Vietnam Visa Requirements for Costa Rican Citizens 2026: Entry Procedure, Customs and Exit Rules

We are a private visa service, not the Vietnamese government or an embassy. The Vietnam Immigration Department decides every visa. You can always apply for an e-visa yourself on the official portal evisa.gov.vn for the government fee only. Facts checked in November 2026.

Vietnam visa requirements for Costa Rican citizens at a glance

Do Costa Rican citizens need a visa for Vietnam?

Yes. Costa Rican passport holders need a visa for every trip to mainland Vietnam, whether for a holiday, business or a family visit. Vietnam’s visa exemption list covers 39 countries in 2026. Neighbouring Panama is on it, but Costa Rica is not, and neither is Nicaragua. See our Vietnam visa exemption list.

There are four exceptions:

• Phu Quoc island. All nationalities can stay on Phu Quoc for up to 30 days without a visa when arriving there directly from abroad. You need a visa as soon as you travel on to the mainland.
• Airside transit. If you change planes in Vietnam without leaving the international transit area, you do not need a visa. With two separate tickets, however, you collect your bags and pass immigration, so you need a visa.
• Diplomatic and official passports. Vietnam and Costa Rica signed a visa exemption agreement for these passports in July 2012. It has been in force since 1 April 2016, for stays of up to 90 days, and does not apply to ordinary passports.
• 5-year visa exemption certificate. Costa Ricans of Vietnamese origin, and spouses or children of Vietnamese citizens, can apply for a visa exemption certificate. It is valid for up to 5 years, with stays of up to 180 days each time. Issued in Vietnam, it costs USD 10 (Circular 28/2026/TT-BTC).

Costa Ricans with a Spanish, other European or US passport

Some Costa Ricans, especially families with Spanish or Italian roots or ties to the United States, also hold a second citizenship. Vietnam’s visa exemption depends on the passport you travel on:

Keep two rules in mind: enter and leave Vietnam on the same passport, and book your flights with that passport’s details. An e-visa issued for your Costa Rican passport is not valid in your Spanish or US passport.

Dual Vietnamese citizens. Vietnam does not generally recognise dual citizenship. If you also hold Vietnamese citizenship, Vietnam may treat you as a Vietnamese citizen, so enter and leave on the same passport.

Is there a Vietnamese Embassy in Costa Rica?

No. Vietnam has no embassy or consulate in Costa Rica. The Vietnamese Ambassador in Cuba is also accredited to Costa Rica, and presented his credentials in San José in December 2024, according to Thế giới & Việt Nam, the newspaper of Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For the Vietnam visa requirements for Costa Rican citizens, this means one thing in practice: you do not need an embassy at all for a tourist or business trip, because the e-visa and the visa on arrival letter are both arranged online.

An older page of Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the Vietnamese Embassy in Panama covers Costa Rica, so email the Embassy in Havana first and ask which office handles your case. You may still need an embassy for:

• The 5-year visa exemption certificate, for Costa Ricans of Vietnamese origin and family members of Vietnamese citizens.
• Work and other long-stay visas that cannot be issued as an e-visa.

Contact the Embassy before you plan any trip to Havana, because opening hours and procedures can change, and the Embassy keeps your passport while it works on the visa.

Fees. Under Circular 163/2026/TT-BTC, an embassy single-entry visa costs USD 25 and a multiple-entry visa of up to 3 months costs USD 50. These are the same as the government e-visa fees, so the e-visa saves you the trip. For urgent processing, ask the embassy or consulate for its official fee.

Working in Vietnam? A tourist e-visa does not allow work. Working in Vietnam needs a work permit and a work visa sponsored by your employer in Vietnam.

Vietnam e-visa for Costa Rican citizens: the easiest option

For almost every traveller, the e-visa is the easiest way to meet the Vietnam visa requirements for Costa Rican citizens. You apply online from San José, Alajuela, Heredia, Cartago, Liberia or anywhere else, and the approval arrives as a PDF.

What you need:

• A clear scan of your passport photo page.
• A recent portrait photo, 4 × 6 cm, white background, looking straight at the camera, without glasses.
• Your entry and exit dates, and the airport, seaport or land border where you will enter.
• Your hotel or host address in Vietnam.
• A PayPal or Alipay account (PayPal also takes cards).

Cost and time. The government fee is USD 25 for single entry and USD 50 for multiple entry. The official target is 3 working days, but busy periods take longer. Through our service, a 30-day single-entry e-visa starts at 60 USD in 4 working days, government fee included, and you can pay by PayPal or Alipay.

Apply when? At least 2 to 3 weeks before you fly, and earlier for the December and January holidays, Semana Santa and the July school break.

Check your e-visa status and print it

• Save your registration code when you submit. You need it, with your email and date of birth, to check the status on evisa.gov.vn.
• Check the status yourself. The portal does not always email you when it asks for a correction, so a status that stays “In processing” can hide a request for more information.
• Print two copies of the approved e-visa, and check every field against your passport before you fly.
• Your e-visa dates are the limit. You can enter and stay only between the “from” and “to” dates on the e-visa.

Common e-visa mistakes by Costa Rican applicants

• Two surnames. Costa Rican names usually have two surnames, and often two given names. Enter every name exactly as printed in the passport, in the same order, without accents.
• Wrong passport. If you have two passports, apply with the one you will actually travel on.
• Entry port type. Choose the right type of entry point. In practice, an e-visa for an airport works at any international airport, but not at a land border or seaport.
• Single entry. If you also visit Cambodia, Laos or Thailand and come back, choose a multiple-entry e-visa.
• Look-alike websites. The official portal is evisa.gov.vn. Other sites, including ours, are private services that charge a service fee. Be careful with any site that promises guaranteed approval, shows countdown timers, or asks for your passport before it states its full price.

For more examples, see our guide to Vietnam e-visa mistakes.

Need a Vietnam visa urgently?

Vietnam is 13 hours ahead of Costa Rica all year, because neither country uses daylight saving. So the evening before is the time to order. For weekends and Vietnamese public holidays, email our partner at info@vietnamimmigration.org. Read more in our urgent Vietnam visa guide. If you applied yourself and the status still shows “In processing”, a speed-up of your application costs less than a new one.

Vietnam visa on arrival for Costa Rican citizens

With a visa on arrival, you first get an approval letter, arranged before you fly by an agency such as ours. Then you collect a 15-day, single-entry visa at the counter of the airport, seaport or land border on your letter. This option suits short trips, and it meets the Vietnam visa requirements for Costa Rican citizens just as well as an e-visa.

On arrival, you also pay a USD 25 stamping fee in cash, in US dollars, which are also widely used in Costa Rica alongside the colón. Bring clean, undamaged notes, because torn or heavily marked dollar bills are often refused in Vietnam. You also need the NA1 form with 1 photo attached, plus 1 spare photo; see our NA1 form guide. Read every step in our Vietnam visa on arrival guide.

Which Vietnam visa is best for Costa Rican citizens?

Pros and cons:

• E-visa. Pros: online from any city, up to 90 days, multiple entry possible. Cons: the details must match the passport exactly, and the government portal gives no personal support.
• Visa on arrival. Pros: quick approval letter. Cons: only 15 days and single entry, plus a counter stop and USD 25 in cash on arrival.
• Embassy visa. Pros: the route for the 5-year exemption certificate. Cons: the embassy for Costa Rica is in Havana, and your passport is held.

Our advice: For a trip of two or three weeks, a 30-day single-entry e-visa is enough. Choose a 90-day multiple-entry e-visa for a longer stay or a tour that also takes in Cambodia, Laos or Thailand. If you also hold a Spanish passport and stay 45 days or less, you may not need a visa at all.

Entry procedure: Vietnam entry requirements for Costa Rican citizens at the airport

Flights and health rules

There are no direct flights between Costa Rica and Vietnam. From Juan Santamaría airport (SJO), most travellers connect in Europe, through hubs such as Madrid, Paris or Amsterdam that fly direct to San José, or in the United States. Costa Ricans can visit the Schengen area without a visa for short stays, but a connection in the United States needs a US visa, because the US has no visa-free transit. According to the US CDC, Vietnam has no yellow fever vaccination requirement for entry. Check, however, the rules of any country where you transit or stop over on the way, and keep your vaccination card with you.

Before you land: the pre-arrival declaration

The pre-arrival declaration is not a visa, but it is now part of the Vietnam visa requirements for Costa Rican citizens at every international airport. Complete it free at prearrival.immigration.gov.vn within 3 days before you land, and save the QR code. If you travel on a visa on arrival, fill it in at the airport after the visa counter, because it asks for your visa details. It is mandatory for foreign travellers at every international airport in Vietnam. Unless you travel on a visa on arrival, complete it before you leave home, because Wi-Fi and mobile data at the arrival airport can be slow. If you have not done it before the flight, scan the QR codes in the immigration area and fill it in there.

Step by step from the aircraft

1. Leave the aircraft and follow the “Arrivals” and “Immigration” signs.
2. Visa on arrival counter, only with an approval letter: hand in the NA1 form, photos and USD 25, then wait for your name.
3. Passport control. Show your passport and e-visa. Then check the entry stamp before you leave the counter.
4. Baggage claim. Report a missing bag at the airline desk before customs.
5. Customs. Green lane for nothing to declare, red lane for cash or goods above the limits.
6. Arrivals hall. Buy a SIM card, withdraw dong, and find your transport.

Read our full Vietnam entry procedure guide (also in Spanish).

Which airports have the longest queues?

From our airport team’s experience, queues are longest at these airports, from worst to lightest:

1. Tan Son Nhat (SGN), Ho Chi Minh City: late evening and early morning.
2. Noi Bai (HAN), Hanoi: evening peaks.
3. Da Nang (DAD): evening waves of flights from North Asia.
4. Cam Ranh (CXR), Nha Trang: when charter flights land together.
5. Phu Quoc (PQC): shorter, but growing fast.

After a journey across half the world, a long immigration queue is the last thing you want. With our Vietnam airport fast track, our staff meet you before immigration and take you through the priority lane, from USD 45 per person. Book at least 3 days before your flight: bookings for a flight 2 days ahead, the next day or the same day carry an urgent surcharge of USD 20, 30 or 50 per person.

Avoid scams at the airport

• Use official transport. Choose the taxi rank, a Grab ride booked in the app, or well-known taxi companies such as Vinasun, Mai Linh or Xanh SM.
• Agree the fare first, or check that the meter is on.
• Bring clean US dollars, not colones. Colones are hard to exchange in Vietnam. Dollars are easy to change, but only clean, undamaged notes; torn or marked bills are often refused.
• Keep your passport with you. No one in the arrivals hall needs it to “help” with your visa.
• Count your change. The VND 20,000 and VND 500,000 notes are both blue and easy to mix up.

Vietnam customs rules for Costa Rican citizens

Customs checks are the last of the Vietnam visa requirements for Costa Rican citizens on arrival. In fact, the rules are the same for every nationality, but a few common items in a traveller’s luggage need care.

Points for Costa Rican travellers:

• Drugs. Vietnam’s drug laws are very strict: trafficking can carry the death penalty. Never carry a bag, parcel or “gift” for someone else, and pack your bags yourself.
• Vapes. Banned in Vietnam from 1 January 2025, including possession. Customs can confiscate them, so leave them at home.
• Guaro as a gift. Spirits above 20% fall under the 1.5-litre allowance per adult; anything above that must be declared.
• Coffee, chocolate and Salsa Lizano. Costa Rican roasted coffee, chocolate and Salsa Lizano in sealed retail packs are fine for personal use and gifts, within the VND 10 million allowance. Fresh fruit, such as pineapples or bananas, and raw plant products may need a plant quarantine check, so leave them at home.
• Prescription medicine. Strong painkillers, ADHD medicines and some sleeping tablets are controlled. Bring them in the original packaging, with your prescription and a doctor’s letter in English, and only the amount you need.

For more details, read the complete Vietnam customs rules guide (also in Spanish).

Leaving Vietnam: exit requirements for Costa Rican citizens

Departure step by step

1. Arrive 3 hours before an international flight, more if you claim a VAT refund.
2. VAT refund: show your goods and invoices at the customs refund desk before check-in.
3. Check in and drop your bags.
4. Exit passport control: officers check your visa and the dates of your stay.
5. Security, then duty-free shops and your gate.

Duty-free shopping and VAT refund

After passport control, airport duty-free shops sell goods without Vietnamese taxes. For shopping in the city, you can claim part of the VAT back:

• Buy at shops with a “Tax Refund” sign, and show your passport when you pay.
• Each invoice must be at least VND 2 million, and dated within 60 days before you leave.
• You receive 85% of the VAT paid; the refund bank keeps 15% as a fee.
• Refund desks can have long queues. Arrive early so you do not miss your flight.

What you cannot take out of Vietnam

• Antiques. Genuine antiques need an export permit. Keep the receipt for reproductions.
• Wildlife products. Ivory, rhino horn, turtle shell and many corals are banned.
• Cash and gold above the limits: more than USD 5,000 or VND 15 million in cash, or 300 g or more of gold, without your arrival declaration or a bank paper.
• Drugs and weapons, without exception.

Motorbikes and registration

• Riding a motorbike. A motorbike of 50 cc or more needs a valid licence for that class. Vietnam recognises international driving permits issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention, so check that your international permit is in that format and includes the motorbike class. Check your travel insurance too: an accident without the right licence can mean no cover and an exit ban until the case is settled.
• Registration. You must be registered with the local police where you stay. Hotels do it for you and may keep your passport for a short time; ask for it back once registration is done.

Do not overstay your Vietnam visa

Finally, the Vietnam visa requirements for Costa Rican citizens also apply on the way out. Leave by the last day on your e-visa or entry stamp. From 15 December 2025, Decree 282/2025/ND-CP sets these fines:

For an overstay of 16 days or more, the authorities can also deport you, and deportation can lead to a ban on future entry. Under Decree 59/2026/ND-CP (in force since 1 April 2026), if a person ordered to be deported cannot pay the fine, the deportation goes ahead at once; you may contact your country’s embassy.

What to do if you have overstayed

1. Contact the Immigration Department or the immigration office of the provincial police before you go to the airport.
2. Pay the fine, and get the exit visa or paperwork you need to leave.
3. Then book your flight, so you are not stopped at passport control.

Lost your passport in Vietnam?

Report the loss to the local police first. Costa Rica has no embassy in Vietnam, so contact Costa Rica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship as soon as possible. It will tell you which Costa Rican embassy covers Vietnam and how to get an emergency travel document. Finally, take the new document to the Vietnamese immigration office for an exit visa before you fly.

For travel agencies, tour operators and companies

Do you send Costa Rican tour groups, incentive trips or business teams to Vietnam? We prepare e-visas, visa on arrival approval letters and airport fast track for groups, with one contact person and one invoice. Email us at info@visa-vietnam.hk with your expected number of travellers per month to receive our partner rates.

FAQ: Vietnam visa requirements for Costa Rican citizens

Do Costa Ricans need a visa for Vietnam?

Yes, for mainland Vietnam. The only visa-free option on a Costa Rican passport is Phu Quoc island, for up to 30 days, when you fly there directly from abroad.

Is there a Vietnamese embassy in San José?

No. The Vietnamese Ambassador in Havana, Cuba, is accredited to Costa Rica. For tourism and business trips, apply for an e-visa online instead.

I have Costa Rican and Spanish passports. Which should I use?

Spain is on Vietnam’s visa exemption list, so with a Spanish passport you can stay up to 45 days without a visa. Use that passport to enter and leave Vietnam.

Can I travel to Vietnam with my cédula?

No. The Costa Rican cédula de identidad is not a travel document for Vietnam. For Vietnam you need your passport, valid for at least 6 months from your entry date.

What time should I order an urgent e-visa from Costa Rica?

The 4-working-hour service closes at 07:00 and 14:00 Vietnam time, which is 18:00 the day before and 01:00 in Costa Rica.

How long can Costa Ricans stay in Vietnam?

Up to 90 days per entry with an e-visa, 15 days with a visa on arrival, and up to 30 days without a visa on Phu Quoc island only.

Facts checked on 11 November 2026: Thế giới & Việt Nam on the Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba and Costa Rica (December 2024), the Embassy of Vietnam in Cuba, Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Vietnam–Costa Rica relations, the Vietnam–Costa Rica visa exemption agreement for diplomatic and official passports (Notice 21/2016/TB-LPQT), El Observador on Costa Rica’s first ambassador to Vietnam (September 2024), Costa Rica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, El Observador on direct flights from San José to Europe, the US CDC’s yellow fever information for Vietnam, our Vietnam visa exemption list, Circular 163/2026/TT-BTC, Circular 28/2026/TT-BTC, Decree 59/2026/ND-CP, Decree 282/2025/ND-CP as summarised by Khanh Hoa provincial police, and the official pre-arrival portal. Rules can change, so check official sources before you travel.