Visa to visit Costa Rica

[Jenny & Danny 0]

Hello. I have a problem that dosen't relate to the K-1 process that I am currently involved in.

I am a USC that has been offered a nice vacation for a week in Costa Rica. This vacation is scheduled for Jan 27, hotel and airline reservations have been made. I did alot of research online to determine if it would be possible for my fiance, who is a citizen of Colombia to join me in Costa Rica for the vacation. The Visa requirements for her are not as strict as she only needs proof of a airline ticket to return home to Colombia. All information states that the Visa is only good for 30 days. Now here is the problem: After trying for a week to get contact information for the Costa Rica embassy in Bogota we finally got through today. We lierally called at least 15 different phone numbers that were posted online. The man basically told us that there are no appointments available until February. How can they say a Visa is only good for 30 days, but not be able to offer an appointment within that time frame. The only reason we purchased the airline tickets in advance is because they state proof of an airline round trip ticket is required for the Visa.

We plan on calling again and again, talk to a supervisor, who knows. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

[locito79 0]

the visa is actually 90 days for costa rica... it is something they stamp in her passport when she arrives in costa rica... as long as she has a return ticket she shouldn't have a problem at all. my fiance is from panama and goes to costa rica ALL the time, as do i.. a person can come in the country on a tourist visa for 90 days at a time... you dont need to go to an embassy in colombia first.

unless its different for colombians entering costa rica which i doubt.... or try to call the costa rican embassy in the US.. maybe better luck getting to talk to someone.

Edited December 22, 2010 by locito79

[Jenny & Danny 0]

the visa is actually 90 days for costa rica... it is something they stamp in her passport when she arrives in costa rica... as long as she has a return ticket she shouldn't have a problem at all. my fiance is from panama and goes to costa rica ALL the time, as do i.. a person can come in the country on a tourist visa for 90 days at a time... you dont need to go to an embassy in colombia first.

unless its different for colombians entering costa rica which i doubt.... or try to call the costa rican embassy in the US.. maybe better luck getting to talk to someone.

Are you saying that she can just fly to Costa Rica, have all the required documents and simply have her passport stamped with a Visa at the airport? I do plan on calling the embassy in the US tomorrow.

[locito79 0]

i stand corrected... i got curious after reading this and researched it... Panamanians don't need a "tourist" visa but what I read said "colombians" do. Sorry for my confusion.. i spoke to soon. With that said, she only needs a tourist visa... i would think she could just go to the embassy and get this... they are saying she needs an appt and interview just for a tourist visa from one latin country to another? if the embassy is close to her, i would just have her go w/ her documents and request a tourist visa (play dumb) if they aren't going to give her an interview date in time? Good luck.

[ADAMandKAREN 15]

This site agrees with the previous post in that she will need a tourist visa. It also states that she will need a yellow fever vaccine. You should probably have her stop by the embassy as the other poster advised.

http://www.visitcostarica.com/ict/paginas/informacionturistica.asp

[Jenny & Danny 0]

i stand corrected... i got curious after reading this and researched it... Panamanians don't need a "tourist" visa but what I read said "colombians" do. Sorry for my confusion.. i spoke to soon. With that said, she only needs a tourist visa... i would think she could just go to the embassy and get this... they are saying she needs an appt and interview just for a tourist visa from one latin country to another? if the embassy is close to her, i would just have her go w/ her documents and request a tourist visa (play dumb) if they aren't going to give her an interview date in time? Good luck.

Yes, I researched what you said also. Panama doesnt need a Visa, but Colombia does. The problem is they wont give an appointment time to her before we are scheduled for the trip. The embassy in Bogota is very far. She will have to fly or have a 10 hour bus trip. I dont know if we should just show up and play it stupid. Thanks for your time.

[locito79 0]

don't know what your plans are or if she has her ticket yet... but pretty certain she could meet you in Panama for the holidays w/ no problems (no visa requirement), but if your trip is planned out w/ hotels etc already in CR that may not be a viable option.

[Jenny & Danny 0]

don't know what your plans are or if she has her ticket yet... but pretty certain she could meet you in Panama for the holidays w/ no problems (no visa requirement), but if your trip is planned out w/ hotels etc already in CR that may not be a viable option.

Hotel and Airplane already paid for. It is a group trip through business

[Wayne and Claudia 40]

It's rotten but is a fact. There are few places Colombians can go without a visa. I would try to email the CR embassy and plea your case for an earlier appointment. Surely that embassy can't be so crowded with appointments unless they are just so understaffed. The only other item is as you suggested, show up and play stupid and plea on the mercy of the CO. I tried to get my wife to Honduras for months but never could because of visa requirements of places she had to stop in for connecting flights. If all else fails, cash everything in and try Santa Marta in Colombia...wonderful.

[Jenny & Danny 0]

Hello. I have a problem that dosen't relate to the K-1 process that I am currently involved in.

I am a USC that has been offered a nice vacation for a week in Costa Rica. This vacation is scheduled for Jan 27, hotel and airline reservations have been made. I did alot of research online to determine if it would be possible for my fiance, who is a citizen of Colombia to join me in Costa Rica for the vacation. The Visa requirements for her are not as strict as she only needs proof of a airline ticket to return home to Colombia. All information states that the Visa is only good for 30 days. Now here is the problem: After trying for a week to get contact information for the Costa Rica embassy in Bogota we finally got through today. We lierally called at least 15 different phone numbers that were posted online. The man basically told us that there are no appointments available until February. How can they say a Visa is only good for 30 days, but not be able to offer an appointment within that time frame. The only reason we purchased the airline tickets in advance is because they state proof of an airline round trip ticket is required for the Visa.

We plan on calling again and again, talk to a supervisor, who knows. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

After being told several times by the Costa Rica consulate that they could not help us. We kept calling and begging. Today they sent an email confirming an appointment for Jenny on Jan 25. We should be able to make the trip after all assuming they give her the visa on the 25th. What a relief.