Student Visas and Temporary Residence in Costa Rica

If you are interested in going to college abroad in Costa Rica and are preparing to go to a local Costa Rican consulate or embassy to apply for a student visa you should know that they do not issue student visas. In fact, you will have to enter Costa Rica on a tourist visa if you plan on studying in Costa Rica. Once you arrive in Costa Rica with your tourist visa you will have two choices. You can stay in school until your tourist visa expires or you can file for a temporary residence permit.

Costa Rican schools do not require students to have a visa to enroll in the schools. So, if you are coming to study in Costa Rica for a short program you can just register at the school, pay your tuition and take the classes while in the country on a tourist visa. If your classes will last longer than the validity of your tourist visa you can leave the country by entering one of the neighboring countries and then re-enter Costa Rica so that you will be given a new visa.

If you plan on studying in Costa Rica for a full academic year you should apply for a temporary residence permit once you arrive in the country. To qualify for a temporary residence permit as a student you will need to be enrolled full time in a school accredited by the immigration department, be proficient in Spanish or taking Spanish language classes, have sufficient financial resources and maintain a residence abroad. Applications take between 90 and 180 days to process. When the permit expires you will need to renew it. And you must have a temporary residence permit if you will be receiving your degree from a school in Costa Rica.

There are also some additional documentation requirements that must be met. You will need to have special authority to representative. This means that you should grant authority to a person in Costa Rica to represent you. Their personal information will need to be submitted with your application. You will need you birth certificate and passport, a certificate of good conduct from the police, and submit to a background check by the Costa Rican Ministry of Security.

If you are going to be trying to do an internship while you are studying in Costa Rica you will also need to apply for a temporary work permit. To qualify for this you will need to meet the requirements for a work permit as well as be registered at a Costa Rican school.