Costa Rica customs
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Free import
• Baggage: clothing, personal items and other new or used goods you reasonably need for your own use or your profession during the trip, in non-commercial quantities. This includes medicines and medical or hygiene items for your own needs, sports equipment, and portable devices such as one camera, one video camera and one computer.
• For travelers aged 18 or older: 500 g of manufactured tobacco in any form and 5 L of wine, spirits or other liquor.
• Up to 2 kg of sweets.
• Other goods that are not baggage and not for commercial use, worth up to USD 500 in total, if you have been outside Costa Rica for at least 72 hours and have not used this allowance in the last 6 months. List the goods on the customs declaration; the allowance is personal, cannot be shared or carried over, and is recorded with a stamp in your passport.
• Goods above these allowances must be declared and duties paid. Travelers with only their baggage do not need to fill in a customs declaration.
Currency
• Cash of USD 10,000 or more (or the equivalent in other currencies) must be declared to customs on arrival on the official form. Undeclared amounts can be confiscated. Keep the certified declaration, as you may need it to take the money out again.
Prohibited
• Illegal drugs
• Pork and pork products in any form, raw, cured, cooked, canned or dried (including ham, sausages, bacon, salami, chorizo, lard and pork rinds), in both hand and checked baggage. The ban protects against African swine fever; products are confiscated.
Restricted
• Firearms and ammunition need authorization from the Dirección General de Armamento (Ministry of Public Security). Foreign visitors taking part in sports shooting competitions may temporarily bring up to 4 permitted firearms and up to 500 rounds duty-free; declare them to customs on arrival (the serial numbers are recorded in your passport) and show them to the authorities when you leave.
• Dogs and cats need an international veterinary certificate in Spanish or English, issued or endorsed by the official veterinary authority of the country of origin. It must confirm a health check within 2 weeks before travel, treatment against internal and external parasites within 15 days before travel, core vaccinations (dogs: distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus and leptospirosis; cats: rhinotracheitis, calicivirus and panleukopenia) and, for animals over 3 months, a rabies vaccination valid on the day of arrival. Pets traveling with their owner in the cabin or as checked baggage need no import permit; pets shipped as cargo or traveling without the owner need a prior SENASA import permit arranged through a Costa Rican customs broker. Pets with wounds or parasites are refused entry.
• Plants, seeds, cuttings and other plant material need prior import authorization from the Servicio Fitosanitario del Estado (SFE); products that arrive without it are not released.
• Declare fruit, vegetables, plants, animals and animal products on the customs declaration so they can be inspected.
• Wild animals and plants and products made from them need CITES permits. Import and trade of species listed by SINAC as endangered is prohibited unless they come from an authorized wildlife management site.
• Pornographic material is retained by customs.
• Undeclared goods that are not baggage, and prohibited or restricted goods, are retained by customs. Failing to declare goods other than baggage can lead to a USD 100 fine.
• Baggage: clothing, personal items and other new or used goods you reasonably need for your own use or your profession during the trip, in non-commercial quantities. This includes medicines and medical or hygiene items for your own needs, sports equipment, and portable devices such as one camera, one video camera and one computer.
• For travelers aged 18 or older: 500 g of manufactured tobacco in any form and 5 L of wine, spirits or other liquor.
• Up to 2 kg of sweets.
• Other goods that are not baggage and not for commercial use, worth up to USD 500 in total, if you have been outside Costa Rica for at least 72 hours and have not used this allowance in the last 6 months. List the goods on the customs declaration; the allowance is personal, cannot be shared or carried over, and is recorded with a stamp in your passport.
• Goods above these allowances must be declared and duties paid. Travelers with only their baggage do not need to fill in a customs declaration.
Currency
• Cash of USD 10,000 or more (or the equivalent in other currencies) must be declared to customs on arrival on the official form. Undeclared amounts can be confiscated. Keep the certified declaration, as you may need it to take the money out again.
Prohibited
• Illegal drugs
• Pork and pork products in any form, raw, cured, cooked, canned or dried (including ham, sausages, bacon, salami, chorizo, lard and pork rinds), in both hand and checked baggage. The ban protects against African swine fever; products are confiscated.
Restricted
• Firearms and ammunition need authorization from the Dirección General de Armamento (Ministry of Public Security). Foreign visitors taking part in sports shooting competitions may temporarily bring up to 4 permitted firearms and up to 500 rounds duty-free; declare them to customs on arrival (the serial numbers are recorded in your passport) and show them to the authorities when you leave.
• Dogs and cats need an international veterinary certificate in Spanish or English, issued or endorsed by the official veterinary authority of the country of origin. It must confirm a health check within 2 weeks before travel, treatment against internal and external parasites within 15 days before travel, core vaccinations (dogs: distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus and leptospirosis; cats: rhinotracheitis, calicivirus and panleukopenia) and, for animals over 3 months, a rabies vaccination valid on the day of arrival. Pets traveling with their owner in the cabin or as checked baggage need no import permit; pets shipped as cargo or traveling without the owner need a prior SENASA import permit arranged through a Costa Rican customs broker. Pets with wounds or parasites are refused entry.
• Plants, seeds, cuttings and other plant material need prior import authorization from the Servicio Fitosanitario del Estado (SFE); products that arrive without it are not released.
• Declare fruit, vegetables, plants, animals and animal products on the customs declaration so they can be inspected.
• Wild animals and plants and products made from them need CITES permits. Import and trade of species listed by SINAC as endangered is prohibited unless they come from an authorized wildlife management site.
• Pornographic material is retained by customs.
• Undeclared goods that are not baggage, and prohibited or restricted goods, are retained by customs. Failing to declare goods other than baggage can lead to a USD 100 fine.