Having just traveled to Costa Rica and back this October, I was pleasantly surprised to find a very big change coming into Costa Rica.
This may be a small thing to you, but with over thirty years of going back and forth to Costa Rica, to me this was huge!
No more customs forms! Wahoo!
That Hard-to-Read Customs Form Has Gone Bye-Bye
For years, filling out that form on the airplane to Costa Rica was just another part of the trip. You know, that tiny slip of paper that’s harder to see the older you get?
It’s the mini-declaration that asks all incoming travelers if they’re bringing in plants, animals, fruits or more than $10,000, along with a lot of other information such as your passport and flight number.
It’s an easy enough form to fill out, but the problem was that travelers never knew when the flight attendants would pass the thing out. If you were lucky, it would be at the beginning of the flight so you could get it done and over with.
However, on some flights they passed it out as they were “preparing the cabin for landing”, which resulted in a lot of confusion and last-minute fussing. One time years ago, they set up a table inside the airport with the forms up for grabs leaving everyone in line struggling to find a pen. I think they’ve tried every scenario.
On my last flight however, nobody passed out any forms leaving a lot of people confused!
Upon landing, they also did not inform anyone in the “welcome to Costa Rica” message in English, but they did in Spanish. Go figure. The forms are no longer required and everything will be done with your passport.
Hallelujah!
Going Through Customs
Going through customs in Costa Rica is still the same. They’ll ask you the same questions they always have—how long are you staying, where you’re staying and what your occupation is. To date, I’ve never been asked to furnish proof of a return ticket within 90-days, though I always have one and I suggest you do, too. If you think you’ll be staying longer, get a refundable ticket. For the record, you don’t have to be returning to where you came from. You just need a forwarding ticket out of Costa Rica.
After clearing customs and grabbing your luggage, you still need to place everything on the conveyor belt to be scanned before making your way outside. Now, you just don’t have that little piece of paper to hand over. One less thing to lose, right?
I suspect it’s a relief to officials not to have to deal with hundreds of these slips every day, too.
Not having to fill out this form and keep track of it is one less thing you have to worry about. Have a safe trip!
Twice in the last two weeks different members of my family have come to visit only to find two immigration officials for 1000’s of travelers. Both times stood in line for at least 4 hours. BOTH TIMES. What is the word? Why Is this happening?
Right now the lines for people arriving at immigration are OBSCENE. The reason this is happening is first, because Costa Rica is entering its high tourist season (now through Christmas). It always gets bad around this time of year. Second, there is a severe shortage of immigration officers (although I’ve never seen only two working a crowd this large). On top of all that, you’ve got an influx of people that have just started traveling again. Costa Rica has also gotten rid of the mandatory health insurance for vaccinated travelers. If you are unvaccinated, you still need to purchase insurance. All this has created the perfect storm.