanners showed something suspicious and the Drug Control Police proceeded to inspect the container which was loaded with pineapples in route Costa Rica – Belgium, among the cargo police officers found 2,000 packages of cocaine each weighing approximately 1 kilogram. ...

Costa Rican scientists are aggressively developing a rapid molecular saliva-based test for COVID-19 that will yield results in only one hour, and will cost $15-20. No elaborate equipment will be required to amplify the generic material, making the test much simpler to process. The first prototype has been created and scientists are calling the RT-LAMP test “tiCOVID-19”, after the affectionate name...

Costa Rica appears in National Geographic Traveller magazine “Best of the World 2021” list, in which international editorial teams selected “35 incredible places to discover in 2021 and beyond”, under five categories: sustainability, family, nature, adventure and culture. “The joy of travel comes from the unexpected. And while the pandemic was just that, brining journeys to a standstill, it has...

For the month of February, the Costa Rican Government announced some changes in the sanitary restrictions. When it comes to vehicular transit restrictions the weekend schedule will be extended for an additional hour, which means cars (restricted still by plate number) will be allowed to transit between 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. The weekend restriction by plate number remains in place for Februar...

Tour guides Gerald Pereira and Oscar Solano Rojas were conducting the “Sloth Tour” for the Sloth Conservation Foundation early on the morning of December 20th last year, when they saw something that stopped them dead in their tracks. Tucked into the leaves of a Cecropia (Guarumo in Spanish) tree was a mama sloth tending to a baby sloth, but the two sloths were from totally different species. Mama ...

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rodolfo Solano, presented the US Ambassador to Costa Rica, Sharon Day with the award of the “Juan Mora Fernandez National Order in the level of Great Cross of Silver Plate” in honor of the conclusion of her diplomatic mission in Costa Rica. The ceremony was held in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the presence of President Carlos Alvarado. Chancellor Solano e...

Organized crime in Costa Rica and throughout Latin America has discovered a way to take advantage of the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, while keeping their profits high and their traffickers gainfully employed. INTERPOL (International Criminal Police Organization) has discovered substandard facemasks, counterfeit hand sanitizers, and most recently, bogus COVID-19 injections that traffickers refer ...

Many expats coming to live or invest in Costa Rica decide or receive advice that creating a corporation is the best way to operate and protect their investment here. There are numerous reasons why they decide to proceed with that, but establishing a business, opening a bank account, or obtaining asset protection seem to be the most common ones. The initial process of a creating a new corporation i...

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica Happy New Years Everyone Costa Rica Entry Requirements… For entry requirements and recently announced new restrictions within Costa Rica, please click on the links below and also read part one "How COVID-19 Changed Costa Rica Immigration in the Eyes of Residency Expert Laura Gutierrez" a recently published article on December 29th. You ...

Costa Rica took the top spot this year in InternationalLiving.com’s 2021 Annual Global Retirement Index. which scores the world´s top 25 retirement destinations across 13 categories, including, including cost of living, governance, retiree benefits, climate and healthcare, among many other aspects that are important for those looking for a place to retire. It also topped the healthcare category. ...

The Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia, Guanacaste received two new routes operated by United Airlines proceeding from the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles, California, USA; it also received four flights from routes previously suspended due to the pandemic. The inaugural flight arriving from Los Angeles arrived at Liberia on Friday at 15:37 hours, while the flight from San Fr...

The Ministry of Culture in Costa Rica has informed they expect to allow small public events starting July 2021 following, of course, new sanitary protocols to guarantee the security of the attending audience. Ada Acuña, director of Artistic Production of the Ministry of Culture explained that a massive event is “financially viable when it’s for a minimum 10,000 to 15,000 people”. Meetings ...

Last year President of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado, signed Law number 9875 to Transfer the Holidays (that fall on weekends or mid-week) to Mondays with the purpose of promoting national tourism during the years 2020 through 2024 with the purpose of helping reactive the tourism sector. Below you will find the list of holidays that fall on weekends or mid-week that will be transferred to Mondays:...

With the assistance of the United States, the Ministry of Public Security purchased three vessels from the U.S. company Metal Shark, a firm specialized in the design of vessels for law enforcement purposes. Also with the assistance of the United States, the Aerial Surveillance Service (SVA) recently added a new aircraft to facilitate law enforcement and counter-narcotics operations and a new hang...

Costa Rica, like many Latin American countries, is experiencing tough economic times as the year 2020 comes to an end. Unemployment is at 25% (Our last report here was 24.4%), and many businesses have been forced to close down, of which most never to reopen. COVID-19 hit the country hard beginning in March, and lots of individuals were caught unprepared. Many people had already taken out loans fro...

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica Celebrating Christmas certainly felt different this year. It followed many fears, anxieties, adversities and loss of the past 10 months, all of which still weigh heavily upon us. Many were not able to be with family, neighbors and friends as in years past. There are still so many sick and under strain as some of us tearfully recall those who ...

The Government of Costa Rica announced changes in restrictions for the end and beginning of the year. The measures will apply to the entire country and are as follow: On Thursday, December 31st: The transit restriction will apply as of 7 p.m. and through 5 a.m. (exceptions apply). Commercial establishments that provide attention to the public will have to close at 7 p.m. and through 5 a.m...

The first shipment of Covid-19 vaccines arrived at the Juan Santamaría Airport in San Jose this evening of Wednesday, December 23. This shipment contained 9,750 vaccines. The government announced that this Thursday two senior citizens and two members of the health care system will be vaccinated in a symbolic public activity; however, the vaccination will begin officially on Monday, December 28t...

Costa Rica has its own style of corridas de toros (bullfights), a style shared by no other country on earth. The bulls in “toros a la tica” don’t die in the ring. They fight hard, entertain the crowds, and live to fight another year. But the humans involved in these bullfights tend to get injured – sometimes gravely – so Costa Rica’s Ministry of Health decided this year to forego the tradition and...

Costa Rican authorities with the assistance of the USA Coast Guard Service detained two vessels carrying over 2.4 Tons of cocaine in waters of the Pacific. In under 4 hours, the same Coast Guard Service crew patrolling waters of the South Pacific alerted about the presence of a suspicious motorboat at around 7 p.m. on Friday, December 19, the same was intercepted 150 kilometers from Golfito, th...

The Social Security Service (CCSS) in Costa Rica confirmed this Sunday they have only 5 available beds in ICU for critical COVID-19 patients. On Saturday hospitals had run out of beds for critical patients; CCSS had to relocate some patients to make some beds available, others became available after the passing of other critical patients. “We have reached a maximum capacity, it is very painful...

As of today, Friday, December 18, 2020 services such as Uber, Didi, Disney+, Expedia, Booking, Despegar, Aplaudir.com among others will have to add the 13% charge corresponding to the Value Added Tax (VAT), confirmed the Ministry of Treasury in Costa Rica. The list of websites is listed in the Ministry’s site hacienda.go.cr, new providers can be and will be included as needed and with three da...

United Airlines inaugurated this December 17th, 2020, the first of two new routes that will be connecting Costa Rica and the United States before the end of the year. The route inaugurated connects San Jose, Costa Rica to Los Angeles, California, USA, one of the North American cities with the largest concentration of tourists interested in traveling to Costa Rica. “Studies show that the west...

The United Nations General Assembly adopted by acclamation this past December 16 a resolution presented by Costa Rica and co-sponsored by 52 countries, to proclaim August 31 as the International Day for People of African Descent. Announced by Vice President Epsy Campbell Barr on a national broadcast last August on the occasion of the commemoration of the Historical Month of Afro-descendants in ...

The National Electric System (SEN) will sum at the end of 2020 its sixth consecutive year generating over 98% of renewable energy. The data provided by the Center of Energy Control (CENCE) also confirms that during the pandemic the electric consumption went down 3%. The energy that comes from the fuel is the lowest since 1986, this year it represented only 23.73 gigabytes hour, in addition to...

Bats are having their 15-minutes of fame this year because they are rumored to be the source of the coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. Costa Rica is doing its part to add to the knowledge of this small mammal – a new one was recently discovered in Northwest Costa Rica, the Saccopteryx bilineata bat, native to the Talamanca Mountain Range. Bats themselves never suffer from viruses. One of the amazing charac...

MicroVention-Terumo, a U.S.-Japanese company in the life sciences sector, announced that it will expand its Costa Rican operations with the construction of a new plant in Alajuela’s Coyol Free Zone. The 20,000 square-meter facilities will generate 2,000 more jobs in various administrative, operational, and engineering areas. MicroVention currently employs 1,700 workers in Costa Rica; its newest...

The paper money banknote that circulates the most in Costa Rica is the “rojo”, the red 1,000c note worth almost $2.00. Two years ago Costa Rica began making the rojo out of plastic substrate, in order to prolong its life and make it recyclable. In 2021, all Tico folding money will be made out of plastic, except the 50,000c note, which is being phased out of circulation. The rojo has won internatio...

Costa Rica has had 143,685 confirmed cases of COVID-19 through last Friday, December 4, out of these, 95,789 people have recovered, and 577 patients remain hospitalized. In total the country has registered 1,773 deaths related to COVID-19: 666 women and 1,107 men. The Government announced this week that it has formalized the agreement with Pfizer and BioNTech for the purchase of 3 million do...