By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
As of tomorrow, Sept. 1, tourists from countries with which Costa Rica maintains open borders will be able to enter the national territory by sea, according to a new government order published in A.M. Costa Rica.
The new Executive Decree No. 42585-MGP-S, published on Saturday, states that people who enter the country by sea from the list of allowed countries and have not made a stopover elsewhere may enter the country meeting mandatory prerequisites.
In the case of passengers who do not bring the negative PCR t*est with them (which, now, must be taken 72 hours before the trip to Costa Rica) or set sail in an unauthorized city or country, may enter the country on the condition that they will serve a mandatory order of quarantine, which will be deducted from the days they spent at sea from the last departure that is recorded in the yacht’s log, the government said in its statement.
Tourists entering the country by sea must meet the following requirements:
• Provide proof of insurance coverage in case of contracting the SARS-coV-2 virus;
• Deliver the document “International Ship Sailing”; and
• Complete an online health pass issued by the Ministry of Health.
For the entry of tourists by sea, the yachts or sailboats must dock in the authorized marinas. “These provisions could represent the entry of a hundred private yachts in the remainder of the year in the different marinas: Golfito, Los Sueños, Pez Vela, Banana Bay and Papagayo,” the government said in its statement:
Costa Rica maintains open-air borders with countries of the European Union (Schengen zone), United Kingdom, Japan; South Korea; Thailand; Singapore and the People’s Republic of China, Oceania, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Uruguay.
The Schengen Area, named after the 1985 Schengen Agreement signed in Schengen, Luxembourg, is an area comprising 26 European countries that have officially abolished all passports and all other types of border control at their mutual borders.
The 26 Schengen countries are: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
In the case of the United States, only people living in 12 of the 50 U.S. states are allowed to enter the country beginning on the following dates:
• As of tomorrow, Sept. 1, residents of Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Virginia and Washington D.C. will be able to travel into Costa Rica.
• As of Sept. 15, residents of Colorado, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania will be able to enter.
All foreign-born people who enter the country by air with a tourist visa must meet the following requirements:
• Fill out the electronic epidemiological online Health Pass form;
• RT-PCR diagnostic test with a negative result; the sample must have been taken within 72 hours of travel to Costa Rica;
• Passengers coming from the U.S.A. must show through their driver’s license or state identification (State ID) that they live in one of the 12 authorized states. This requirement excludes children traveling with their families;
• Traveler’s Medical Insurance can be purchased in their country of origin or Costa Rica through the Government Insurance Institute or approved private insurance companies located in Costa Rica.
According to the government, the list of countries or states that are allowed to enter tourism is constantly updated, so it is expected that in the coming days there will be a new region authorized to reopen commercial flights in the country.
