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I read that the normal limit is 30 days unless you obtain an extension to 90 days after arriving in Costa Rica....My question is do I really need to wait until I get to Costa Rica to apply for the extension and how difficult is it to get the 90 days approved?.....Bill

Been to CR a dozen times. I tell customs I'm staying for a week but customs always write 90 days on visa stamp.

I just happened to review every visa stamp I have had (for historical). There is no pattern to the number of days they give me. Out of 14 stamps, only 6 were for 90 days.

They DO ask how long you plan to be in the country. Just tell em 90 days. The truth is, they can write 365 days, and it would be acceptable. It is up to the official as to what he assigns, though there are guidelines he follows. It is the same with INS here. They are typically stingy with the days, but it is to their discretion.

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bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

Thanks guys.....I guess i had never really looked at my visa stamps. After looking, I noticed that most of mine have 90 days written in. 1 has just 15 days and 3 have no days written in at all. I will take the advice and tell the guy I need 90 days.....again, thanks

I am a gringo who enters CR 6-8 times a year through SJO. Gringos don't need to be "pre-approved" before arrival to get a CR visa entry stamp in their passport.

Exactly how many days the window witch writes on your stamp at the entry point is discretionary, but I believe that it must be 90 days or less. Over the years, I've been asked how long I'm staying in CR only about 3-4 times.

If I'm asked, I say a number that is a few days more than my return airline reservation. The window witch has the right to require you to produce a return ticket out of CR........ so don't lie (too much ) .

I almost always get 90 days without any questions or discussion. But if I'm asked about my trip length, sometimes I get 20 or 30 days if that is long enough for that trip. I've never had to attempt to get more days than I was given by the witch.

By the way...... all of my encounters with the "witches" have been very pleasant. I use "witch" as a broma.

That being said, several of my gringo friends who live in CR almost full-time have told me about their recent troubles getting stamped for 90 days during their "visa runs" to Nicaland or to Panama. It seems like some window witches want them to apply for permanent residency in CR so that they will be required to pay into the CAJA (health system) , which badly needs their money. One amigo said that's exactly what the witch said to him.

If they are denied the requested 90 days, I'm told that they needed to object to the lesser number RIGHT AWAY, right at the window. It seems like a supervisor can require the witch to re-stamp their passport to give the 90 days. But if you don't realize that you got less than the number that you want, it is a nightmare to get an extension later. For my amigos, objecting has worked.

Be advised, be aware, be cautious and be happy that the girls are there for our wrinkled, smelly, old dicks.

Much (most) of what RAC posted is correct!

Anything written in for more than 90 days would be contrary to the law-have NEVER heard of it happening!

Entering the country at the airport you are not likely to have much of a problem getting what ever you want (# of days) since most of the perpetual tourists do their "90 day visa runs" by land to Nicaragua or Panama-Panama not so much now since Panama's head of inmigracion took it upon himself to "change" the law to requiring a ticket back to your country of residency. For Gringos that is an airline ticket back to the States good within 90 days!

Perpetual tourist: There is a concentrated effort on the part of inmigracion in CR to put an end to the practice. What I have been told by a top official in inmigracion and by my attorney is that inmigracion clerks (sorry RAC but since less than half are female, I will refrain from calling them "witches"!! ) at the frontier locations are under orders to look for people who appear to be "perpetual tourists" (those with a lot of stamps coming and going in and out of CR about every 90 days and only out for a few days before re-entering.) They are under orders to talk (threaten?) to these "tourists", give them reduced days on their visa, even mark their passport for "review" the next time when re-entering. Last time I re-entered, I was told that if next time I had not started the residency process I would only be given 21 days--to that point they had been giving me a lecture and each time reducing the number of days by 10 less than the last time. A fellow CRT member who was with me on that trip had his passport marked for review and was told he probably would be denied re-entry the next time if he had not started his residency application.

As for talking to a supervisor, I did (or rather, tried) on two occasions! Once he refused to even talk to me; and the first time, he stated that the clerks had been instructed to reduce the days for perpetual tourists, and they had total discretion on this point and there was nothing he could nor would do!!! I seriously doubt anyone accomplished much by complaining "right away" nor later!!! I have seen many try, and have seen NONE succeed!!!

And, YES, you ARE suppose to have a ticket out of the country no matter where you enter. At the airport you will seldom be asked for this since they know the airlines are not going to let you on your flight without one. It is the airlines responsibility to take you back if you are denied entrance for this reason. At the land borders you are much more likely to be asked to show a ticket thou not always. I have had a "opened ended" ticket to Nicragua for years. Funny that the first time they reduced my number of days they also suddenly had a policy that thou the ticket was open ended and the bus (Ticabus) had said it was good forever, Costa Rica inmigracion would only accept tickets less than a year old!!

The biggest reason for this crack down IS because of the CAJA, but the problem has arisen because of the very large number of perpetual tourists with no means of paying their medical bills running up huge bills and skipping out!!

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Old and retired but still bang, and bang, and bang!!!

One other point I forgot: If you are entering by land from a "visa run" try very hard to get in a line for a window (caja) where there is an older male working!

In order of preference for ease of entry:

older male

older female,

younger male,

young female--do everything possible to avoid!!! No matter how good looking she might be!!

Not a 100% thing, but almost always works

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Old and retired but still bang, and bang, and bang!!!

Very good psychological profiling and behavioral observation. I can confirm that it usually works that way at the SJO airport as well.

I have noticed the last half dozen times I have arrived at migracion at the airport, they are asking how long I'll stay, then adjusting the number of days on the stamp accordingly. Years ago there was never a question as to length of stay...always got the automatic 90 dias!

Wow. Not a single properly formatted sentence in English. Did this guy ever make it through grammar school?

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bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

How about through medical school

Sounds quite incoherent. What is he trying to say? Just a diatribe against Costa Rica?

Yes, as per usual with him/her/it. This troll has been vexing us for years. Some slight entertainment value for some, I suppose.

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"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

Is that the truth? Is that something else that your immigration lawyer told you? Seriously, where do you get this shit? There are laws they must abide by. Even in CR, they can't just haphazardly ignore written law.

I checked my passport and found numerous 90 days and a couple of 30 days. This time I actually watched what he wrote. After asking how long I would be there, and I told him 5 days, he wrote 15 days. I asked him why not 90 days this time. He said because I told him 5 days and he gave me a little more room in case I needed to make changes. So, there was some logic this time.

In the perfect world, yes. But the human being who is the inspector can violate the law and his guidelines, either in your favor or against. These are not robots that must follow a set of instructions. He can give you less days than your return ticket shows. He can give you more days than it shows. He can give you 365 days if he so desires. He *CAN* do whatever the hell he wants, provided it won't get him in trouble.

If he *DID* grant you 365 days, the cops cannot challenge it in the street, and can only refer it up to immigration.

I am not saying that this *WILL* happen, I am saying that the dude at the desk is GAWD when it comes to how many days you get, and if he wants to break his own rules, there is little you can do or say about it.

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bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!