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| Type | Passport |
| Issued by |  Costa Rica |
| First issued | First version (January 2006, 01; 19 years ago (01-01-2006))[1] Biometric passport (March 2022, 07; 3 years ago (07-03-2022)) |
| Purpose | Identification |
| Eligibility | Costa Rican citizenship |
| Expiration | 10 years after issuance (persons aged 18 and over) |
ACosta Rican passport (Spanish:Pasaporte costarricence) is an identity document issued to Costa Rican citizens to travel outsideCosta Rica. Currently, it is valid for 6 years (10 years before 2006). It is issued to people born on Costa Rican soil (who arecitizens by default), and to children of Costa Rican citizens born abroad, who are reported to the nearest Costa Ricanconsulate (whose birth, immediately after such report, is recorded in the civil registry). Children born overseas to a Costa Rican citizen are Costa Rican by birth, not by naturalisation, as stated in theConstitution of Costa Rica.
As of 1 October 2019, Costa Rican citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 150 countries and territories, ranking the Costa Rican passport 27th overall and first amongCentral American countries, in terms of travel freedom according to theHenley Passport Index.[2]
In 2017, the Costa Rican government confirmed plans to begin issuingbiometric passports by 2020.[3] Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic the government of Costa Rica postponed the plans until 2022.
As of early 2022 the Costa Rican government began issuing the new biometric passports. The new passports showcase four important elements of the country: Biodiversity, Renewable Energy, Education and Peace, and Talent.
It is dark blue on the outside, with letters and the Costa Rican coat of arms in gilded-looking letters.
This graph shows the full Global Ranking of the 2019 Henley Passport Index. As the index usesdense ranking, in certain cases, a rank is shared by multiple countries because these countries all have the same level of visa-free or visa-on-arrival access.
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