Going through immigration and customs can be scary and confusing for 1st time fliers or those who don’t fly internationally often. Whenever I fly into Costa Rica, it always surprises me to see that most people had never flown internationally and that it was their first time filling out an immigration and customs form.
So I decided to write this post to help you know exactly what to expect when going through customs and immigration in San Jose Airport and Liberia International Airport.
What to Know About Going Through Customs and Immigration in San Jose Airport and Liberia International Airport
Costa Rica has 2 international airports: San Jose International Airport in San Jose and Liberia International Airport in Liberia, Guanacaste. It doesn’t matter which one you’re flying into, the process is exactly the same.
However, this process is different than land crossings if you are crossing by foot from Nicaragua or Panama. Read our guide to crossing the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica to find out exactly what the process is like.
Remember, customs and immigration are two completely different things. Customs is for luggage, immigration is for people.
On the plane there: customs form
*They will give you customs form but they may not ask for it when you go through customs.*
During your flight to Costa Rica, your flight attendant will hand out custom forms so make sure to have a pen with you on the plane. For the custom form, you only need one form per family with the same last name living in the same house hold.
Forms are in both Spanish and English. This is what they look like:
It is very simple to fill out and self explanatory. I will go through everything they ask you below.
Costa Rica Customs Form
This is the type of personal information you need to fill out
- Family name (your last name)
- Given name (your first name)
- Mother’s Maiden name (Costa Rica uses both mother and father’s last names but this is not necessary if you don’t.)
- Nationality
- Sex
- Birthday
- Country of residence
- Country of origin
This is the flight and passenger information
- Passport (check passport unless you’re flying on something else than a passport)
- Passport number
- Flight number
- Airline
Then it will ask you for your foreseen address. Write down the name of your hotel/hostel and the name of the beach or town you are going to. You can see in the form I wrote “Playa Tamarindo” but it will be better to have the name of your hotel. If you’re staying in an Airbnb, write the address or name of your Airbnb.
The immigration officials aren’t super strict about your foreseen address but you do need to have at least the town you’re going to. They know that most people stay in multiple hotels and destinations so write down the first destination you’re going to after you exit the airport, even if you’re only there for a day.
Family Members/Luggage/Etc.
Next, they will ask how many family members are traveling with you, that one is easy to answer. Then it will ask how many pieces of luggage you have. This is how many pieces of check in luggage you have.
Then, they will ask questions such as if you’ve been around livestock/food process plants or agricultural regions. Second if you are bringing lives animals. Third, if you’re bringing any chemical agents. Fourth, if you’re bringing more than $10,000 in USD (you need to declare this if you are).
The last section asks if you have had tax exemption the past 6 months and if you’re bringing merchandise other than your luggage (merchandise to sell).
Have you been out of the country for at least 3 days?
Lastly, this is the question that many people were confused about. Mark YES if you have been out of Costa Rica for at least 3 days. Mark NO if you have not been out of Costa Rica for at least 3 days (for example, you flew out of Costa Rica on January 1st and are flying back January 3rd).
Remember, this is the customs form for Costa Rica, not for the country you just flew out of. People kept getting very confused so remember, they are asking if you have been out of Costa Rica for at least 3 days.
If this is your first time to Costa Rica, you need to mark YES. Since you have never been to Costa Rica before, you obviously have been out of the country for at least 3 days. If you visited 1 year ago, you need to mark yes too since it’s been more than 3 days since you’ve been in Costa Rica.
Then just date and sign and that’s it!
Immigration Form
The immigration form also asks the same passenger information: full name, passport number, destination, birthday, occupation, sex, residing country and flight number.
***Costa Rica has stopped asking for this form on most flights so you may not get one to fill out. But if you do, then here are the details for it.***
Going Through Immigration at the Airport
Now that you’ve arrived, you will first go through immigration. Even though you technically don’t need the form, keep it with you.
You will see signs for residents and citizens and foreigners. Go to the foreigner line and have your passport ready. You will NOT hand the customs form you filled out on the plane to this officer.
When your turn is called, go up to the desk and hand the officer your passport. Go in your travel group so if you’re traveling with friends, go together as a group. Families always go together.
Just a side note, there is a bathroom in the immigration area. I like to use the one in immigration since there tends to be less people. Everyone wants to get through immigration asap which works for me since I don’t like to rush!
What the Officer Will Ask You
The officer will take your passport, scan it and look at your picture. Costa Rican immigration officials don’t ask too many questions so don’t be nervous. They speak English and they’re super used to tourists. They will ask you these questions:
- Your local address (where you are going in Costa Rica) or hotel name
- Your occupation
They also might ask you how long you’re staying in Costa Rica and if you’re volunteering or studying abroad, the name of your program. When he’s finished checking and asking questions, he’ll stamp your passport and hand it back to you.
Your tourist visa stamp looks like this and tourist visas for USA and Canada are for 90 days.
If you are in a different entry group (not USA/Canada/Western Europe/Australia/entry group 1 or 2) and you need a consular visa, then you will need to bring the appropriate paperwork like your plane ticket out, your proof of visa, proof of funds, etc. Check the Costa Rican entry requirements if you don’t know what group your passport country is in.
Baggage Claim and Customs
After you finish immigration, you will go to baggage claim. San Jose and Liberia Airport aren’t very big so you will be able to easily find your carousel. Pick up all your luggage (they have free carts if you need them) and take them to the customs area.
Now you will go through customs. You will see a couple of scanners and put all of your luggage, backpacks, bags, purses and carry ons on the scanners.
Go around the other side and hand the officer your customs form, pick up your luggage and then you’re free! It is honestly very rare for the customs to stop anyone and search their luggage but if you happen to get stopped unluckily, pick up your luggage and bring it over to the side where they can examine it.
You’ll exit through a pair of swinging doors (the ones that say, no going back beyond this point) and be out in the airport. At San Jose Airport, you will exit to the outside where you will see all of the taxis and shuttle people. At Liberia Airport, you will exit into the actual airport and everyone is waiting outside.
How Long Does it Take to Go Through Customs and Immigration in San Jose Airport and Liberia Airport?
In all of my times flying into Costa Rica, the longest it ever took me to go through immigration and customs was 1 hour at Liberia Airport and this was because I arrived right with 3 other flights so immigration took a bit longer. But other than that, it’s usually on average around 30 minutes with check in luggage at Liberia Airport.
However, I found that San Jose tends to take longer than Liberia airport because there are way more flights. It takes me about 45 minutes – 1 hour at San Jose Airport at least.
During high season, do expect a lot of people since a lot more flights come in and many arrive at the same time. At Liberia Airport, there are a handful of flights that arrive from 12 – 2 PM so it gets super busy during this time. At San Jose Airport, there are flights coming in all day long but weekends and midday are usually fairly busy.
Sim cards/Exchanging money at the airport
You can find sim card stands, ATMs and money exchanges at both airports. In Liberia Airport, the Kolbi telecommunications company stand for Costa Rica sim cards is in the airport after you exit customs. In San Jose Airport, it is in the airport as well.
The money exchanges and duty free stores are after immigration.
You will also see car rental companies at baggage claim at both airports. Learn about car rentals at Liberia Airport.
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And that’s it! See, isn’t that easy? Nothing to worry about! That is all you need to know about going through customs and immigration SJO Airport and LIR for a stress free arrival.
Read more Costa Rica travel tips below!
What to know about grocery shopping in Costa Rica
15 things to know about Costa Rica before you visit
Larry Sy says
Update – there is no need for the customs form
I just arrived in San jose. I was still given the forms on the plane but nobody asks for it on the ground.
Sammi says
It’s actually always been like that, they always give the form but the officers hardly ask for it :X
Josh Elgeti says
Hi there, thank-you for all the very helpful information.I have a question about getting through customs at SJO. My flight is scheduled to land at 11:55am and I am wondering about the possibility of catching the final Sansa Air flight at 3:15pm to Tortuquero. Is there enough time for this to work?
Sammi says
Most likely yes, usually immigration and customs doesn’t take super crazy long (especially in low season like now until November). I think Sansa also has their own counter in the Juan Santa Maria terminal so check in should be super quick. But check to see if your flight flies out of Juan Santamaria or Tobias Bolanas, because the Tobias Bolanas airport is around 30 minutes drive away from SJO Airport with no traffic.
john says
Is the Liberia airport full of timeshare people (scammers), like in, say the Cancun airport?
Sammi says
There aren’t any timeshare people at the airport. Lots of taxis, car rentals, shuttles, etc.
Sammi says
Hi Ralph, if you plan to go out of the airport to sightsee or go somewhere, you will need to pick up your luggage and then check in again 2 hours before your flight. If you’re just connecting and your layover is very short, they should pass your luggage all the way through to the final destination but I would double check with the Southwest agent when you check in initially because it will depend on the airline. The SJO Airport is not very big and most likely you will need to re-check in at the counter again but since the airport is very small and connections are not super common, definitely ask the agent and ask again when you land at SJO. You will most likely have to do immigration but I don’t know if they have a specific “connections only” section (some airports will let you bypass checking in again and just go right into the terminal for connections).
Ralph Tognetti says
We are flying southwest to San Jose, companion pass you know, so I will land at Sjo and then connect to copa later that day to head to PTY. I assume I do everything you say and just go to the copa counter and check in again-correct? Thanks for the great article
Dana M Robbins says
HI! Will it be a problem if I fly into SJO, stay overnight, then depart SJO for Panama? I know it seems odd, but it beats flying an overnight trip of paying twice as much…..
Sammi says
Hi Dana! That is not a problem but I would recommend to book a hotel near the airport. You can’t really stay overnight or sleep in the airport and there’s not much around. You can find many cheap hotels near the airport like Terida or you can check this post: hotels near San Jose Airport for recommendations.
Laura says
Hi! We are flying into SJO and are meeting family who are flying in 3 hours after us. Where do you recommend waiting for them? Should we wait to go through customs or meet them after customs? Love your post. Thanks!
Sammi says
San Jose Airport doesn’t have a waiting area after customs as it leads directly outside the airport. There is a small cafe called Malinche at the airport but for 3 hours, I would actually recommend to take a 2 minute taxi to the Denny’s Restaurant across the street. There is also a Rostipollos restaurant and Fiesta casino so you can at least eat and rest for a little bit because 3 hours is a long time at San Jose airport since there’s nothing really at the airport.
Christina says
When flying out of San Jose back to the US, about how much time would you recommend to allow for customs and security-how early before our flight should we get to the airport?
Sammi says
You should always arrive at least 2 hours before an international flight and that is the same for San Jose AIrport. You won’t go through customs flying out of San Jose (you will when you arrive in USA). Customs is only for international arrivals. You will go through security at San Jose Airport.
Sammi says
Hi Mare! You can write USA, if you’ve never lived in Japan and don’t live there currently. Usually country of origin is nationality.
Mare says
So thankful to have found your website! I leave in four days and I’ve learned so much!
On these forms, I am an American but born in Japan while my father was stationed there. Is my country of origin the place of birth?
Thanks!
Lori says
Thank you for this really helpful info. I am meeting a friend at LIR, she’ll be on a different flight. Would you recommend I wait for her prior to customs or should I go through and meet her on the other side? Is there a good meeting point and/or wifi or should we get international coverage and prepare to text for meetups?
Sammi says
Depending on the time difference between flights, I’d meet her at the cafe outside the airport. It’s much more comfortable than waiting for her inside the airport. Once you exit the airport, walk to the left and you’ll see a small cafe outside where you can sit, get food, drinks, etc.
Frances says
Hi. Thanks for all this great info. I read somewhere that there is a duty free shop at LIR where you can buy liquor for a good price and that each person is allowed 5 litres to bring into Costa Rica. Is this accurate? And is this duty free shop before you go through customs?
Sammi says
Hi Frances, yes there is a duty free in Liberia airport, it’s right next to currency exchange after you pass immigration. I am not positive about the amount but that sounds about right. Last time I bought 3 liters with no problem. I gota
Sami says
I arrive a few hours before my friends and will be getting a rental car from Alamo while I wait for them. Should I wait at the office or can I park at the pick up exit near where taxis are waiting?
Sammi says
Hi Sami, if you’re picking up your friends from the airport, you can just pick them up at the arrivals area of the airport.
Gaby says
I’m travelling to Costa Rica in december but it’s like a 9 hour layover, how do the customs work? I’ll be travelling with the same airline so do they keep my big luggage in the meantime and should I just say San Jose when they ask me for the address? I’d like to go out and explore the city while I wait for my flight to the final destination, what do you recommend? 🙂
Sammi says
Hi Gaby, because your layover is 9 hours, you have to pick up your luggage. The airline won’t keep it for you because the layover is longer than 4 hours so you need to pick up all your luggage, go through immigration and customs. For your time in Costa Rica, I even recommend booking a cheap hotel so you can shower and everything.
So it’ll be exactly as if you were staying in Costa Rica for a week when you land. You’ll pick up all your luggage, write your hotel (if you book one) as your destination in San Jose and then go and have fun for a few hours. Then when its time for your flight, you have to re-check in so you need to go to the counter, check in your luggage and go through security.
Becky James says
The immigration form asks about pharmaceuticals. Does that mean you have to declare your prescribed medications?
Sammi says
If you have medications like opioids, you should declare them and also bring your prescription. We also recommend if you have prescription medicine like that, to have a written list of your prescriptions and the active ingredients in your medications just in case of emergency.
Donna Ashizawa says
How I wish I saw your blog BEFORE arriving here! Thank you for all your hard work putting this large website of information together. I will certainly try to support you via your company links.
But I had to laugh when I saw your photo of the immigration room because a security person told a woman she could not take photos there. 🙂
Also, I was wondering if you could simply remove that rude commenter (and other replies to him) since your site is so positive and it sort of puts a taint on it.
Sammi says
Hi Donna! I’m glad that you like the blog and is helpful. Haha yes, I sneakily took that photo in immigration. I think they saw me because I was near the front of the line but I got away with it.
Thank you for the suggestion, I removed his comment. My only intention for this blog and posts I write is to help people, not stir up something and I know a lot of people had questions about going through immigration and customs. It is too bad that he didn’t see it that way :/
Peter says
Gee Robert, your article says a lot about you (are you a monkey). You are obviously not well schooled and don’t travel very much which is probably not your fault, let’s blame your parents. Strange how the United States is such a great nation and one of the best places to live when we are all so stupid!! Oh, and are you referring to Americans from north, central or south America???
Jeremy says
Hello! What’s the scoop on bringing in a Vitamix or an Omega juicer in your checked luggage? Would customs catch that on the X-ray? Also, what would the fees be? Thnx!
Sammi says
Hi Jeremy, I think you can probably bring it but make sure you take it out of the box and don’t bring the manuals. Pretty much don’t make it look like new or else customs will tax you on it because it’s a new item or they may think you’re trying to sell it. If they happen to ask you, if you say it’s your personal blender (not for sale) and that it’s old, it’ll be fine.
nat t says
how does it work with deprature tax? how do i know if included in ticket or not?
Sammi says
Most airlines include the departure tax now but there will be a board in the airport at arrivals that will say which tickets don’t include the departure tax.
Vivian says
Do you know what is meant by fresh food. Can you bring cheese for instance, or bacon.
Sammi says
You can’t take fresh fruit, vegetables or meat through customs. You can bring cheese I believe if it’s in your checked in luggage but I am not positive. I did have a friend who brought packaged cheese in her check in and if you bring food, it needs to have the US FDA (or any country’s food administration seal of approval in English). I tried to bring rice from Thailand and even though it was sealed, packaged and bought from a grocery store, they took it away from me because the labeling was in Thai and the Costa Rican officers couldn’t read it so they couldn’t verify if it was legit or not. They told me that if it had an English label, I could keep it but it didn’t.
Lori apfel says
What about the sloths? Any on the pacific side?
Sammi says
Hi Lori, yes you can see sloths on the Pacific side, mostly in the South Pacific. You can read more about where to see sloths here: sloths in Costa Rica
Sammi says
They are asking about chemical weapons when they ask about chemical agents.
Darcy says
You mentioned the custom form asking about chemicals… so if I’m bringing lots of bug spray do I have to mention that?
Kay says
Hi Sammi,
Great site! Thanks for the useful tips, especially on the Custom’s question regarding have you been out of CR for more than 3 days. I can see how that can be confusing. 🙂
May I ask…
1) Is it best to buy the SIM card at the airport or wait until you get to the city?
2) How much is the cost of a SIM card and the cost of a data plan?
Thank you!
Sammi says
Hi Kay, I wrote a post about getting pre-paid sim cards in Costa Rica here: Costa Rica pre-paid sim cards but I recommend getting it at the airport because then you’ll have to spend some time to find a computer store in the area you’re going to. The card costs about 2000 colones and then you can put however much credit you want on it. The post has all the information about how to get a sim card, cost of data/minutes, different phone providers and how to recharge it.
Joe says
If this is the attitude that the local Costa Ricans have toward Americans, I think I will take my money to Belize instead
Sammi says
That guy is definitely not Costa Rican! Ticos are very laid back people and they welcome everybody. If you talk to the locals, they are super happy people visit their country and want more people to experience and enjoy Costa Rica.
Sammi says
On the customs form, they ask if you have been out of CR for at least 3 days is because of this kind of thing and if you do border crossings, you can cross over and back in a minimum of 3 hours if you don’t purchase any duty free or anything that needs to be taxed since taxes here are so high. I kind of do the same thing except I stock up with stuff from the US whenever I go home, I haven’t made a trip just for one thing but I haven’t needed to. It’s definitely a lot more prevalent because there are many immigrants here but they use that as a way to get around the high cost of certain items (electronics, clothes, house and kitchenware, etc.)
If you go to the public clinics (Ebais), your medications are for free but if you go to the private doctor you will need to pay for them but if it’s an emergency, a private clinic is a lot faster.
Debora Sztain says
We only have carry on luggage. Will they be checking them as well or is it only checked luggage?
Thanks,
Debbie
Sammi says
Yes, you need to put everything through customs: purses, backpacks, carry on, check in, everything.
Steve B. says
Re: Money Changers..
We got very good rates at Wal-Mart, of all places. Just pay with a $100 US bill and you get Colones back as the change, and at very close to the bank rate, plus without any fees! (Well, at least it worked well in San Jose!)
Sammi says
Yes, you can use dollars at the supermarkets in CR and they give you your change back in colones and they will post near the cash register what the rate they use for the day is. This is normal in touristic areas.
Dennis Hamsher says
I would suggest not bringing $100 and $50 dollar bills – they could be rejected as possibly counterfeit – I had $100 bills that I took to the bank to exchange and needed my passport and all serial #,s were recorded with passport info – concern is for drug money laundering?
Sammi says
Yeah, for $100 bills you will need to go to the bank or casino to break them, most supermarkets or other places won’t accept them plus it’s hard to break. If you travel to any foreign country in the world, if you exchange money at the bank you have to have your passport, it’s normal. They just need to keep track of the foreign currency that is going in and out of their country, it’s not just Costa Rica.
Steve B. says
I wonder if the CR officials are looking for people making quick “out of country” runs for stuff that is difficult, (or expensive,) to get in CR.
During our last trip to CR, my wife needed what turned out to be a very expensive oral antibiotic – in Costa Rica. However, back in the US, it was literally 1/10th the CR price. One of the residents we met while in CR said that on several occasions, he had had a similar issue. His solution was to run down to SJO and book a round trip to Ft. Lauderdale on the cheapest flight he could find. Several have a three hour turn around, which gives you enough time to hop a taxi to one of the local 24 hr national chain pharms, pick up the script, (called in from a US doctor,) and catch the flight back to SJO.
Fortunately, our CR doctors were able to get a hold of a local drug company rep that managed to get us a MUCH better deal, so I didn’t have to make the trip.
I kind of wonder how prevalent that is..
Sammi says
Yes 🙂 I accidentally mixed it originally but I corrected it!
Sammi says
Hi Steve, sorry so originally I accidentally mixed up yes and no so it should be yes, you have been out of the country for at least 3 days because since you’ve never been to Costa Rica, obviously you have been out of the country for 3 days.
Dennis Hamsher says
Good article and advice – I would suggest anyone needing the rest room use the one in immigration at Liberia as the one at luggage pickup usually has a line for the ladies and this is typically the last stop before heading to your shuttle ! Heading to CR Saturday for 5 weeks
Sammi says
Yes, I always use the one in immigration since there usually aren’t that many people (everyone wants to get through immigration asap).
Jim Zuber says
OK, that 3 day question still does not make sense. Since it is a Costa Rican form (not used in any other Latin American country), it should read: “Are you returning to Costa Rica having been gone for more than 3 days?”
Since I am not a Costa Rican citizen/ex-pat and merely a visitor, I would answer no, because I’m just arriving on vacation. Does my phrasing of the question make more sense?
Sammi says
Hi Jim! It is YES if this is your first time to Costa Rica since you’ve obviously never been to the country. They are asking if you have been OUTSIDE of Costa Rica for at least 3 days. It doesn’t matter about returning, they just need to know if you have been out of Costa Rica for at least 3 days so if you’re a visitor, then yes unless you were just in Costa Rica less than 72 hours ago for some reason.
Alan says
Great article! I would point out that there at ATMs located in the baggage claim area (at least at SJO) where you can get cash and it’s USUALLY much cheaper to do that instead of using the official “Money Changers” (their rates are often horrible for exchanging your money!)
Sammi says
Nice point! Thanks!
Jerry says
Could you explain the rules in Costa Rica for flying drones. And how do you travel with a drone on the airlines.
Thanks
Sammi says
By law, you need to have a license to fly a drone in Costa Rica but it is not really reinforced. You can’t fly drones in national parks, private reserves, refuges, etc. and if they do catch you flying in those areas or without a drone, it is a huge fine but they don’t really care too much if it’s not for commercial purposes. If you’re flying for commercial purposes, then you need to get a commercial license and get the correct permits.
We brought our drone on a check in before and I made sure to pack it so it didn’t look brand new (or else they will stop and ask if you are selling it).
Klaus says
Keep in mind the batteries for the drone are forbidden in the check in luggage for safety reasons – like all lithium-ion batteries. You must have them reachable in your handluggage. The drone itself can be checked in.