Student Guide: Immigration and entry requirements
| Student Guide: Immigration and entry requirements |
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Student Guide IMMIGRATION AND ENTRY REQUIREMENTS If you have a passport from the U.S.A., Canada, and most European countries (see list below for specifics), you can obtain a 90-day or a 30-day visa from the airline issuing the ticket. This visa grants you tourist status for a period of one to three months. You must also have al least US$ 400 and a departure ticket when entering the country . If you have a question, check with the nearest Costa Rican consulate. There is a 517 colones tax ($17), payable at the airport when you leave the country. If you wish to stay longer than your 30- or 90-day visa, you will need an exit visa to leave the country. An exit visa gives a 30 day extension on you visa. A local travel agent, for a small fee, can get one of them for you with at least three working days anticipation before you are scheduled to leave. Exit visas cost about US$ 12. Citizens from the following countries can obtain a 90-day visa:
Citizens from the following countries can obtains a 30-day visa:
If your country of citizenship is not on the aforementioned list, please contact the local Costa Rica consulate for information. AIRLINES Lacsa/Taca, Costa Rica’s national airline, has toll free numbers in the U.S.A. and Canada (1-800-225-2272), in England (01499-6731), and in Japan (445-48-74). Most airlines that don’t travel directly to Costa Rica have an agreement with Lacsa; for example, if you are coming from England, you can take British Airways to Miami and from there fly to Costa Rica on Lacsa. Following is a list of some of the airlines servicing Costa Rica: Iberia, LTU International Airways, American Airlines, Aviateca, Delta, Continental, Mexicana, Taca, Varig, and United Airlines. Contact your travel agent to make reservations in advance, and be sure to be at the airport at least with two hours anticipation. Canadians have the opportunity to come to Costa Rica on an affordable charter flight. Fiesta Way-farer Holidays in Toronto, (416) 498-5566, and Fiesta West in Vancouver, (604) 688-1102, charter flights from these cities to Costa Rica year round. Go Travel in Montreal, (514) 735-4526, charters planes December through April. LUGGAGE Remember that airlines require identification on all bags checked, regardless of type. It is also recommended that your name and address be on the inside of your luggage, should the tag get lost. Always carry your passport and valuables on your person and never in your luggage. You will be responsible for your own bags throughout your trip, therefore, travel light and never leave them unattended on trains, buses, airports, and terminals. Be sure to confer with your travel agent about regulations concerning amount and size of luggage allowed by the airline per passenger. EXCHANGING MONEY Because exchanging money can be time-consuming and sometimes risky, most of the schools offers its students an exchange service. You may leave your traveler’s checks or U.S.A. dollars with them in the morning and pick up your colones in the afternoon. The currency in Costa Rica is called "colones" and is found in denominations of one colon coin to a 10,000 colones bill. The exchange rate tends to fluctuate slightly, therefore, you can look in the newspaper or call a bank for the latest exchange rate. Banks are open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. Most of them also opens on saturdays till noon. United States dollars are the preferred foreign currency. Banks will charge a 1% commission to exchange traveler’s checks, but not on exchanging cash. It is recommended to have most of your money in U.S.A. traveler’s checks, preferably in small denominations (US$ 10, 20 or 50). Check numbers should be recorded and a copy of them kept in a safe place just in case of loss or theft. Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Diners Club credit cards are accepted in many places within the country, such as at big tourist complexes or restaurants. It is recommended to exchange your money in San José as it is difficult to do so in the outlying areas. Colon bills in small denominations are more readily acceptable because change is sometimes hard to come by. When you leave the country, you will only be able to exchange US$ 50 worth of colones back. MAIL SERVICE Mail is not usually delivered to homes in Costa Rica; most people have a post office box. Family and friends should send letters by airmail. Airmail usually arrives in a week to the days; surface mail takes two or three months. The word "Airmail" must be on the envelope, even if it has sufficient postage. Airmail book rate to Costa Rica takes about a week, while surface parcel post and book rate can take four to eight months. Duties are almost always levied on parcels sent to Costa Rica. Import duties often exceed the value of merchandise sent. Never have food sent!. Letters to North America and Europe travel faster when mailed from a downtown post office than from the Institute. INTERNET AND E-MAIL Most of the schools have Internet available for their students, if not, Internet Cafes are widely available throughout the country. TELEPHONES AND INTERNATIONAL CALLS Telephones in Costa Rica are listed under the name of the owner of the house (not necessarily the same as the occupant), which could make at impossible for your family in North America or Europe to obtain your phone number through information. Please, inform your family of your address and phone number. The cost of local calls in Costa Rica varies with the length of the call. All telephone calls in Costa Rica are toll calls and charges are assessed per second and per call. Your house mother will appreciate short informational chats rather than lengthy conversations. A personal arrangement between student and house mother regarding the use of the phone will prevent misunderstandings. You can make local phone call from the ICAI. Cables and international phone calls can be made through Radiográfica Costarricense (avenida 5, calle 1) or at ICE (avenida 2, calle 1). It is cheaper to call Costa Rica from North America or Europe than the other way around. It is not possible to call a pay phone in Costa Rica from outside of the country, so do no place a phone call to someone in the i.e. U.S.A. from a pay phone and ask them to call you back. International phone calls should only be collect or payable on a credit card (i.e AT&T, MCI or Sprint) if made from a home. International phone calls at Internet Cafes (VoIP) are widely available in all major cities throughtout the country. PERSONAL SAFETY There is a lot less violence in the entire country in a month than there is in any major North American city in a night. However, robbery and common thievery present a problem. A degree of common sense along with a few tips can help you in preventing any unfortunate experience from happening. In San José:
These hints also apply, to a much lesser degree, outside of San José. If you are at the beach, leave your valuable belongings where you are staying or camouflage them well when you are swimming, etc. The best way to avoid a negative experience is to act confident and aware, and use traveler’s caution. Yet, it is important not to sacrifice friendliness or you won’t come to know the kindness and humor of some very congenial people. PASSPORT AND PHONE NUMBERS By law, you must always carry your passport or tourist card. A photocopy of your passport (including the photograph and date of entry) can satisfy this requirement. The enormous quantity of foreigners entering Costa Rica make it necessary in order to preserve control. If you can’t present this documentation, the immigration official may take you to a police station to obtain the information from there. Emergency phone numbers, should always be on your person. A list of important phone numbers (such as police, ambulance, and airlines) is provided at the end of this guide. |
