All U.S Citizens must present a valid passport in order to enter Costa Rica. This passport must be valid for at least 30 days after the arrival date. In addition to a valid passport, U.S Citizens must have a prepaid outbound plane ticket, to any other country. If you do not have an outbound ticket, you may be denied entry into Costa Rica, unless you have arranged a visa to stay for longer than 90 days. Note that you must re-enter the United States before your passport expires.
Regardless of your nationality, in order to enter Costa Rica, your passport must be in good condition. This means that the passport must not be bent and the pages must not be ripped. Any damage to the passport, especially to the identification page of the passport, could result in denial of entry. Your passport must also have one full black page available for entry stamps.
Any U.S minor (under the age of 18) who does not have his or her own passport must have a joint passport with whomever he or she is traveling with. Most commonly, this occurs with younger children who have joint passports with parents, but joint passports could also be held with guardians or traveling partners. Before 2007, it was possible for minors to enter Costa Rica with a birth certificate, but this is no longer the case.
Even if you are a United State citizen, if you enter Costa Rica from Bolivia, Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador or Columbia, or Sub-Saharan Africa, you must have documented evidence that you have received a yellow fever vaccination, in addition to all passport requirements.
Passport and visa requirements largely vary depending on your nationality. If you are not a U.S Citizen, please visit the World Travel Guide website for a detailed chart about non-U.S citizen passport and visa requirements for Costa Rica. (see Reference section for the link).
