US Tourists gradually allowed re-entry to CR

 

Easing Restrictions for US Tourists

 As of September 1st, Costa Rica will allow tourists from Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. On September 15th, Colorado, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania will also be allowed entry.

 These states are in addition to the initial six states allowed entry which include New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont and Connecticut. (Tourists in transit with layovers in non-authorized states will be allowed entry if they do not leave the airport.)

 Tourists from the US will need to show a state identification card or their driver’s license to prove their state residency.

Change in PCR test requirement

 

Good news for tourists!

Starting September 1^st, tourists will be allowed entry with negative PCR tests administered 72 hours before their scheduled flight for Costa Rica.

 

This window was increased by 24 hours from the initial 48 hour time limit set by authorities.

INFORMATION FOR TOURISTS IN COSTA RICA

 Any tourists who arrived to Costa Rica after December 17^th, 2019 and are still in the country will automatically be allowed to stay until November 18^th, 2020, thereby automatically extending their tourist visa until that date.

 

For tourists with vehicles, the grace period to legally drive has also been extended until November 18, 2020. Tourists must carry their passport and foreign driver's license while driving.  

 

 

TOURISTS FROM THE USA

 Starting September 1st, tourists from the US who are residents of New York, New Jersey, Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Vermont may enter Costa Rica on flights from select airports in the United States.  

 

To prove residency, Immigration will require a valid driver’s license from one of these states. (Accompanying minors will not need to meet this requirement.)

Current Costa Rican border requirements

 

CURRENT costa rican border ENTRY REQUIREMENTS AS OF aUGUST 15, 2020

I.                  FOREIGN NATIONALS RELATED TO COSTA RICAN NATIONALS  MUST HAVE:

1. Valid Passport
2. Marriage or birth certificates proving relationship between foreigner and Costa Rican
3. Round-trip ticket showing departure from Costa Rica
4. Insurance covering hospitalization for Covid-19 illness and accommodations if quarantine is necessary
5. Completed Health Pass form provided by airline or immigration
6. Must complete 14-day quarantine period unless  they arrive  from an authorized country (or US state),  were there a minimum of 14 days before arrival, and  have  negative PCR-RT COVID-19 test results. (The test must  have been administered no more than 48 hours before arrival  to Costa Rica.)

 

II.               COSTA RICAN NATIONALS & RESIDENTS 

Costa Rican Nationals

1.       May enter Costa Rica from any country  (this is technically what the law states but has been misinterpreted differently by immigration officials thereby creating problems for some residents to enter).

2.       Need to complete  Health Pass form provided by airline or immigration

3.       Will need to complete a 14-day quarantine period unless  they arrive  from an authorized country (or US state),  were there a minimum of 14 days before arrival, and  have  negative PCR-RT COVID-19 test results. The test must  have been administered no more than 48 hours before arrival  to Costa Rica.

 

Temporary Residents, Permanent Residents, People with Special Categories or Estancias

1.       May enter the country via air regardless of where they are coming from

2.       Must have Valid Passport and  valid DIMEX card

1.       If the DIMEX expired after December 17, 2019, carry a copy of Resolution N° DJUR-0105-07-2020-JM (which extended the validity of the DIMEX cards until September 30, 2020, for Residents and Special Categories and until October 18, 2020, for Estancias that expired after March 17, 2020)

3.       Must be able to prove that the CAJA is up to date. This applies to all residents,  spouses and children.

4.       Must complete  Health Pass form provided by airline or immigration.

5.       Will need to complete a 14-day quarantine period unless  they arrive  from an authorized country (or US state),  were there a minimum of 14 days before arrival, and  have  negative PCR-RT COVID-19 test results. The test must  have been administered no more than 48 hours before arrival  to Costa Rica.

 

III.            TOURISTS & PEOPLE WITH RESIDENCY APPLICATIONS IN PROGRESS MUST:

 

1.       Arrive  from one of the authorized countries or states from the USA and be able to prove that you have been there for at  14 days before arrival.

2.       Have negative PCR-RT COVID-19 test result. The test needs must been administered no more than 48 hours before arrival  to Costa Rica.

3.       Insurance covering hospitalization for Covid-19 illness and accommodations if  quarantine is necessary

4.       Have  valid passport.

5.       Have a round-trip ticket showing departure from Costa Rica.

6.       Complete Health Pass form provided by airline or immigration.

 

 

Additional Notes for Tourists :

 

1.       Tourists and people with residency applications being processed will not be required to complete the 14-day quarantine period.

 

2.       Any tourists who arrived to Costa Rica after December 17^th, 2019, will automatically be allowed to stay in the country until November 18^th, 2020 and  their tourist visa will be extended until that date.

More progress and good news on border reopenings!

 

Gustavo Segura, the Minister of Tourism in Costa Rica, announced today that as of September 1st, 2020, Costa Rica will open its air borders to some US cities and states. 

Flights departing  from Newark, La Guardia and JFK airports will be allowed entry into Costa Rica and residents from the following states will be permitted entry: Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Maine, Connecticut, and New Jersey. Segura stated that  tourists will need to show their driver's license to prove they are residents in one of the six aforementioned states. 

Corporate shareholder registration no longer needed for 2020 period

 If you own a Costa Rican corporation and already registered the shareholders for 2019, you no longer need to file again in 2020.

Due to the state of local and global affairs, on August 13th, 2020, the Treasury (Dirección General de Tributación) and ICD, amended the law for 2020 stating that all corporations will be updated automatically according to the information presented for 2019.

The 2019 filing deadline was April 30th of 2020 and the deadline for the 2020 period was September 30th, 2020. This recent amendment eliminated the filing requirement for the 2020 period. If you have not filed for 2019, that is still required and can be done anytime. Keep in mind that substantial fines may be charged to shareholders who do not file.

The next shareholder declaration filing is due in April of 2021 and can be done from the 1st through the 30th. New corporations established between January 1st, 2020 and March 31st, 2021 and corporations requiring changes to their 2019 declaration have until the April 2021 deadline to do so.

In order to file you must have a firma digital device that is only provided to citizens and residents with a DIMEX card. If you own a corporation but cannot get this device, give us a call and we can file for you.

Clinical trials may soon begin to test equine therapy on Covid 19 patients

Within two weeks, the Costa Rican  CCSS expects to be able to start clinical trials on hospitalized patients of Covid-19 using an equine therapy developed by the Instituto Clodomiro Picado of the University of Costa Rica (UCR).  

If the new therapy is authorized and proven to be safe and effective for use on patients, it will be used on 26 of the most gravely ill hospitalized patients.

George Mason University in the United States recently confirmed that the treatment proved to be effective in lab trials.  It was also determined that because horses produce an extremely large amount of antibodies blocking the invasion of the virus,  the amount needed for each patient will most likely be relatively low.

We will send out another update on this topic in a few weeks. 

Source: Irene Rodriguez,  La Nacion

Banks will have to provide foreign clients bank information to treasury

 In August, a decree was published in La Gaceta  newspaper, determining that all Costa Rican financial entities must provide bank information on  their foreign account holders to the treasury here. 

This obligation  is based on a law passed in 2014 in which Costa Rica ratified the Convention by the OECD regarding the sharing of  financial information among the signatory nations.

Information on individual and corporate accounts must be shared with member nations. Accounts opened after December of 2016 for individuals with a balance of over $1 million USD  and for corporations that maintain a balance of over $250,000 USD.  

Question on Rtv? Check out our explanatory video below....

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9Pwii-zh4o&t=26s

Traffic restrictions for August.....new ones start today August 10th.

Questions on the FIRMA DIGITAL or digital signature?

Check out our video which explains it in detail here...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VImPRXvY-Cg&t=4s

Covid 19 Update and new information on health insurance policy required for tourists

Cases in Costa Rica

Covid-19 Update

As of Wednesday August 5th, Costa Rica reported 580 new cases of Covid-19 with a total of 20,417 confirmed cases. Currently, 6,851 people have recovered, 388 are hospitalized, 100 are in ICU, and 191 total deaths have been reported.

Borders Opening and Travel Regulations

Airports and Flights

Costa Rica partially opened borders on August 1st. (Land borders remain closed indefinitely.)  Commercial and private flights from the UK, Canada, and the EU Schengen Zone are now allowed to land here. Immigration will be reviewing and updating this list every two weeks.

Covid-19 Test Required

Tourists must have proof of negative Covid-19 test results from exams performed 48 hours previous to arrival into Costa Rica.

Update on Travel Insurance Required for Tourists

La Gaceta, the official Costa Rican government news publication, announced this week that tourists are now allowed to enter the country with an international health insurance policy  covering all medical and lodging expenses in the event of contracting Covid 19.  

This means tourists will no longer have to purchase a costly policy through I.N.S., the National Insurance Institute, as was previously required. Airlines and other members of the tourism sector warned that the excessive cost of the policies would be a deterrent for tourists to travel here.

ICT , the Costa Rican Institute of Tourism,  is in the process of defining the protocol to  be implemented to verify policies are current and have the necessary coverage. If not, it will be necessary to purchase additional coverage within 24 hours. Other private Costa Rican insurance companies will also be able to offer this policy.

Costa Rican nationals and residents do not need to purchase this insurance policy but are required to quarantine for 14 days upon entry.

Where to get your news on Costa Rica in English and Spanish?

Here are a few English language news sources:

• www.ticotimes.net
• www.amcostarica.com
• www.new.co.cr

And here are a few reliable sources in Spanish...

www.nacion.com

www.larepublica.net

www.crhoy.com

Border reopening and travel requirements August 1, 2020

Borders Opening and Travel Regulations

Airports and Flights

Costa Rica partially opened borders on August 1st. (Land borders remain closed indefinitely.) 

Commercial and private flights from the UK, Canada, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Letonia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Holland, Poland, Portugal, the Check Republic, Switzerland, and Sweden are now allowed to land here. Immigration will be reviewing and updating this list every two weeks. Initially there will be five flights per week flying into San Jose (Juan Santamaria) and Liberia (Daniel Oduber). The first flights will be coming from Madrid, Spain and Frankfurt, Germany.

Covid-19 Test

Tourists must have proof of negative Covid-19 test results from test performed 48 hours previous to arrival into Costa Rica.

Insurance

Tourists traveling to Costa Rica will need to purchase an insurance policy from I.N.S., the National Insurance Institute, to cover accommodation and/or hospitalization in case of Covid-19 infection while in CR. The policy must cover a minimum of $20,000 in medical and $4,000 in quarantine expenses. The policy will be available for purchase online at www.ins-cr.com. Currently no other policy is accepted by immigration.

Costa Rican nationals and residents do not need to purchase this insurance policy.

Travel from Restricted Countries

Tourists may travel from countries not yet allowed entry into Costa Rica but must first be:

1. Symptom-free upon entry
2. Able to prove they traveled to one of the authorized countries and remained there for at least 14 days immediately before arrival

A short lay over in an authorized country with continued travel onto Costa Rica, will not suffice to be permitted entry.

Completing Form upon Arrival

Upon arrival, all passengers will have to complete a “Pase de Salud” form which can be found at https://salud.go.cr.

Tourists will have to fill out the form and be given a “green check mark” and code which will need to be provided to customs officials.

Costa Ricans and residents will also have to fill out the form and will receive either a red, green or yellow “check mark”.

• Green= passenger shows no symptoms of Covid-19
• Yellow= passenger could have been exposed to the virus and must undergo medical exam.
• Red= passenger has symptoms and must undergo a medical exam

Covid 19 cases in Costa Rica Aug 1st and 3rd

Cases in Costa Rica

Covid-19 Update

As of August 1st, Costa Rica reported 367 new cases of Covid-19 with a total of 18,187 confirmed cases. Currently, 4,531 people have recovered, 343 are hospitalized, 93 are in ICU, and 154 total deaths have been reported. (There has been a gradual decrease in the number of new cases over the last seven days.)

As of August 3rd, Costa Rica reported 427 new cases of Covid-19 with a total of 19,402 confirmed cases. Currently, 4,689 people have recovered, 393 are hospitalized, 97 are in ICU, and 171 total deaths have been reported.

Covid 19 Alert July 31, 2020

Restriction Changes for August

There are important new driving and sanitary restrictions which will start on August 1st.

August will be divided into three different phases that will effect driving and sanitary restrictions.

• August 1st to 9th OPEN
• August 10th to 21st LOCKDOWN
• August 22nd to 31st OPEN

1. Check which alert (orange or yellow) you are in by visiting this link.
2. Check what is open in orange and yellow alert zones by visiting this link. (in Spanish)
3. Find out what the driving restrictions are for your car by entering the last number of your license plate in this link.
4. For an explanation in English of the restrictions for the entire month of August visit this link. It also takes you to our blog!

Need some good news?

New Equine Treatment Developed by UCR Scientists

A new treatment developed by University of Costa Rica (UCR) scientists has passed another hurdle on the road to approval for treatment in Covid-19 patients. The results were recently analyzed by George Mason University and it was determined that the treatment inhibits the spread of and neutralizes the virus.

This new treatment was developed in horses and involves injecting the animals with coronavirus proteins after which their immune systems create antibodies to fight the proteins.  The antibodies weaken the virus, not allowing it to infect other cells. Antibody rich blood is extracted from the horses and separated to be used to fight the virus.

Clinical trials will soon start between CCSS and UCR to determine whether this new treatment will slow the virus in human beings, lowering mortality, hospitalizations and debilitating overall effects of the virus.

 

Local Insurance Health Care Coverage for Covid-19

The Costa Rican Association of Private Insurers (AAP) announced that their members have temporarily nullified the pandemic exclusion that most international health policies include and will continue provide coverage to policyholders affected by covid-19. Members of AAP include Adisa, Assa, BMI, Mapfre, SM Seguros, Sagicor and Palig. 

INS, the National Insurance Institute, has full coverage for its clients and pandemic coverage has not been suspended. 

These companies can provide the policies needed for tourists to enter Costa Rica when the borders open.