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 pushed back from February 1 to March 1 and now to April 1. Expect that to be delayed even further. (Don’t plan on any border runs anytime soon.)

Petitions (more like howls of protest) to the ICT (Ministry of Tourism) finally reached reluctant ears at the DGME (Immigration). And true to form, they waited to the very last minute to “for the last time” yet again extend the visa expiry date from March 2, to June 1, 2021.

This latest extension applies to foreigners who arrived in Costa Rica as tourists after December 17, 2019.

This extension comes with the strict condition of having COVID insurance for the length of your stay beyond March 1, 2021, up to June 1, 2021. You must send proof of your COVID insurance to [email protected] for the ICT (Ministry of Tourism) to validate your visa extension. That validation will be limited to the length of days of COVID insurance coverage up to but not beyond June 1, 2021.

Failure to comply will result in punitive sanctions that most certainly will ruin any of your future attempts to visit Costa Rica. Do not complicate your life here any more than it is just to try and save a buck. Buy the insurance and stay legal. I realize that might be costly for some of you. But there is no negotiating your way out of this requirement. If you are unfortunate enough to catch COVID-19, not having insurance will exacerbate a horrific situation even further. (You might wish to check daily COVID care rates at the private hospitals here.)

This insurance may be with international coverage or acquired in any of the insurers authorized by the General Superintendency of Insurance in Costa Rica and duly registered with the said authority. In all cases, the insurance must cover at least the accommodation and medical expenses resulting from contracting COVID-19. For clarity on COVID insurance, please visit: https://micrositios.ins-cr.com/seguroviajero/ – OR – https://tiendasagicor.com/en/

And like a scratchy, broken record (remember records?), I have to repeat that this visa extension benefit does not (yet) apply to the validity of foreign drivers’ licenses. Watch here for further updates

If you are in need of immigration assistance Laura can be reached by clicking here, Toll free at 1-833-733-6337, Locally at or by sending an email to [email protected].