Costa Rica

YOUTH MOBILITY BETWEEN COSTA RICA AND CANADA

Costa Rican Citizens
Visas
Youth Mobility Between Costa Rica and Canada
Temporary and Permanent Residences
Payment Method
YOUNG PROFESSIONALS AND WORKING HOLIDAYS CATEGORY
INTERNSHIP, STUDENT, RESEARCHER, ACADEMIC, VOLUNTEER CATEGORY
IN CASE OF IMPOSSIBILITY TO APPLY FOR A VISA AS A FIRST STEP

1. YOUNG PROFESSIONALS AND WORKING HOLIDAYS CATEGORY

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS

This category is designed for young professional Canadian citizens, including post-secondary graduates, who wish to obtain working experience, training and career development in Costa Rica, under a pre-arranged contract of employment.

WORKING HOLIDAYS

This category is designed for young Canadian citizens who intend to travel to Costa Rica and work to supplement their financial resources.

Qualifying requirements:

  1. 01

    Be a Canadian citizen, between the ages of 18 and 35 inclusive.

  2. 02

    Be in possession of a departure ticket leaving Costa Rica at the end of your authorized period of stay.

  3. 03

    Confirm your intention to travel to Costa Rica and work to supplement your financial resources.

  4. 04

    Have the equivalent to CAD$2.500 to cover your expenses at the beginning of your stay.

  5. 05

    Not be accompanied by dependants.

  6. 06

    Provide a clean Canadian Police Certificate.

  7. 07

    Accept to purchase insurance for health care, including hospitalization and repatriation, for the duration of their authorized stay prior to arriving in the host country.

  8. 08

    Have not participated in the Young Professional/Working Holidays category before. After completing the year in Costa Rica and returning to Canada, participants have to wait 3 months before submitting a new application that will only be considered for a different category.

Process of Application to participate in the Young Professionals or Working Holidays Category

Canadian citizens interested in applying for a young professional or working holidays category can enter as a tourist (without needing to apply for a visa), which would enable the person to stay up to a maximum of 90 days in Costa Rica, following the entry requirements for tourism.

Within those 90 days, the person can search for a job and, if found, request the change of immigration status in Costa Rica, from tourist to a work category. This will have a cost of US$200, as a fee to process the immigration status change.

To be eligible to request a change of immigration status in Costa Rica, before you leave Canada you have to prepare the following:

Step I. Legalization of documents

Before leaving Canada, the applicant has to take with him/her all the Canadian documents that would be needed for the application of the special category, permit or residency in Costa Rica.

The documents to be prepared in Canada are the following documents:

  1. 01

    Birth Certificate.

  2. 02

    Criminal Record Check (with no more than 6 months of emitted)

  3. 03

    Recent certification (no more than one month of issuance) covering the last three months to prove you have enough funds (CAD$2500) to cover your expenses at the beginning or your stay in Costa Rica

Please review section “Legalization of Documents” to have the documents properly authenticated by the corresponding Canadian authorities before coming to the Consulate.

The documents will be legalized and given back to the applicant. The applicant will take these documents to Costa Rica, to finish the procedure to have a temporary residence.

Documents legalized by the Consulate must be taken to the Authentication Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica (Avenue 7-9, Streets 11-13, San José, Costa Rica), for authentication of the Consul’s signature. Documents issued in other language than Spanish to be valid in Costa Rica must be translated by an official translator. The list of official translators is available at the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica:

Step II. Temporary Residence/Permit Application

Once you are in Costa Rica, you must continue the process to get a temporary residence/permit at the General Direction of Immigration in San José, Costa Rica, where the applicant will request the temporary residency under the category that apply to their case. For example: specific occupation worker, professional, specialized technician, worker under contract, as appropriate.

Below you will find the main requirements that you with your employer must present to the General Direction of Immigration to process your temporary residence:

  1. 01

    Written and signed request to the Director General of Immigration Costa Rica, to get a temporary resident or special category as specific occupation worker, professional, specialized technician, worker under contract, whichever is applicable. Such written request must include the following applicant’s information: Full name, nationality, profession/occupation, date and place of birth, passport number, validity and type, address and place or means to receive notifications. The signature can be placed in front of the immigration officer that receives the application or have it notarized by a Costa Rican public notary.

  2. 02

    Complete the affiliation form available at the web site of the Direction of Immigration. Click here

  1. 03

    Birth certificate legalized and translated into Spanish by an official translator.

  2. 04

    Criminal Record legalized and stating not being condemned in the country of origin or any other country of residence in the last three years and translated into Spanish by an official translator.

  3. 05

    Certified true copies of all passport´s pages of the applicant or presentation of the original passport and a copy to be confronted by the official who receives the application.

  4. 06

    Proof of registration in the Consular Registry of the Embassy of Canada in Costa Rica.

  5. 07

    Proof of registration of fingerprints with the Police Archive at the Ministry of Public Security of Costa Rica.

  6. 08

    Two recent Passport photos.

  7. 09

    Pay applicable fee of US$50 to be deposited in Banco de Costa Rica account number 242480-0

  8. 10

    Applicable fee of 125 colones plus 2.50 colones per page of application presented to be deposited in Banco de Costa Rica account number 242480-0

  9. 11

    Contract of employment from a Costa Rican employer accrediting the applicant as a specific occupation worker, professional or specialized technician, as applicable, indicating the name of the employer, address and other relevant contact information, the job title of the position being offered, job description, duties and terms of employment, including salary, normal working hours, and duration of the contract.

  10. 12

    Under oath declaration of the employer indicating the specialized functions and knowledge of the person to be fitted for the job.

  11. 13

    Legal Identification of the company/employer that requests the working permit for the foreigner, with no more than one month of issuance as well as confirmation that the hiring company is up to date with their legal obligations (sanitary and health permits, operating permit and taxes, as applicable)

  12. 14

    For young professionals that will work in their field, incorporation to the corresponding Professionals College of Costa Rica, when required.

  13. 15

    For specialized technicians certification of his diplomas duly legalized

2. INTERNSHIP, STUDENT, RESEARCHER, ACADEMIC, VOLUNTEER CATEGORY

This category is designed for young Canadian citizens who are registered as students at a post-secondary institution in Canada, and who intend to complete part of their academic curriculum in Costa Rica, by doing studies, volunteer or a pre-arranged internship, research or work placement, including in the context of an inter-institutional arrangement between post-secondary institutions.

Qualifying requirements:

  1. 01

    Be a Canadian citizen, between the ages of 18 and 35 inclusive.

  2. 02

    Be in possession of a departure ticket leaving Costa Rica at the end of your authorized period of stay.

  3. 03

    Have the equivalent to CAD$2.500 to cover your expenses at the beginning of your stay.

  4. 04

    Not be accompanied by dependants.

  5. 05

    Provide a clean Canadian Police Certificate.

  6. 06

    Show that you have obtained a pre-arranged internship placement or school acceptance in Costa Rica to complete part of their academic curriculum.

  7. 07

    Accept to purchase insurance for health care, including hospitalization and repatriation, for the duration of their authorized stay prior to arriving in the host country.

  8. 08

    Have not participated in this category before. After completing the year in Costa Rica and returning to Canada, participants have to wait 3 months before submitting a new application that will only be considered for a different category.

Process of Application to participate in this Category

This process of application has two main steps if the institution where you are going to volunteer, study, research, intern or teach is registered before the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería in Costa Rica. Please contact the Embassy to confirm if your institution is registered.

Step I. Visa Application

The visa application is a personal procedure, for which you have to make an appointment in advance at the Consulate of Costa Rica in Ottawa. The appointment must be requested to the following e-mail:

The day of the appointment, the applicant must submit the following documents:

  1. 01

    Written request of a Provisional Visa Special Category for Canadian citizens under the Memorandum of Understanding concerning Youth Mobility, in the category of Internship/Student/Volunteer/Researcher/Teacher, signed before the Consul, and stating the intention and interests to participate in the program. Such written request must include the following applicant’s information: Full name, nationality, profession/occupation, date and place of birth, passport number, validity and type, address and place or means to receive notifications.

  2. 02

    Letter of offer or contract with the educative institution duly registered before the Immigration Authority of Costa Rica (Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería) for internship/study/volunteer/researcher/academic placement in Costa Rica to complete part of the academic curriculum, indicating the period of stay with the institution.

  3. 03

    Birth Certificate

  4. 04

    Criminal Record Check (with no more of 6 months of emitted)

  5. 05

    Recent certification (no more than one month of issuance) covering the last three months to prove you have enough funds (CAD$2500) to cover your expenses at the beginning or your stay in Costa Rica.

  6. 06

    1 Passport photo

  7. 07

    Photocopy of all the pages of the passport of the applicant and original passport valid for the whole period of stay in Costa Rica.

  8. 08

    Complete a Visa Request Form the day of the appointment at the Consulate.

  9. 09

    Any other document that consular authority considers necessary to verify the application.

  10. 10

    Proof of deposit of corresponding consular fees for a total of US$152.00 (US$40.00 for each of the 3 documents to legalize; US$30.00 for the Visa consular fee; and US$2.00 for the tax meter machine maintenance consular fee)

The birth certificate, criminal records check and proof of income have to be legalized. Please review section “Legalization of Documents” to have the documents properly signed before coming to the Consulate.

The three documents will be legalized and given back to the applicant. The applicant will take the documents to Costa Rica, to finish the procedure to have a temporary residence.

The documents legalized by the Consulate must be taken to the Authentication Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica (Avenue 7-9, Streets 11-13, San José, Costa Rica), for authentication of the Consul’s signature. Documents issued in other language than Spanish to be valid in Costa Rica must be translated by an official translator. The list of official translators is available at the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica: www.rree.go.cr

The deposit of the Consular fees has to be deposited at any branch of the TD Canada Trust in the account number N°02296-004-7304961, under the name of “Embassy of Costa Rica, Consular Services”

If paying by wire transfer an additional amount of $US14,00 must be deposited due to bank charges.

Provided all requirements are met, and according to the evaluation of the Consular officials in each particular case, the Provisional Visa Special Category for Canadian Citizens under de Memorandum of Understanding concerning Youth Mobility and an Administrative Resolution will be issued.

Step II. Temporary Residence Application

Once you are in Costa Rica, you must continue the process to get your special category permit at the Direction of Immigration in San José, Costa Rica, where the applicant will request temporary residency under the student/volunteer/researcher/academic category.

Below, you will find the main requirements that you must present to the Direction of Immigration to process your temporary residence request:

  1. 01

    Written and signed request to the Director General of Immigration Costa Rica, to get a temporary resident or special category as student/volunteer/researcher/academic category, whichever is applicable. Such written request must include the following applicant’s information: Full name, nationality, profession/occupation, date and place of birth, passport number, validity and type, address and place or means to receive notifications. The signature can be placed in front of the immigration officer that receives the application or have it notarized by a Costa Rican public notary.

  2. 02

    Complete the affiliation form available at the web site of the Direction of Immigration. Click here

  3. 03

    Birth certificate legalized and translated into Spanish by an official translator.

  4. 04

    Criminal Record legalized and stating not being condemned in the country of origin or any other country of residence in the last three years and translated into Spanish by an official translator.

  5. 05

    Certified true copies of all passport´s pages of the applicant or presentation of the original passport and a copy to be confronted by the official who receives the application.

  6. 06

    Proof of registration in the Consular Registry of the Embassy of Canada in Costa Rica.

  7. 07

    Proof of registration of fingerprints with the Police Archive at the Ministry of Public Security of Costa Rica.

  8. 08

    Two recent Passport photos.

  9. 09

    Pay applicable fee of US$50 to be deposited in Banco de Costa Rica account number 242480-0

  10. 10

    Applicable fee of 125 colones plus 2.50 colones per page of application presented to be deposited in Banco de Costa Rica account number 242480-0

  11. 11

    Signed letter of confirmation from the education institution confirming that the person has been accepted for an internship/study/volunteer/researcher/teacher placement in Costa Rica to complete part of the academic curriculum, indicating the period of the internship/study/volunteer/research/teaching and describing the role that the applicant will undertake.

  12. 12

    In the case of researchers and teachers: signed and authenticated work offer stating the roles, schedule and income the applicant will receive.

  13. 13

    In the case of volunteers: signed and authenticated document describing the volunteering project, the work to be performed, the time of permanence in the country and a detailing of the financing.

  14. 14

    In the case of students: confirmation of economic means to support him/herself during the period of the studies or if the person is under a scholarship, proof of the scholarship; its amount, period and expenses that will cover

  15. 15

    In the case of underage students: a legalized power of attorney has to be granted by the parents or legal guardian to appoint the person in Costa Rica who will be the legal representative of the student, including the authorization to sign exit permits from Costa Rica for the student.

3. IN CASE OF IMPOSSIBILITY TO APPLY FOR A VISA AS A FIRST STEP

When due to reasons of distance, you are not able to come to the Consulate to apply for the Provisional Visa Special Category for Canadian citizens, or when your institution is not registered with the Immigration Authority (Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería), you can skip the visa application step and follow this procedure:

Step I. Legalization of documents

Before leaving Canada, the applicant has to take with him/her all the Canadian documents that would be needed for the application of the special category, permit or residency in Costa Rica.

The documents to be prepared in Canada are the following documents:

  1. 01

    Birth Certificate

  2. 02

    Criminal Record Check (with no more than 6 months of emitted)

  3. 03

    Recent certification (no more than one month of issuance) covering the last three months to prove you have enough funds (CAD$2500) to cover your expenses at the beginning or your stay in Costa Rica.

  4. 04

    Power of attorney for underage children granted by the parents or legal guardian to appoint the person in Costa Rica who will be the legal representative of the student, including the authorization to sign exit permits from Costa Rica for the student.

Please review section “Legalization of Documents” to have the documents properly authenticated by the corresponding Canadian authorities before coming to the Consulate.

The documents will be legalized and given back to the applicant. The applicant will take these documents to Costa Rica, to finish the procedure to have a temporary residence.

Documents legalized by the Consulate must be taken to the Authentication Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica (Avenue 7-9, Streets 11-13, San José, Costa Rica), for authentication of the Consul’s signature. Documents issued in other language than Spanish to be valid in Costa Rica must be translated by an official translator. The list of official translators is available at the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica:

Step II. Entering Costa Rica as a tourist

Canadian citizens interested in applying for Internship/Student/Volunteer/Researcher/Teacher category can enter as a tourist (without needing to apply for a visa), which would enable the person to stay up to a maximum of 90 days in Costa Rica, following the entry requirements for tourism.

Within those 90 days, the person can ask for a change of immigration status in Costa Rica, from tourist to a Internship/Student/Volunteer/Researcher/Teacher category. This will have a cost of US$200, as a fee to process the immigration status change.

Step III. Temporary Residence Application

Continue the process to get your special category permit at the Direction of Immigration in San José, Costa Rica, where the applicant will request temporary residency under the student/volunteer/researcher/academic category. Fulfilling all the requirements and documents explained above.