Starting on April 20, foreign visitors to Costa Rica who overstay their visa will be charged a fee when they leave the country.
The Costa Rican Immigration Administration announced on its website that it will charge foreigners $100 per month overstayed. The fee will apply to time overstayed in the country starting on March 1, 2010, when the current General Law of Immigration took effect.
If the person does not cancel the penalty fee, he or she will be denied reentry to Costa Rica for a term equivalent to three times the period of time he or she spent in the country without a permit.
This penalty is based on the Article 33 of the Immigration Law, which establishes that “…a foreign person has the obligation of leaving the country when the authorized term of permanence expires, unless a request for a change of category is solicited, or an extension is granted by said immigration authority.”
Users can find out the amount they owe on the Immigration website and pay the fine at a Banco de Costa Rica Branch, a BCR Punto Tucán, or at Post Office branches in La Cruz, Paso Canoas, Liberia and Alajuela. Full details are available here.
People with questions about the fee or about renewing their Immigration Identity Document for Foreigners (DIMEX) are encouraged to contact Immigration at 1311 or the Banco de Costa Rica call center at 2221-1120.
