The ordinary residence route generally requires seven official years, reduced to five for specified birth-nationality cohorts. Spanish and civic knowledge, conduct, means of life and declarations remain distinct requirements with documented test exemptions.
Americas passport
Costa Rica passport rank
Global rank#29
Mobility score155
Destinations tracked227
View visa-free countriesCompare this passportImprove this passportPlace in rankingChecked October 8, 2026
Passport overview
About the Costa Rica passport
The Costa Rica passport is grouped with Americas in this index. It ranks #29 globally and #8 among 22 Americas passports, with a mobility score of 155.
Its current access profile includes 109 visa-free destinations,35 visas on arrival, and 11 destinations using an ETA. The detailed list below separates these from eVisas, traditional visas, and any officially documented entry restrictions.
Personal taxation is principally source-based rather than citizenship-based. Tax domicile includes a presence test, while foreign-source passive-income rules for certain multinational entities must not be misapplied as a general worldwide rule for individuals.
Entry rules can change without notice. Treat this as a comparison tool and verify official requirements before travel.
Home1Free109ETA11VOA35eVisa33Visa38
Not sure how an ETA differs from an eVisa?Africa
57AlgeriaVisa requiredAngolaVisa on arrivalBenineVisaBotswanaVisa-freeBurkina FasoeVisaBurundiVisa on arrivalCamerooneVisaCape Verde IslandsVisa requiredCentral African RepublicVisa requiredChadVisa requiredComoro IslandsVisa on arrivalCongo (Dem. Rep.)eVisaCongo (Rep.)Visa requiredCôte d'IvoireVisa on arrivalDjiboutiVisa on arrivalEgyptVisa on arrivalEquatorial GuineaeVisaEritreaVisa requiredeSwatiniVisa requiredEthiopiaeVisaGabonVisa on arrivalGhanaeVisaGuineaETAGuinea-BissauVisa on arrivalKenyaETALesothoVisa requiredLiberiaeVisaLibyaeVisaMadagascarVisa on arrivalMalawiVisa on arrivalMaliVisa requiredMauritaniaeVisaMauritiusVisa on arrivalMayotteVisa-freeMoroccoVisa requiredMozambiqueeVisaNamibiaeVisaNigerVisa requiredNigeriaeVisaReunionVisa-freeRwandaVisa on arrivalSão Tomé and PríncipeVisa on arrivalSenegalVisa requiredSeychellesETASierra LeoneVisa on arrivalSomaliaETASouth AfricaVisa-freeSouth SudaneVisaSt. HelenaVisa on arrivalSudanVisa requiredTanzaniaVisa on arrivalThe GambiaVisa on arrivalTogoeVisaTunisiaVisa-freeUgandaeVisaZambiaVisa-freeZimbabweVisa on arrival
Americas
25ArgentinaVisa-freeBelizeVisa-freeBermudaVisa-freeBoliviaVisa-freeBrazilVisa-freeCanadaVisa requiredChileVisa-freeColombiaVisa-freeCosta RicaCitizenshipEcuadorVisa-freeEl SalvadorVisa-freeFalkland IslandsVisa-freeFrench GuianaVisa-freeGuatemalaVisa-freeGuyanaVisa-freeHondurasVisa-freeMexicoVisa-freeNicaraguaVisa-freePanamaVisa-freeParaguayVisa-freePeruVisa-freeSurinameVisa-freeUnited StatesVisa requiredUruguayVisa-freeVenezuelaVisa-free
Caribbean
25AnguillaVisa-freeAntigua and BarbudaeVisaArubaVisa-freeBarbadosVisa-freeBonaire; St. Eustatius and SabaVisa-freeBritish Virgin IslandsVisa-freeCayman IslandsVisa-freeCubaeVisaCuracaoVisa-freeDominicaVisa-freeDominican RepublicVisa-freeFrench West IndiesVisa-freeGrenadaVisa-freeHaitiVisa-freeJamaicaVisa-freeMontserratVisa-freePuerto RicoVisa requiredSaint Martin (French part)Visa-freeSt. Kitts and NevisETASt. LuciaVisa-freeSt. Vincent and the GrenadinesVisa-freeThe BahamasVisa-freeTrinidad and TobagoVisa-freeTurks and Caicos IslandsVisa-freeUS Virgin IslandsVisa required
Asia
32AfghanistanVisa requiredBangladeshVisa on arrivalBhutaneVisaBruneiVisa-freeCambodiaVisa on arrivalChinaVisa requiredHong Kong (SAR China)Visa-freeIndiaeVisaIndonesiaeVisaJapanVisa-freeKazakhstaneVisaKyrgyzstaneVisaLaoseVisaMacao (SAR China)Visa on arrivalMalaysiaVisa-freeMaldivesVisa on arrivalMongoliaeVisaMyanmarVisa on arrivalNepalVisa on arrivalNorth KoreaVisa requiredPakistanETAPhilippinesVisa-freeSingaporeVisa-freeSouth KoreaETASri LankaETATaiwan (Chinese Taipei)Visa requiredTajikistanVisa-freeThailandVisa on arrivalTimor-LesteVisa on arrivalTurkmenistanVisa requiredUzbekistanVisa-freeVietnameVisa
Europe
52AlbaniaVisa-freeAndorraVisa-freeAustriaVisa-freeAzerbaijaneVisaBelarusVisa requiredBelgiumVisa-freeBosnia and HerzegovinaVisa-freeBulgariaVisa-freeCroatiaVisa-freeCyprusVisa-freeCzechiaVisa-freeDenmarkVisa-freeEstoniaVisa-freeFaroe IslandsVisa-freeFinlandVisa-freeFranceVisa-freeGeorgiaVisa-freeGermanyVisa-freeGibraltarVisa-freeGreeceVisa-freeGreenlandVisa-freeHungaryVisa-freeIcelandVisa-freeIrelandVisa-freeItalyVisa-freeKosovoVisa-freeLatviaVisa-freeLiechtensteinVisa-freeLithuaniaVisa-freeLuxembourgVisa-freeMaltaVisa-freeMoldovaVisa-freeMonacoVisa-freeMontenegroVisa-freeNetherlandsVisa-freeNorth MacedoniaVisa-freeNorwayVisa-freePolandVisa-freePortugalVisa-freeRomaniaVisa-freeRussian FederationVisa-freeSan MarinoVisa-freeSerbiaVisa-freeSlovakiaVisa-freeSloveniaVisa-freeSpainVisa-freeSwedenVisa-freeSwitzerlandVisa-freeTürkiyeVisa-freeUkraineeVisaUnited KingdomETAVatican CityVisa-free
Middle East
15Oceania
21American SamoaVisa requiredAustraliaVisa requiredCook IslandsVisa on arrivalFijiVisa requiredFrench PolynesiaVisa-freeGuamVisa requiredKiribatiVisa-freeMarshall IslandsVisa on arrivalMicronesiaVisa-freeNauruVisa requiredNew CaledoniaVisa-freeNew ZealandVisa requiredNiueVisa requiredNorthern Mariana IslandsVisa requiredPalau IslandsVisa on arrivalPapua New GuineaVisa requiredSamoaVisa on arrivalSolomon IslandseVisaTongaVisa requiredTuvaluVisa on arrivalVanuatuVisa required
Country context · separate from passport rank
Living in this country
These describe the publisher's statistical geography, not benefits acquired by holding its passport. Values from different years are not a like-for-like ranking. No combined quality-of-life score is calculated.
Human Development Index
0.8330–1 · 2023
UNDP's development measure; not a passport or relocation score.
Costa Rica · Publisher-reported national statistical geography; not every overseas territory or citizen abroad
UNDP · Human Development Report 2025Source, reuse and review
UNDP Human Development Report 2025, composite indices time series. Selected observations; display rounded to three decimals. No endorsement implied.
Source reviewed 2026-09-22. Next review due 2026-12-21.
Source data · CC BY 3.0 IGOLife expectancy at birth
81.0years · 2024
Population-level period estimate; not an individual prediction or healthcare-access rating.
Costa Rica · Publisher-reported national statistical geography; not every overseas territory or citizen abroad
World Bank · World Development Indicators, updated 2026-07-13Source, reuse and review
World Bank: World Development Indicators, SP.DYN.LE00.IN; UN World Population Prospects, national statistical offices and Eurostat. Selected observations; display rounded to one decimal. No endorsement implied.
Source reviewed 2026-09-22. Next review due 2026-12-21.
Source data · Source geography registry · CC BY 4.0 with World Bank additional terms