Stay approximately date on crucial subjects essential to the U.S. resident neighborhood in Costa Rica
Introducing the U.S. Citizen Services Navigator:
Need to call the U.S. Embassy? Please utilize our U.S. Citizens Services Navigator to schedule an appointment or call us. This is the most effective and fastest method to reach the American Citizen Services system
Beach Safety
Swimming locations at some popular beaches around Costa Rica can have harmful rip currents. Some beaches do not have lifeguards or cautions of risky conditions. U.S. residents have actually passed away in Costa Rica due to these threats. Check the Costa Rica Tourism Institute (ICT) website, or with your hotel or pertinent trip operator to demand present info on regional swimming and browse conditions. Please understand that the Costa Rica Tourism Institute verifies that there learn lifeguards at the following beaches:
Pacific Coast:
- Manuel Antonio Beach Caldera Beach
- Esterillos Oeste Beach
- Bahia Ballena Beach
- Ventanas Beach
- Tamarindo Beach
Caribbean Coast:
- Cocles Beach
- Manzanillo Beach
- Negra Beach (Limon)
Crime and Security
We advise that all travelers download the OIJ CR Safe app (Download for Apple or Google Play), which knows on security suggestions and info on how to call the OIJ cops.
Be sure to adopt safe and wise routines to prevent ending up being a victim of a criminal activity. Here are some protective procedures you can take:
- When you don’t require it, keep your passport in a safe location, like a hotel safe or your home, and bring just a copy (the image page and the page including the Costa Rica entry stamp).
- Carry on paper the name and telephone number of your hotel, along with the telephone number of the U.S. Embassy (2519-2000).
- Stay alert: crowded traveler destinations and resort locations popular with foreign travelers are likewise typical places for criminal activities.
- Steer clear of deserted residential or commercial properties or undeveloped land.
- Reduce danger by keeping prized possessions out of sight, not using precious jewelry, and taking a trip in groups.
- Avoid bring big quantities of money, precious jewelry, or pricey photographic equipment.
- Avoid reacting in kind to spoken harassment.
- Avoid reacting to roadway rage occurrences.
- Do not store prized possessions in a car’s trunk or glove compartment.
- Do not take part in a physical conflict with wrongdoers.
- No personal effects deserves your life – if a criminal wants to utilize force to take your property, provide it to them.
- Immediately report any suspicious activity to cops. If you end up being a victim of sexual attack, please call the Embassy instantly.
Screwworm Outbreak Puts Dogs at Risk
On July 14, Costa Rica validated the very first case of brand-new world screwworm in 23 years near the Paso Canoas border crossing. Since then, SENASA (the Costa Rican animal health authority) has actually developed regular checkpoints along the InterAmerican Highway heading North. If you are taking a trip with your dog and see a SENASA checkpoint, please do your part and stop to permit Costa Rican vets to rapidly examine your family pet. These checkpoints are created to avoid screwworm from spreading out and putting extra animals at danger.
If your dog has open injuries or other indications of screwworm, please call your vet and / or the local SENASA office instantly. Please do not transportation your animal if you presume infection.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will allow the importation to the U.S. of family pet dogs from Costa Rica as long as they are accompanied by a certificate signed by a veterinary specifying that the animal has actually been examined for screwworm within 5 days prior to delivery to the United States and the animal is either devoid of screwworm OR was discovered to be plagued with screwworm, kept in quarantine, and dealt with up until devoid of screwworm prior to leaving the area. If a recognized vet carries out the screwworm evaluation and problems the certificate, it needs to be countersigned by a SENASA veterinary authorities prior to export (please permit approximately 2-days for SENASA to countersign). Please note this brand-new requirement does not presently use to cats or other animals not noted above.
This requirement remains in addition to the regular animal health requirements to transfer a family pet from Costa Rica to the United States. If you have concerns concerning the application of this brand-new requirement to dogs, please seek advice from the APHIS website.
Voting Abroad
Whether you’re a novice citizen or have actually already received tallies and voted absentee in previous elections, you should finish a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) each year to take part in elections as an abroad absentee citizen.
U.S. residents abroad can receive an absentee tally by email, fax, or web download, depending upon the state they are qualified to enact. For more info about how to vote abroad please visit our website.
Adult Passport Renewals
Renew your passport through the mail! Be sure to make the most of the DS-82 passport application mail-in program where you can pay the DS-82 passport renewal charge online and prevent taking a trip to the Embassy. For more info follow these simple actions.
Interested in Serving as a Citizen Liaison Volunteer?
We are growing our group of Citizen Liaison Volunteers (CLV) to guarantee that we have the ability to interact as efficiently as possible with U.S. residents in case of an emergency situation. We are searching for volunteers to function as CLVs in different areas of Costa Rica. If you or somebody you understand might be interested, or you simply wish to learn more – let us understand!
CLVs are civilians who help the Embassy help U.S. residents in requirement. They help tourists in distress, help us locate missing out on U.S. residents, and, in case of a natural catastrophe or other emergency situation, help us find other American residents so we can help get them to safety. Most typically, nevertheless, CLVs are gotten in touch with to be our “eyes and ears” in the neighborhood, offering important feedback on what life resembles for regular U.S. residents residing in Costa Rica. CLVs are generally American residents who are longer-term homeowners of Costa Rica. Please note that this is a voluntary position.
If you wish to be a CLV, please offer us with your complete name, date of birth, passport number, and your contact information through email at [email protected]. Once you inform us of your interest, we’ll return to you with more info and more guidelines. We are especially searching for CLVs in Quepos, Golfo Dulce (consisting of Drake Bay), Santa Theresa, Limon province (beyond Puerto Viejo/Manzanilla), Alajuela province, northern Guanacaste province (consisting of Liberia), and southern Puntarenas. CLVs in smaller sized cities and backwoods are distinctively essential due to the fact that those can be the hardest locations for us to reach in an emergency situation.
