Visa requirements for Costa Rican citizens

Visa requirements for Costa Rican citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Costa Rica.

As of 23 July 2024, Costa Rican citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 151 countries and territories, ranking the Costa Rican passport 27th overall and first among Central American countries, in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index.

Visa requirements map

Visa requirements for Costa Rican citizens

  Costa Rica

  Visa free access

  Visa on arrival

  Visa on arrival or eVisa

  eVisa

  Visa required

Visa requirements

Visa requirements for holders of normal passports traveling for tourist purposes:

Country	Visa requirement	Allowed stay	Notes (excluding departure fees)
Afghanistan	Visa required
Albania	Visa not required	90 days
Algeria	Visa required
Andorra	Visa not required
Angola	Visa required
Antigua and Barbuda	eVisa
Argentina	Visa not required	3 months
Armenia	eVisa / Visa on arrival	120 days
Australia	Visa required		May apply online (Online Visitor e600 visa).
Austria	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Azerbaijan	eVisa	30 days
Bahamas	Visa not required	3 months
Bahrain	eVisa / visa on arrival
Bangladesh	Visa required
Barbados	Visa not required	90 days
Belarus	Visa required		Visas are issued on arrival at the Minsk International Airport if the support documents were submitted not later than 3 business days before expected date of arrival.
Belgium	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Belize	Visa not required	90 days
Benin	eVisa / Visa on arrival	30 days / 8 days	Must have an international vaccination certificate.
Bhutan	Visa required
Bolivia	Visa not required	90 days
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 6-month period
Botswana	Visa not required	90 days
Brazil	Visa not required	90 days
Brunei	Visa not required	14 days
Bulgaria	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Burkina Faso	Visa required
Burundi	Visa on arrival	1 month
Cambodia	eVisa / Visa on arrival	30 days	Visa is also obtainable online.
Cameroon	Visa required
Canada	Visa required		Costa Rican citizens who have held a Canadian visa in the last 10 years or who hold a valid United States non-immigrant visa can enter Canada solely with an eTA when arriving by air.
Cape Verde	Visa on arrival		Not available at all entry points.
Central African Republic	Visa required
Chad	Visa required
Chile	Visa not required	90 days
China	Visa required
Colombia	Visa not required	180 days	90 days - extendable up to 180-days stay within a one-year period
Comoros	Visa on arrival
Republic of the Congo	Visa required
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Visa required
Côte d'Ivoire	Visa required
Croatia	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Cuba	Tourist Card required	30 days	Extendable up to 60 days with fee
Cyprus	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period
Czech Republic	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Denmark	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Djibouti	eVisa	31 days
Dominica	Visa not required	6 months
Dominican Republic	Visa not required	90 days
Ecuador	Visa not required	90 days
Egypt	Visa on arrival	30 days	Nationals of Costa Rica with a normal passport can obtain a visa on arrival for a maximum stay of 30 days. They can apply to extend their stay.
El Salvador	Visa not required	3 months
Equatorial Guinea	eVisa	90 days
Eritrea	Visa required
Estonia	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Eswatini	Visa required
Ethiopia	eVisa	up to 90 days	eVisa holders must arrive via Addis Ababa Bole International Airport
Fiji	Visa required
Finland	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
France and territories	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Gabon	eVisa		Electronic visa holders must arrive via Libreville International Airport.
Gambia	Visa not required		An entry clearance must be obtained from the Gambian Immigration prior to travel.
Georgia	Visa not required	1 year
Germany	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Ghana	Visa required
Greece	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Grenada	Visa not required
Guatemala	Visa not required	90 days
Guinea	Visa required
Guinea-Bissau	Visa on arrival	90 days
Guyana	Visa not required	30 days
Haiti	Visa not required	90 days
Honduras	Visa not required	90 days	Starting October 25th, 2023, Costa Rican citizens who wish to enter Honduras must present a criminal record certificate.
Hungary	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Iceland	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
India	e-Visa	60 days	e-Visa holders must arrive via 31 designated airports or 5 designated seaports. An Indian e-Tourist Visa may only be obtained twice within 1 calendar year. Foreigners of Pakistani origin or who hold a Pakistani Passport are not eligible for an e-Visa. Foreigners who are not Pakistani nationals, but whose parents or grandparents (either paternal or maternal) were born in, or were permanent residents in Pakistan, are also not eligible for an e-Visa.
Indonesia	Visa required
Iran	eVisa/Visa on arrival	30 days
Iraq	Visa required
Ireland	Visa not required	3 months
Israel	Visa not required	3 months
Italy	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Jamaica	Visa not required	30 days
Japan	Visa not required	90 days
Jordan	Visa on arrival		Conditions apply. Not available at all entry points.
Kazakhstan	eVisa
Kenya	Electronic Travel Authorisation	3 months
Kiribati	Visa not required	90 days
North Korea	Visa required
South Korea	Visa not required	90 days
Kuwait	Visa required
Kyrgyzstan	eVisa	30 days or 60 days	Electronic visa holders must arrive via Manas International Airport or Osh Airport or through land crossings with China (at Irkeshtam and Torugart), Kazakhstan (at Ak-jol, Ak-Tilek, Chaldybar, Chon-Kapka), Tajikistan (at Bor-Dobo, Kulundu, Kyzyl-Bel) and Uzbekistan (at Dostuk).
Laos	eVisa / Visa on arrival	30 days	17 of the 31 border crossings are only open to visa holders. e-Visa may be used to enter Laos through Luang Prabang, Pakse and Vientiane international airports, 3 Thai-Lao Friendship Bridges and in Boten (road and railroad). Visa on arrival is available at Luang Prabang, Pakse and Vientiane international airports, the 4 Thai-Lao Friendship Bridges and 6 border crossings. Visa on arrival is extendable for an additional 60 days at the Department of Immigration in Vientiane.
Latvia	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Lebanon	Free visa on arrival	1 month	1 month extendable for 2 additional months Granted free of charge at Beirut International Airport or any other port of entry if there is no Israeli visa or seal, holding a telephone number, an address in Lebanon, and a non refundable return of circle trip ticket.
Lesotho	eVisa
Liberia	Visa required
Libya	Visa required
Liechtenstein	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Lithuania	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Luxembourg	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Madagascar	eVisa / Visa on arrival	90 days
Malawi	Visa on arrival
Malaysia	Visa not required	1 month
Maldives	Free visa on arrival	30 days
Mali	Visa required
Malta	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Marshall Islands	Visa on arrival	90 days
Mauritania	Visa on arrival		Available at Nouakchott–Oumtounsy International Airport.
Mauritius	Visa not required	90 days
Mexico	Visa not required	180 days
Micronesia	Visa not required	30 days
Moldova	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period
Monaco	Visa not required
Mongolia	Visa required
Montenegro	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period
Morocco	Visa required
Mozambique	Visa on arrival	30 days	Conditions apply
Myanmar	eVisa	28 days	eVisa holders must arrive via Yangon, Nay Pyi Taw or Mandalay airports or via land border crossings with Thailand — Tachileik, Myawaddy and Kawthaung or India — Rih Khaw Dar and Tamu. eVisa is available for tourism only.
Namibia	Visa required
Nauru	Visa required
Nepal	Visa on arrival	90 days
Netherlands	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
New Zealand	Visa required		May transit without visa if transit is through Auckland Airport and for no longer than 24 hours, subject to meeting character requirements and obtaining an Electronic Travel Authority prior to departure. Holders of an Australian Permanent Resident Visa or Resident Return Visa may be granted a New Zealand Resident Visa on arrival permitting indefinite stay (pursuant to the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement), subject to meeting character requirements and obtaining an Electronic Travel Authority prior to departure.
Nicaragua	Visa not required	90 days
Niger	Visa required
Nigeria	Visa required
North Macedonia	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within 180 days
Norway	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Oman	Visa not required	14 days
Pakistan	Electronic Travel Authorization		Electronic Travel Authorization to obtain a visa on arrival for tourism purposes. Electronic Travel Authorization to obtain a visa on arrival for business purposes. Online Visa eligible.
Palau	Free visa on arrival	30 days	Extendable twice only with fee
Panama	Visa not required	180 days
Papua New Guinea	Visa required
Paraguay	Visa not required	90 days
Peru	Visa not required	90 days
Philippines	Visa not required	30 days
Poland	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Portugal	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Qatar	Visa not required	30 days
Romania	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Russia	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period
Rwanda	eVisa / Visa on arrival	30 days
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Visa not required	3 months
Saint Lucia	Visa not required	6 weeks
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Visa not required	1 month
Samoa	Visa not required	60 days
San Marino	Visa not required
São Tomé and Príncipe	eVisa
Saudi Arabia	Visa required
Senegal	Visa on arrival	90 days
Serbia	Visa not required	90 days
Seychelles	Free Visitor's Permit on arrival	3 months
Sierra Leone	Visa required
Singapore	Visa not required	30 days
Slovakia	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Slovenia	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Solomon Islands	Visitor's permit on arrival	3 months
Somalia	Visa on arrival	30 days	Available at Bosaso Airport, Galcaio Airport and Mogadishu Airport.
South Africa	Visa not required	30 days
South Sudan	eVisa		Obtainable online. Printed visa authorization must be presented at the time of travel.
Spain	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Sri Lanka	eVisa / Visa on arrival	30 days
Sudan	Visa required
Suriname	E-tourist card	90 days	Multiple entry eVisa is also available.
Sweden	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Switzerland	Visa not required	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area
Syria	Visa required
Tajikistan	Visa not required	30 days
Tanzania	eVisa / Visa on arrival
Thailand	eVisa / visa on arrival	15 days
Timor-Leste	Visa on arrival	30 days	Not available at all entry points.
Togo	Visa on arrival	7 days
Tonga	Visa required
Trinidad and Tobago	Visa not required	90 days
Tunisia	Visa not required	90 days
Turkey	Visa not required	30 days
Turkmenistan	Visa required
Tuvalu	Visa on arrival	1 month
Uganda	eVisa / Visa on arrival		Determined at the port of entry. May apply online.
Ukraine	Visa required		e-Visa is currently suspended due to Russian invasion of Ukraine.
United Arab Emirates	Visa not required	90 days
United Kingdom	Visa not required	6 months
United States	Visa required
Uruguay	Visa not required	90 days
Uzbekistan	Visa not required	30 days
Vanuatu	Visa required
Vatican City	Visa not required
Venezuela	Visa not required	90 days
Vietnam	eVisa	90 days	Phú Quốc without a visa for up to 30 days.
Yemen	Visa required
Zambia	eVisa / Visa on arrival	90 days
Zimbabwe	eVisa / Visa on arrival

Dependent, disputed, or restricted territories

Unrecognized or partially recognized countries

Territory	Conditions of access	Notes
Abkhazia	Visa required
Kosovo	Visa not required	90 days
Northern Cyprus	Visa not required	up to 90 days
Palestine	Visa not required	Arrival by sea to Gaza Strip not allowed.
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic		Undefined visa regime in the Western Sahara controlled territory.
Somaliland	Visa on arrival	30 days for 30 USD, payable on arrival.
South Ossetia	Visa not required
Taiwan	Visa required	Exempt for stays of up to 90 days for holders of an APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) with local pre-clearence.
Transnistria	Visa not required	Registration required after 24 hours.

Dependent and autonomous territories

Territory		Conditions of access	Notes
Hong Kong		Visa not required	30 days
Macau		Visa on arrival	30 days
Denmark
Faroe Islands		Visa not required
Greenland		Visa not required
France
Clipperton Island		Special permit required
French Guiana		Visa not required	Visa free for 3 months within any 6-month period for each territory.
French Polynesia		Visa not required	Visa free for 3 months within any 6-month period for each territory.
Guadeloupe		Visa not required	Visa free for 3 months within any 6-month period for each territory.
Martinique		Visa not required	Visa free for 3 months within any 6-month period for each territory.
Saint Barthélemy		Visa not required	Visa free for 3 months within any 6-month period for each territory.
Saint Martin		Visa not required	Visa free for 3 months within any 6-month period for each territory.
Mayotte		Visa not required	Visa free for 3 months within any 6-month period for each territory.
New Caledonia		Visa not required	Visa free for 3 months within any 6-month period for each territory.
Réunion		Visa not required	Visa free for 3 months within any 6-month period for each territory.
Saint Pierre and Miquelon		Visa not required	Visa free for 3 months within any 6-month period for each territory.
Wallis and Futuna		Visa not required	Visa free for 3 months within any 6-month period for each territory.
Netherlands
Aruba		Visa not required	up to 90 days for each territory
Bonaire		Visa not required	up to 90 days for each territory
Sint Eustatius		Visa not required	up to 90 days for each territory
Saba		Visa not required	up to 90 days for each territory
Curaçao		Visa not required	up to 90 days for each territory
Sint Maarten		Visa not required	up to 90 days for each territory
New Zealand
Cook Islands		Visa not required	31 days
Niue		Visa not required	30 days
Tokelau		Permit required
Norway
Jan Mayen		Permit required	Permit issued by the local police required for staying for less than 24 hours and permit issued by the Norwegian police for staying for more than 24 hours.
Svalbard		Visa not required	Unlimited period under Svalbard Treaty but it's practically impossible to board a flight/ferry to Svalbard without entering Norway. Hence double entry Schengen visa would be required to go and come back from Svalbard to mainland Norway.
United Kingdom
Akrotiri and Dhekelia		Visa not required
Anguilla		Visa not required	3 months
Bermuda		Visa not required	up to 6 months, decided on arrival
British Indian Ocean Territory		Special permit required
British Virgin Islands		Visa not required	up to 6 months
Cayman Islands		Visa not required	6 months
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)		Visa required
Gibraltar		Visa not required
Montserrat		Visa not required	6 months
Pitcairn Islands		Visa not required	14 days visa free and landing fee 35 USD or tax of 5 USD if not going ashore.
Saint Helena		Visa not required
Ascension Island		eVisa	3 months within any year period.
Tristan da Cunha		Permission required	Permission to land required for 15/30 pounds sterling (yacht/ship passenger) for Tristan da Cunha Island or 20 pounds sterling for Gough Island, Inaccessible Island or Nightingale Islands.
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands		Permit required	Pre-arrival permit from the Commissioner required (72 hours/1 month for 110/160 pounds sterling).
Turks and Caicos Islands		Visa not required	90 days
United States
American Samoa		Entry permit required
Guam		Visa required
Northern Mariana Islands		Visa required
Puerto Rico		Visa required
U.S. Virgin Islands		Visa required
Antarctica and adjacent islands
Special permits required for Bouvet Island, British Antarctic Territory, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Argentine Antarctica, Australian Antarctic Territory, Chilean Antarctic Territory, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Peter I Island, Queen Maud Land, Ross Dependency.

Other territories

• Australia. Ashmore and Cartier Islands - Special authorisation required.
• Belarus. Brest and Grodno - Visa-free for 10 days
• China. Hainan - Visa on arrival for 15 days. Available at Haikou Meilan International Airport and Sanya Phoenix International Airport. Visa not required for 21 days for traveling as part of a tourist group (2 or more people)
• China. Tibet Autonomous Region - Tibet Travel Permit required (10 USD).
• Colombia. San Andrés and Leticia - Visitors arriving at Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport and Alfredo Vásquez Cobo International Airport must buy tourist cards on arrival.
• Ecuador. Galápagos - Online pre-registration is required. Transit Control Card must also be obtained at the airport prior to departure.
• Eritrea outside Asmara – To travel in the rest of the country, a Travel Permit for Foreigners is required (20 Eritrean nakfa).
• Fiji. Lau Province - Special permission required.
• Greece Mount Athos - Special permit required (4 days: 25 euro for Orthodox visitors, 35 euro for non-Orthodox visitors, 18 euro for students). There is a visitors' quota: maximum 100 Orthodox and 10 non-Orthodox per day and women are not allowed.
• India. Protected Area Permit (PAP) required for whole states of Nagaland and Sikkim and parts of states Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh. Restricted Area Permit (RAP) required for all of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and parts of Sikkim. Some of these requirements are occasionally lifted for a year.
• Iran. Kish Island - Visa not required.
• Kazakhstan. Closed cities - Special permission required for the town of Baikonur and surrounding areas in Kyzylorda Oblast, and the town of Gvardeyskiy near Almaty.
• North Korea outside Pyongyang - Special permit required. People are not allowed to leave the capital city, tourists can only leave the capital with a governmental tourist guide (no independent moving).
• Malaysia. Sabah and Sarawak - Visa not required. These states have their own immigration authorities and passport is required to travel to them, however the same visa applies.
• Maldives outside Malé - Permission required. Tourists are generally prohibited from visiting non-resort islands without the express permission of the Government of Maldives.
• Russia. Several closed cities and regions in Russia - Special authorization required.
• Saudi Arabia Mecca and Medina - Special access required. Non-Muslims and those following the Ahmadiyya religious movement are strictly prohibited from entry.
• Sudan. Darfur - Separate travel permit is required.
• Sudan outside Khartoum - All foreigners traveling more than 25 kilometers outside of Khartoum must obtain a travel permit.
• Tajikistan. Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province - OIVR permit required (15+5 Tajikistani Somoni) and another special permit (free of charge) is required for Lake Sarez.
• Turkmenistan. Closed cities - A special permit, issued prior to arrival by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is required if visiting the following places: Atamurat, Cheleken, Dashoguz, Serakhs and Serhetabat.
• United States. Closed city of Mercury, Nevada, United States - Special authorization is required for entry into Mercury.
• United States. United States Minor Outlying Islands - Special permits required for Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll, Palmyra Atoll and Wake Island.
• Venezuela. Margarita Island - Visa not required. All visitors are fingerprinted.
• Vietnam. Phú Quốc - Visa not required for 30 days.
• Yemen outside Sana'a or Aden - Special permission needed for travel outside Sana'a or Aden.
• UN Buffer Zone in Cyprus - Access Permit is required for travelling inside the zone, except Civil Use Areas.
• Korean Demilitarized Zone - Restricted area.
• UNDOF Zone and Ghajar - Restricted area.

Non-visa restrictions

Many countries have entry restrictions on foreigners that go beyond the common requirement of having either a valid visa or a visa exemption. Such restrictions may be health related or impose additional documentation requirements on certain classes of people for diplomatic or political purposes.

Blank passport pages

Many countries require a minimum number of blank pages to be available in the passport being presented, typically one or two pages. Endorsement pages, which often appear after the visa pages, are not counted as being valid or available.

Vaccination

Main articles: Vaccination requirements for international travel, International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis, and Vaccine passports during the COVID-19 pandemic

Cover of the new International Certificate of Vaccination issued by the Bureau of Quarantine in the Philippines since 2021

Many African countries, including Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo, South Sudan, Uganda, and Zambia, require all incoming passengers older than nine months to one year to have a current International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis, as does the South American territory of French Guiana.

Some other countries require vaccination only if the passenger is coming from an infected area or has visited one recently or has transited for 12 hours in those countries: Algeria, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Lesotho, Libya, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Passport validity length

Very few countries, such as Paraguay, just require a valid passport on arrival.

However many countries and groupings now require only an identity card – especially from their neighbours. Other countries may have special bilateral arrangements that depart from the generality of their passport validity length policies to shorten the period of passport validity required for each other's citizens or even accept passports that have already expired (but not been cancelled).

Some countries, such as Japan, Ireland and the United Kingdom, require a passport valid throughout the period of the intended stay.

In the absence of specific bilateral agreements, countries requiring passports to be valid for at least 6 more months on arrival include Afghanistan, Algeria, Anguilla, Bahrain, Bhutan, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Curaçao, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Vanuatu, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

Countries requiring passports valid for at least 4 months on arrival include Micronesia and Zambia.

Countries requiring passports with a validity of at least 3 months beyond the date of intended departure include Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Honduras, Montenegro, Nauru, Moldova and New Zealand. Similarly, the EEA countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, all European Union countries (except Ireland) together with Switzerland also require 3 months validity beyond the date of the bearer's intended departure unless the bearer is an EEA or Swiss national.

Countries requiring passports valid for at least 3 months on arrival include Albania, North Macedonia, Panama, and Senegal.

Bermuda requires passports to be valid for at least 45 days upon entry.

Countries that require a passport validity of at least one month beyond the date of intended departure include Eritrea, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Macau, the Maldives and South Africa.

Criminal record

Some countries, including Australia, Canada, Fiji, New Zealand and the United States, routinely deny entry to non-citizens who have a criminal record, while others impose restrictions depending on the type of conviction and the length of the sentence.

Persona non grata

The government of a country can declare a diplomat persona non grata, banning them from entering the country or expelling them if they have already entered. In non-diplomatic use, the authorities of a country may also declare a foreigner persona non grata permanently or temporarily, usually because of unlawful activity.

Israeli stamps

Israeli border control Entry Permit (issued as a stand-alone document rather than a stamp affixed in a passport)

Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, and Yemen do not allow entry to people with passport stamps from Israel or whose passports have either a used or an unused Israeli visa, or where there is evidence of previous travel to Israel such as entry or exit stamps from neighbouring border posts in transit countries such as Jordan and Egypt.

To circumvent this Arab League boycott of Israel, the Israeli immigration services have now mostly ceased to stamp foreign nationals' passports on either entry to or exit from Israel (unless the entry is for some work-related purposes). Since 15 January 2013, Israel no longer stamps foreign passports at Ben Gurion Airport. Passports are still (as of 22 June 2017) stamped at Erez when passing into and out of Gaza.

Iran refuses admission to holders of passports containing an Israeli visa or stamp that is less than 12 months old.

Biometrics

See also: Countries applying biometrics

Several countries mandate that all travellers, or all foreign travellers, be fingerprinted on arrival and will refuse admission to or even arrest travellers who refuse to comply. In some countries, such as the United States, this may apply even to transit passengers who merely wish to change planes rather than go landside.

Fingerprinting countries/regions include Afghanistan, Argentina, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, India, Japan, Kenya (both fingerprints and a photo are taken), Malaysia upon entry and departure, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

Many countries also require a photo be taken of people entering the country. The United States, which does not fully implement exit control formalities at its land frontiers (although long mandated by its own legislation), intends to implement facial recognition for passengers departing from international airports to identify people who overstay their visa.

Together with fingerprint and face recognition, iris scanning is one of three biometric identification technologies internationally standardised since 2006 by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for use in e-passports and the United Arab Emirates conducts iris scanning on visitors who need to apply for a visa.

See also

• Visa policy of Costa Rica
• Costa Rican passport

References and Notes

References

Notes