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Costa Rica: passport 2026 and visa-free countries

Passport: Costa Rica. 148 countries and territories without a prior visa, rank 27 of 199. Entry terms and length of stay for every destination as of 4 October 2026.

Destinations by entry terms, 226 in total

  • 113Visa-free
  • 10ETA
  • 25On arrival
  • 42eVisa
  • 36Visa required
Passport · ПаспортBRIDGES INDEX
Costa Rica
Rank27
No prior visa148
CodeCRI

Passport strength

A strong passport 27

Rank 27 of 199. 148 of 226 destinations without a prior visa. Key countries this passport opens without a visa: 15.

Schengen AreaVisa-free90 daysUnited KingdomETA180 daysJapanVisa-free90 daysSouth KoreaETA90 daysSingaporeVisa-free30 daysUnited Arab EmiratesVisa-free90 daysTürkiyeVisa-free30 daysThailandOn arrival15 daysBrazilVisa-free90 daysMexicoVisa-free180 daysIsraelETA90 daysHong KongVisa-free30 daysSouth AfricaVisa-free30 daysArgentinaVisa-free90 daysEgyptOn arrival30 days

Weak spots

Where a visa is needed and what is weaker 78

A prior visa is needed for 78 destinations, electronic or consular. Below are the main ones and the criteria where the passport is weaker. A second passport closes these gaps.

United StatesVisa requiredCanadaVisa requiredAustraliaVisa requiredNew ZealandVisa requiredChinaVisa requiredIndiaeVisaIndonesiaVisa requiredArmeniaeVisa
What a second passport opens →

What the passport gives

What a Costa Rica passport gives

75of 100
rank 30 of 199

Balanced index: all criteria weighted equally. Open sources, licences and method on the index page.

Ranking for your goal →
  • Mobility74148 destinations without a prior visa
  • Stability and rule of law73score 0.73 on a -2.5 to 2.5 scale
  • Quality of life76HDI 0.833
  • Health and longevity8380.8 years life expectancy
  • Education70education index 0.75
  • Taxes75up to 25%, no inheritance tax, foreign income not taxed
  • US access50E-2 investor visa available, visa required
  • Plan B and family100dual citizenship allowed, passes to children

All destinations

Destinations by entry terms 226

The score adds up the first three types: destinations you can travel to without a visa arranged in advance.

Visa-free 113

Entry on your passport

Popular:FranceItalySpainGermanyGreecePortugal
AlbaniaEurope · 90 daysAndorraEuropeAnguillaCaribbean · 90 daysArgentinaAmericas · 90 daysArubaCaribbean · 90 daysAustriaEurope · 90 daysBahamasCaribbean · 90 daysBarbadosCaribbean · 90 daysBelgiumEurope · 90 daysBelizeAmericas · 90 daysBermudaAmericas · 180 daysBoliviaAmericas · 90 daysBonaire, St. Eustatius and SabaCaribbean · 90 daysBosnia and HerzegovinaEurope · 90 daysBotswanaAfrica · 90 daysBrazilAmericas · 90 daysBritish Virgin IslandsCaribbean · 180 daysBruneiAsia · 14 daysBulgariaEurope · 90 daysCayman IslandsCaribbean · 180 daysChileAmericas · 90 daysColombiaAmericas · 180 daysCook IslandsOceania · 31 daysCroatiaEurope · 90 daysCuraçaoCaribbean · 90 daysCyprusEurope · 90 daysCzechiaEurope · 90 daysDenmarkEurope · 90 daysDominicaCaribbean · 180 daysDominican RepublicCaribbean · 90 daysEcuadorAmericas · 90 daysEl SalvadorAmericas · 90 daysEstoniaEurope · 90 daysFalkland IslandsAmericasFaroe IslandsEuropeFinlandEurope · 90 daysFranceEurope · 90 daysFrench GuianaAmericas · 90 daysFrench PolynesiaOceania · 90 daysFrench West IndiesCaribbean · 90 daysGeorgiaEurope · 365 daysGermanyEurope · 90 daysGibraltarEuropeGreeceEurope · 90 daysGreenlandEuropeGrenadaCaribbeanGuatemalaAmericas · 90 daysGuyanaAmericas · 30 daysHaitiCaribbean · 90 daysHondurasAmericas · 90 daysHong KongAsia · 30 daysHungaryEurope · 90 daysIcelandEurope · 90 daysIrelandEurope · 90 daysItalyEurope · 90 daysJamaicaCaribbean · 30 daysJapanAsia · 90 daysKiribatiOceania · 90 daysKosovoEurope · 90 daysLatviaEurope · 90 daysLiechtensteinEurope · 90 daysLithuaniaEurope · 90 daysLuxembourgEurope · 90 daysMalaysiaAsia · 30 daysMaltaEurope · 90 daysMauritiusAfrica · 90 daysMayotteAfrica · 90 daysMexicoAmericas · 180 daysMicronesiaOceania · 30 daysMoldovaEurope · 90 daysMonacoEuropeMontenegroEurope · 90 daysMontserratCaribbean · 180 daysNetherlandsEurope · 90 daysNew CaledoniaOceania · 90 daysNicaraguaAmericas · 90 daysNiueOceania · 30 daysNorth MacedoniaEurope · 90 daysNorwayEurope · 90 daysPanamaAmericas · 180 daysParaguayAmericas · 90 daysPeruAmericas · 90 daysPhilippinesAsia · 30 daysPolandEurope · 90 daysPortugalEurope · 90 daysQatarMiddle East · 30 daysRéunionAfrica · 90 daysRomaniaEurope · 90 daysSamoaOceania · 60 daysSan MarinoEuropeSerbiaEurope · 90 daysSingaporeAsia · 30 daysSint MaartenCaribbean · 90 daysSlovakiaEurope · 90 daysSloveniaEurope · 90 daysSouth AfricaAfrica · 30 daysSpainEurope · 90 daysSt. HelenaAfricaSt. LuciaCaribbean · 42 daysSt. Vincent and the GrenadinesCaribbean · 30 daysSwedenEurope · 90 daysSwitzerlandEurope · 90 daysTajikistanAsia · 30 daysTrinidad and TobagoCaribbean · 90 daysTunisiaAfrica · 90 daysTürkiyeEurope · 30 daysTurks and Caicos IslandsCaribbean · 90 daysUnited Arab EmiratesMiddle East · 90 daysUruguayAmericas · 90 daysUzbekistanAsia · 30 daysVatican CityEuropeVenezuelaAmericas · 90 daysZambiaAfrica · 90 days

ETA 10

Electronic authorisation online

Popular:United KingdomSouth KoreaIsraelSri LankaKenya
IsraelMiddle East · 90 daysKenyaAfrica · 90 daysPalestineMiddle EastRussiaEurope · 90 daysSeychellesAfrica · 90 daysSouth KoreaAsia · 90 daysSri LankaAsia · 30 daysSt. Kitts and NevisCaribbean · 90 daysSurinameAmericas · 90 daysUnited KingdomEurope · 180 days

On arrival 25

Visa issued at the border

Popular:ThailandEgyptMaldivesTanzania
BangladeshAsia · 30 daysBurundiAfrica · 30 daysCambodiaAsia · 30 daysComorosAfricaEgyptAfrica · 30 daysGuinea-BissauAfrica · 90 daysIranMiddle East · 30 daysJordanMiddle EastLaosAsia · 30 daysLebanonMiddle East · 30 daysMacaoAsia · 30 daysMadagascarAfrica · 90 daysMalawiAfrica · 30 daysMaldivesAsia · 30 daysMarshall IslandsOceania · 90 daysMozambiqueAfrica · 30 daysNepalAsia · 90 daysPalauOceania · 30 daysRwandaAfrica · 30 daysSenegalAfrica · 90 daysTanzaniaAfricaThailandAsia · 15 daysTimor-LesteAsia · 30 daysTuvaluOceania · 30 daysZimbabweAfrica

eVisa 42

Applied for online before travel

Popular:ArmeniaVietnamIndiaCuba
AfghanistanAsiaAntigua and BarbudaCaribbeanArmeniaMiddle EastAzerbaijanEuropeBahrainMiddle EastBeninAfricaBhutanAsiaBurkina FasoAfricaCameroonAfricaChadAfricaCôte d'IvoireAfricaCubaCaribbeanDjiboutiAfricaDR CongoAfricaEquatorial GuineaAfricaEthiopiaAfricaGabonAfricaGuineaAfricaIndiaAsiaIraqMiddle EastKazakhstanAsiaKyrgyzstanAsiaLesothoAfricaLiberiaAfricaLibyaAfricaMauritaniaAfricaMongoliaAsiaMyanmarAsiaNamibiaAfricaNigeriaAfricaPakistanAsiaPapua New GuineaOceaniaSão Tomé and PríncipeAfricaSierra LeoneAfricaSomaliaAfricaSouth SudanAfricaSyriaMiddle EastTogoAfricaUgandaAfricaUkraineEuropeVanuatuOceaniaVietnamAsia

Visa required 36

Through a consulate

Popular:United StatesChinaIndonesiaAustraliaCanadaSaudi Arabia
AlgeriaAfricaAmerican SamoaOceaniaAngolaAfricaAustraliaOceaniaBelarusEuropeCanadaAmericasCape VerdeAfricaCentral African RepublicAfricaChinaAsiaEritreaAfricaEswatiniAfricaFijiOceaniaGambiaAfricaGhanaAfricaGuamOceaniaIndonesiaAsiaKuwaitMiddle EastMaliAfricaMoroccoAfricaNauruOceaniaNew ZealandOceaniaNigerAfricaNorth KoreaAsiaNorthern Mariana IslandsOceaniaOmanMiddle EastPuerto RicoCaribbeanRepublic of the CongoAfricaSaudi ArabiaMiddle EastSolomon IslandsOceaniaSudanAfricaTaiwanAsiaTongaOceaniaTurkmenistanAsiaUnited StatesAmericasUS Virgin IslandsCaribbeanYemenMiddle East

How to strengthen the passport

A second citizenship opens the countries where this passport needs a visa. We count the better of the two passports.

Nearby in the ranking

  1. 24Uruguay154
  2. 25St. Vincent and the Grenadines153
  3. 26Antigua and Barbuda152
  4. 26Vatican City152
  5. 27Costa Rica148
  6. 28Grenada147
  7. 28Mauritius147
  8. 29Paraguay144
  9. 29Trinidad and Tobago144

Frequently asked questions

Costa Rica: how many countries are visa-free?

In the BRIDGES index as of 4 October 2026: 148 of 226 countries and territories, 113 visa-free, 10 with an ETA and 25 with a visa on arrival. That is rank 27 of 199.

Costa Rica: is a Schengen visa needed?

No. Short trips to Schengen countries need no visa, up to 90 days. Once ETIAS starts, an electronic authorisation will be needed; no launch date has been announced yet.

Costa Rica → United Kingdom: is a visa needed?

ETA, 180 days. Electronic authorisation online.

Costa Rica → United States: is a visa needed?

Visa required. Through a consulate.

Costa Rica → United Arab Emirates: is a visa needed?

Visa-free, 90 days. Entry on your passport.

How can the list of countries be expanded?

A second citizenship. For example, a passport of Austria adds 38 destinations without a prior visa, Türkiye adds 29. We will match a programme to your travel and budget.