General Information / Student Visa

ICDS students will need to have a valid passport (at least six months before expiration date) to travel to Costa Rica. NO entry visa to Costa Rica is required from American and Canadian citizens --as well as those of a few other nationalities—who only need a valid passport. Upon arrival, Immigration will grant a three-month tourist permit, which later has to be changed for a special permit for students through ICDS and ULatina's International Office. (Some fees are involved in this process, including a change of status fee).

There are different requirements and in some cases, restrictions, for participants of other nationalities.

For non-American or Canadian participants, each case has to be analyzed individually in advance.

All participants will need to bring the following documents in order to obtain a student permit:

• Birth certificate issued in the state or country of origin of the student
• Police history record (or a certification as to the absence of one) issued in the state/country where the student has resided during the past three years. In the case of being a resident of a country instead of a citizen thereof, the student should also show documents to demonstrate his legal resident status in that country

Both these documents should be original (in the sense that they cannot be photocopies or scanned copies) official copies issued by the corresponding authorities and must be authenticated by the Secretary of State Office of the corresponding state and by a Costa Rican Consulate. (Neither of these documents will be returned to the students, so they need to make sure to bring ones that they will not need back; students SHOULD NOT bring the first, original birth certificate issued to their parents at the time of birth).

In accordance with the requirements of the revised procedures of the Costa Rican Immigration Law, while still in the US, students may be further required to go the nearest Costa Rican Consulate to submit their documents for authentication and obtain a provisional student permit (in the form of a stamp or a document to be stapled to their passports) that will allow them to come into the country as "students," thus avoiding the change of status from "tourist" to "student" and the associated $200 fee.

Step by step instructions will be provided once the student has been accepted into the program, and ICDS will provide in-country support, including providing counseling through ULatina's Student Immigration Affairs Lawyer, and an ICDS staff member to accompany students to CR public offices. The International Office at ULatina is in charge of the on-site student visa process.

(Click here for step by step visa process instructions)

International students at ICDS are required to have their own health insurance with international coverage when coming to Costa Rica. Students in all of ICDS programs have access to both physical and mental health care. For specific medical needs and at the students' request, ICDS will make the necessary arrangements so that they may consult a physician in the area required at a private clinic (Hospital Clínica Bíblica, certified by the USA Joint Commission). When needed, ICDS will help students obtain doctor's appointments at Costa Rican private hospitals and will give assistance in case of problems to communicate with the doctor in Spanish.

In all cases, the student will be responsible to cover her/his medical expenses, saving the bills to get reimbursements through her/his home country insurance upon her/his return.

Travel insurance coverage is not included in program fees. We recommend that participants take out appropriate travel insurance.