Most Indians who plan a Costa Rica trip hit the visa question before they've even picked a beach. The short version is that an ordinary Indian passport needs a Costa Rican consular visa, unless you already hold one of a handful of foreign visas or residence permits that Costa Rica treats as a pass. If you do need the consular visa, the flight evidence it asks for is gentle: a tentative booking or an itinerary, not a bought fare. This guide walks through who needs what, quotes the official wording, and shows where a held reservation fits and where it stops being enough. Arrival rules on onward travel are covered separately in our Costa Rica onward ticket guide, so here we stay with the visa file.
Costa Rica visa: key facts for Indian applicants
| Question | What the official material says |
|---|---|
| Visa group for India | Third group: consular visa needed. Costa Rica's migration authority sorts every nationality into four groups.[3][5] |
| Stay on a consular visa | Up to 30 days from entry, or what the entry stamp says; extendable up to 90 days.[3] |
| Main exemptions | A multiple-entry US or Canadian visa or residence, a multiple-entry Schengen C or D visa, or qualifying residence in the UK, EU, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland.[1] |
| Flight evidence for a visa | "Your itinerary or a temporary reservation of your ticket", with advice not to buy tickets before approval (Embassy of Costa Rica in Washington, restricted-visa page).[2] |
| Flight evidence at entry | Embassy list: "Reserva de vuelo o de bus que indique la salida del país". The tourism board's entry page says pre-purchased.[1][6] |
| Rules in force | DGME visa guidelines published 17 November 2025 (Alcance 148, La Gaceta 216).[4][7] |
Do Indian passport holders need a visa for Costa Rica?
Yes, in most cases. Costa Rica's Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME) places countries in four groups. Groups one and two enter without a visa. The third group needs a consular visa, which a Costa Rican consular officer issues. The fourth group needs a restricted visa that a DGME committee in San José must approve.[3] India sits in the third group.[5] We could not open DGME's own country list in October 2026, because its site blocked automated access, so treat the group placement as something to reconfirm with the consulate.
A third-group traveller gets a maximum legal stay of 30 days from entry, or whatever the officer stamps, and can extend up to 90 days in total.[3] That is much shorter than the 180 days first-group visitors receive, so pick your dates with care.
Where do you apply? The University of Costa Rica's international office, summarising the DGME rules, says third-group nationals request the visa from their country of origin, their country of residence for the last three years, or through a third country.[3] For most readers in India that means the Embassy of Costa Rica in New Delhi. If you live in the Gulf, ask the Costa Rican mission covering your country of residence.
Other passports
Nationals of first-group countries such as the United States can enter for up to 180 days. The embassy in Washington reminds US citizens to carry a valid passport and a return ticket.[2] If you hold a passport other than Indian, check your group before you start collecting papers, because the documents differ completely between groups.
Can a US, Canadian or Schengen visa replace the Costa Rican one?
Often, yes, and this is the route many Indian travellers end up using. A Costa Rican embassy document on consular-visa exceptions lists three ways to skip the consular or restricted visa.[1] The conditions are precise, so read them line by line.
| What you hold | Condition in the official text | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| US or Canadian visa or residence | Must allow multiple entries, in any category, and be valid for at least 1 calendar day counted from the day you plan to enter Costa Rica.[1] | US transit visas of type C1, C2 and C3 are not accepted.[1] Your permitted stay cannot run past the visa's remaining validity.[7] |
| Residence in the UK, an EU country, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland | Any category allowing multiple entries, or with at least 90 calendar days' validity from your planned entry date. Refugee or asylum status is excluded.[1] | Count the 90 days from your Costa Rica arrival, not from today. |
| Schengen C or D visa | Multiple entry only, valid at least 1 calendar day from your planned entry date.[1] | A single-entry or double-entry Schengen visa does not qualify. |
| UK visitor visa only | Not on the list of exemptions in the document we read; the UK appears only for residence.[1] | Ask the consulate before relying on a UK visit visa. |
An example to make the dates concrete. Say you hold a multiple-entry US B1/B2 visa that expires on 30 June, and you plan to land in San José on 10 June. On the face of the rule, the visa qualifies, but your stay cannot go beyond the visa's remaining validity.[7] So a three-week trip from 10 June would run past 30 June, and you should expect to be given less time. Plan the exit before the visa lapses.
If you travel on an exemption, there is no consular file, so the reservation question moves to check-in and the arrival hall. That's where our onward ticket guide for Costa Rica takes over.
What do official sources say about flight tickets for a Costa Rica visa?
This is where Costa Rica is refreshingly clear. The Embassy of Costa Rica in Washington, on its restricted-visa page, lists "Your itinerary or a temporary reservation of your ticket" and adds: "It is recommended that airline tickets not be purchased until your visa has been approved."[2] That is the plainest official endorsement of a reservation you will find for any Central American country.
Two caveats. First, that line sits on the restricted-visa page, which covers fourth-group nationals. We could not open the embassy's separate consular-visa checklist, and the New Delhi embassy did not publish one online that we could find. The logic carries over, but your consulate's own list wins. Second, the entry requirements that the same embassy publishes for arrival ask for a "reserva de vuelo o de bus que indique la salida del país": a flight or bus reservation that shows you leaving the country.[1] Costa Rica's tourism board, describing the law at the border, uses the stricter word "pre-purchased".[6] Those two sources don't line up perfectly, which is exactly why we treat the visa file and the arrival hall as two separate problems.
Our reading: for the consular visa application, a verifiable reservation fits the wording well. For the flight you actually take into Costa Rica, buy a real exit once the visa is granted. Don't bet your arrival on a hold.
Visa file, check-in desk and arrival hall: what each one wants
| Stage | Who decides | Flight evidence asked for | Does a held reservation fit? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consular visa application | Costa Rican consul | Itinerary or temporary reservation; don't buy before approval[2] | Yes, this is the use it suits |
| Check-in for the flight to Costa Rica | Airline, using IATA Timatic data[9] | Visa or valid exemption, plus proof of exit | Risky; airlines often want a paid onward fare |
| Arrival at San José or Liberia | Costa Rican immigration officer | Exit by flight, bus or cruise; the tourism board says pre-purchased[6] | Not recommended |
The reason we are blunt about the last two rows is simple. A consul reads a reservation as evidence of a plan, which is all it is. An immigration officer at the border is checking that you will leave, and the official tourism wording expects something you've paid for. A bus ticket to Panama or Nicaragua is a cheap way to satisfy that once your visa is in hand.
The rest of the Costa Rica visa file
The flight is one page in a bigger bundle. From the embassy's entry list and the visa material we could read, expect to show:[1][2][6]
- Passport that is machine-readable under ICAO standards and valid for the period required.[6]
- Hotel reservation or an invitation letter covering the stay.[1] Our hotel booking service can document the nights if you haven't paid for rooms yet.
- Proof of funds. The tourism board sets a floor of US$100 for each month or part month of legal stay.[6]
- Flight itinerary or temporary reservation showing arrival and departure.[2]
- Yellow fever vaccination certificate appears on the embassy's entry list, with the vaccine given at least 10 days before travel.[1] Ask the consulate whether it applies to your route.
- Translations into Spanish or English for any residence card or exemption document in another language.[1]
We could not find the consular visa fee or processing time on an official Costa Rican page in October 2026. Ask the embassy in New Delhi for both before you plan the rest of the trip, and don't trust figures copied around agency sites.
Routing from India: the transit visa trap
There is no direct flight from India to Costa Rica, so every itinerary changes planes somewhere. That connection can need its own visa, and it is the part people forget.
- Through the United States. The US has no visa-free airside transit for Indian nationals. You need a transit (C) visa, or a valid visitor (B) visa can usually be used to transit.[8] If you already hold a multiple-entry B1/B2, it may also exempt you from the Costa Rican visa, which makes this route attractive.
- Through Europe. Airport transit rules differ by Schengen state and by nationality. Check the rules of the exact country where you'll connect.
- Through Canada or the UK. Both have their own transit visa rules for Indian passports; check IRCC or GOV.UK before you choose the routing.
If a transit visa is needed, the transit country's own application will usually want to see the full journey. One reservation covering every leg, India to Costa Rica and back, keeps both files consistent. Our transit visa guide and layover rules guide explain the transit side, and the US visa guide covers the American application.
What your Costa Rica reservation should show
- Your name exactly as printed in the passport, for every traveller in the file.
- Arrival and departure dates inside the 30 days a third-group visa allows.[3]
- The same dates as your hotel booking, cover letter and leave approval.
- Every leg, including the connection point that may need its own transit visa.
- An airline booking reference (PNR) that can be checked on the airline's own site.
An illustration. Say your appointment at the embassy is on 4 February and you plan to fly on 6 March for 12 nights. Book the reservation a day or two before 4 February, showing Mumbai to San José on 6 March and back on 18 March, with the same nights at your hotel. That's a tidy, believable plan of 12 days, well inside the 30-day ceiling.
Step by step: a Costa Rica visa file with a flight reservation
- Check whether you are exempt. Look at your US, Canadian or Schengen visa: multiple entry, valid on your arrival date? If yes, you may not need the consular visa at all.[1]
- Ask the embassy for its current list. Email or call the Costa Rican embassy in New Delhi for the consular checklist, fee and timing.
- Sort your transit. Decide where you will connect and whether that country needs a transit visa from you.
- Fix dates. Choose a trip within 30 days and match the hotel to it.
- Book the reservation close to submission. Use passport spellings and the whole route.
- Verify the PNR. On the airline's "Manage booking" screen, type the PNR and your surname, then compare every spelling and date. Our verification guide shows how.
- Submit, then wait. Don't buy flights until the visa is approved, which is what the embassy itself advises.[2]
- Buy your real tickets, plus an exit. After approval, buy the actual fares, and make sure the departure from Costa Rica is paid for before you board.
How long does a reservation last?
Costa Rica files are a good reason to time things well: our reservations last up to two weeks, with the exact hold set by the airline. So book it in the days just before the embassy appointment rather than the moment you start dreaming about Arenal. If the embassy asks for more papers and your file sits for a while, a fresh reservation for the same dates is cheap and keeps everything current. More on timing in when to book before a visa appointment.
Mistakes that weaken a Costa Rica file
- Planning 45 days on a visa capped at 30.
- Assuming any US visa counts. C1, C2 and C3 transit visas are excluded.[1]
- Relying on a single-entry Schengen visa for the exemption.
- Forgetting the transit country and its visa.
- Buying non-refundable fares before the consul has decided.
- Turning up at the border with only a hold as your exit proof.
- Calling the reservation a "ticket" in the cover letter. Describe it accurately as a flight reservation.
Getting a verifiable reservation, and what it costs
Our product here is simple: a seat hold carrying a live PNR, issued to you for the San José itinerary you pick. The consul, or you, can pull it up through the carrier's booking lookup. Nobody has paid a fare on it and it won't get you on a plane; it exists to show the consul a coherent plan.
Going and coming back costs the same as going only, per traveller, while longer itineraries add a fee per pair of legs (table on the price page). Razorpay handles payment by UPI, card or netbanking. Your PDF should turn up about ten minutes after paying; if it seems late, the order tracker will say why.
Applying for a Costa Rica consular visa?
Held booking, live PNR, spelt as in your passport. ₹699 / $9 per passenger.
Comparing options? Reservation vs refundable ticket sets out the costs, and flight reservation for visa explains how holds work. Neighbouring guides: Panama, Cuba, Jamaica and Colombia. Or head back to the home page.
Plain truth: no reservation guarantees a visa or entry. The consul, the airline and the immigration officer each decide for themselves.
Costa Rica visa: frequently asked questions
Do Indians need a visa for Costa Rica in 2026?
Generally yes. India is in DGME's third group, which needs a consular visa, and that visa allows up to 30 days, extendable to 90. You can skip it if you hold a multiple-entry US or Canadian visa or residence, a multiple-entry Schengen C or D visa, or qualifying UK or EU residence, valid on the day you arrive.
Can I enter Costa Rica with a US B1/B2 visa?
A multiple-entry US visa valid for at least one day from your planned entry date is on the embassy's exemption list. Transit visas C1, C2 and C3 are excluded. Your stay in Costa Rica cannot go beyond the remaining validity of that US visa, so check the expiry date against your trip.
Is a flight reservation enough for a Costa Rica visa application?
The Costa Rican embassy in Washington lists an itinerary or a temporary reservation of your ticket, and recommends not buying tickets until the visa is approved. That wording suits a verifiable held reservation. Ask the consulate handling your file for its own checklist, since that is the list you'll be judged against.
Will a reservation work at Costa Rican immigration?
We don't recommend it. Costa Rica's tourism board says the exit proof at the border should be pre-purchased, whether it's a flight, a bus or a cruise. Once your visa is granted, buy a real exit, such as a bus ticket to Panama or a refundable flight, and keep the reservation for the consular file.
How long can I stay on a Costa Rican consular visa?
Third-group nationals get a maximum of 30 days from entry, or the period on the entry stamp, extendable up to 90 days in total. Plan your reservation and hotel nights inside 30 days unless you intend to apply for an extension once you're in the country.
Do I need a transit visa to fly to Costa Rica from India?
Possibly. Every route from India connects somewhere. The United States has no visa-free transit for Indians, so a US connection needs a transit or visitor visa. European, Canadian and British connections have their own rules. Check the transit country before you book, and show the full route in your reservation.
Where can I find the visa fee for Costa Rica?
We could not confirm a current consular visa fee on an official Costa Rican page in October 2026. Ask the Embassy of Costa Rica in New Delhi, or the mission for your country of residence, before applying. Fees quoted on agency sites may be out of date or include service charges.
Sources
All sources last checked: October 2026.
- Embassy of Costa Rica in the United States, Excepciones de visa consular – requisitos de ingreso (PDF, March 2026).
- Embassy of Costa Rica in the United States, Restricted visa and Visas.
- University of Costa Rica, OAICE, Información de visas de ingreso y permanencia para no residentes (PDF, current at 26 November 2025), summarising DGME guidelines AJ-484-11-2025.
- Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería, Directrices Generales de Visas, November 2025 (PDF). Blocked to automated access in October 2026; not read directly.
- AG Legal (Costa Rican law firm), Costa Rica visa requirements 2026: secondary source for India's group placement under the November 2025 guidelines.
- Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT), Entry requirements.
- Fragomen, Costa Rica: resolution published adjusting certain visa and entry rules (21 November 2025).
- U.S. Department of State, Transit visa.
- IATA, Timatic.
Related: onward ticket · requirements by country · how to verify a PNR · track an order.