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Antonic…depends on how adverturious (sp?) you are.. I went by bus and then bought a return ticket to back just over the border which was an “open” ticket. I did end up having to pay for a round trip ticket to get back to the U.S. even though I was only going one way, as a one way ticket actually cost more thank round trip…say what??? but true. I am going in July or Aug to stay for a long time so I guess this time I will just have to gut it out and buy a round trip ticket (just in case they ask to see my return ticket) although I hear and read on this site and others that Most of the time they never bother to ask.. well who really knows
Terry From TexasTerrycook thankyou for respond we are coming to Costa Rica from Australia my wife is American and iam Canadian dual citezens ollso i am regin from Croatia you can tell by my speling we planing to stay in Costa Rica not ever going back to Australia 3 month visa and then i have to go to Canada and America my wife is from cincinati ohio our family and grand children are there to buy return ticket to Australia it kost fortune so we bouth ticket to go to usa and canada insted in cause thay ask for return ticket in Costa Rica i hope thet will work Hola from Australia we arived in Costa Rica July 11 /07
regads Antonic and Ann.Yes, but I’ve never been asked to produce a return ticket and same goes for everyone in my family who goes back and forth.
I also have a one way ticket to Costa Rica, I bought one from CR to U.S. and back. Originally I came in to CR on a one way ticket and wasn’t asked for a return ticket, through TACA Airlines. But this time around , the Taca Airline agent told me if I return on my current ticket from US to CR , I will need to show a departure ticket. She told me that a reservation printout won’t work ( they can be cancelled ) and even if I have paperwork to show I am finishing up my residency paperwork on this final trip, that will not be acceptable either. I asked If I can purchase a ticket from CR to say, Nicaragua , she also said no, it has to be back to the US.
I can take the chance and come in without a return ticket to the US or buy one , say from San Jose to Fort Lauderdale , which costs $348 right now. I will probably buy one and do the correct thing, as long as my residency gets approved , I can use the new ticket for a getaway trip to the US and return to CR hopefully with proof of residency the next time around.
International laws say that the one who brings you to a country (in this case the airline-company) is responsable that you also will leave the country. The airline company is not interested in what you will do, but their duty is to make legitimate that you will go back to your own country. That is why you have to buy the return-ticket. Of course unless you are a citizen of that country.
If you don’t go back, no problem, but it will not be their problem, but yours.
Sometimes airlines don’t let you fly with them with a one-way-ticket because you are a tourist and have to go back to your country. But if you insist, you can sign a letter to wave any liability. Not all airlines do this.Get to spiritair.com quickly as the FLL/SJO fares are reduced again. $88 plus tax each way on Tues/Wed.
As low as $236 r/t w/o the club and insurance.
Also, they sell one way tickets!Harvey
FROM MEMORY:
The rules are that you have a return ticket OR leave a deposit with immigration of sufficient value to return home. This applies to both tourists and residents (all foreign nationals). That way if you are a bad egg they can send you home on your nickel.
The airlines may or may not enforce this dependent on the whim of the day as is often the case. The CR immigration officer may or may not ask to see your return ticket depending on his/her whim of the day. If you are passing through and have tickets to prove it I am sure that they would accept that as long as you have a plan and method to leave the country prepaid.
I have never been asked to show my return tickets. However, the airlines know who has and who does not and may give that information to immigration. But this assumes a level of efficiency in CR that may not yet exist. But it COULD.
The credit card era and buying (and canceling or changing) of tickets on-line has made these rules rather antiquated. On the other hand the integration of computer systems has also made it much easier for a country to check on your travel status IF they have the mechanism in place. If *I* were operating an international airport I would require the airlines to notify me of every non-complying entry. It is easy for them to do.
The answer is yes, but I also wondered since I recently had a one way ticket into CR myself. I just flew in this past weekend through TACA airlines, and no one ever questioned me about a return ticket. I did however have the $$ and itinerary for a flight back in case I had to purchase one at the counter.
I move back and forth to Costa Rica from Panama and the US every few months and previously conducted research over several years, 9 months at a time, on a tourist visa, leaving every 90 days for 72 hrs. Crossing boarders by foot or bus I’ve been repeatedly sent back across the board to buy a bus ticket in the other direction but never had anything more serious than a lecture from the immigration officier and a waste of a few hours of my time. Flying from the US to San Jose airport I’ve been refused check in with Delta and Continental at the US airport when without a return ticket and have had to buy a fully refundable one on my credit card and cancel it later more than once. Delta seem very hot on this, whereas TACA/LACSA less so. I’ve also got through with an Student Travel Assoication (STA) one way ticket that has a fake return, they made for me for this purpose (Its a common issue for backpacking students). In Costa Rica I’ve frequently been asked for evidence of a return ticket – but this may be because I have many stamps in my passport. Also, sometimes they don’t ask. As yet I’ve not had to pay the cost of return as a deposit to immigration. Sometimes I fly with a real return – its less stressful that way! The bottom line is that it could go either way at any point in the chain of travel depending on the individual airline agent or immigration agent. I’m in the US on a visa, and I’d say entering Costa Rica is alot easier than entering the US when you are not a resident, but the more prepared you are the better your passage will be. Good luck.
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