Costa Rican Tourists Traveling to USA

Visiting any foreign country is more complicated than it has ever been before and yes!

Immigrating to Costa Rica is not as simple as it was. Like every other nation out there, Costa Rica is ‘evaluating’ possible changes to their immigration so if you have plans to move here or invest in real estate, you really should have this in mind from day one.

Nothing stays the same in Costa Rica or anywhere else. If you plan on living here full time and running any kind of a business, you should definitely be getting advice from a good Costa Rican immigration attorney as well as a competent business lawyer & accountant. Just as you would back home…

And for those of you who think the Costa Rican immigration requirements are complicated, picture yourself going through the following ordeal to go on vacation to a foreign country only a few hours away:

A: To begin with the Embassy charges you (like a 900#) just to telephone them to make an appointment to ‘apply’ for a tourist Visa to visit. You can NOT call this Embassy on a regular telephone line. This 900# is ‘busy’ for most of the day and to ask a question for this article, I never managed to get through after dialling more than 25 times…

B: The Embassy charges you US$114 ‘application fee’ to ‘apply’ for the tourist Visa (which does not assure that you will get a Visa.)

C: For the appointment, apart from the application, passport photographs etc., you are also advised to take with you six months of original bank statements and your car title if you own a car.

D: If employed, you must take an original letter from your employer stating your years of service with the company, your authorized vacation time, as well as your bank bookà

E: If self-employed or a business owner, you must provide evidence of sales receipts, profitability, employees, tax payments, length of experience and savings.

F: If you are a full time student, you must provide evidence of your academic record (including grades for the past year), focus of study and your parent or guardian’s employment. Also providing original evidence (for instance, original bank statements for the past six months) of your ability to pay all costs while in this country.

G. If you are a retired person, you must provide evidence of you pension, savings, and your children’s employment.

And this is just to visit as a ‘tourist!’ Can you guess which country we are referring to?

We are referring to the ‘tourist’ visa that Costa Ricans are required to get before visiting the United States of America just for a vacation. Check out the US Embassy website in Costa Rica…

Believe it or not … The following question is also included in the US Embassy tourist non-immigrant visa application:

“Do you seek to enter the United States to engage in export control violations, subversive or terrorist activities, or any other unlawful purpose? Are you a member or representative of a terrorist organization as currently designated by the U.S. Secretary of State? Have you ever participated in persecutions directed by the Nazi government of Germany; or have you ever participated in genocide?”

I wonder how many foreigners have ticked that box?

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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.