As a US citizen, a child born abroad usually has the right to be eligible for US citizenship as well.

Since my children were both born in Costa Rica of US citizen parents, they were both granted Costa Rican and US Citizenship. They each have their US and Costa Rican passports. When we fly to the US, we have to use their US Passports since using their Costa Rican passports would require a visa.

Since our children are Costa Rican citizens, they must get a stamp in the back of the their passport that gives one or both parents permission to travel with the children outside of the country. I think this is a great idea and I believe the logic behind it is to avoid child trafficking and kidnapping, among other unfortunate things.

The process of getting a US Passport for a child born to US parents in Costa Rica has become increasingly complicated. I have to say I was shocked to see how much the requirements have changed in just two short years. (Our older son is 2.5 years old).

We applied for our younger son’s (6 months) passport and report of birth abroad last month. I filled out the documentation on line, printed up all the necessary documents and sent everything DHL to the US Embassy. We were then sent an email stating that our application was received and were given an appointment time where we would have to show up with our son and us–the parents. We were also instructed at that time, which, if any, documents were lacking or requested.

In this case, the US Embassy required me to bring in ‘pregnancy’ photos as well as medical records/immunizations for our son. (Apparently the certified birth certificate and letter from my OB/GYN was not enough)? This is, of course, in addition to the 3 forms you must fill out (passport application, report of birth abroad and parentage affidavit).

We also had to provide two passport size photos of our son, our marriage certificate, tax returns or college transcripts (to prove prior residence in the USA), our new and old passports and the BEST part of all is they wanted my husband (who is also a US Citizen) to list his last 10 years of travel in and out of Costa Rica. This was a new requirement as well, as we never had to do that with our older son.

I asked the woman why they would make it so complicated for a couple who are both permanent residents of Costa Rica, are US Citizens and had a son in the country already, not to mention my side of the family is all from here. Her response was that the US Government doesn’t assume anything…..

The appointment (which was given to us one week after the application was received) lasted about 30 minutes and we waited about 20 minutes. Not too bad. The rates have also gone up. I spent around $200 to get all of this done. Two years ago it was about 30% less. They also did not give me the option to send the passport via DHL to Liberia this time. They said they did not recommend it for security reasons (but if you are a Costa Rican who is getting a Visa to travel to the USA, DHL is your only option). Doesn’t make sense!

Not that much does when the government is involved. So, we must now take another 4 hour trip back to San Jose to pick up the passport in person. Once you are approved for the passport, it is about a one week processing time frame.

If you have a child here, know that you must have your documents all together or it will delay things and NOTHING is a ‘for sure’ thing. Even when both parents are American.

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Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.