Today, Wednesday, November 30, the Government of Costa Rica signed two decrees that establish a series of changes in immigration matters:
- The refugee card will not grant permission to work immediately: the decree, pending publication, reforms the current Refugee Regulations and establishes that work permits will no longer be granted to those who request them immediately, but that it will be necessary to comply with an internal procedure that will be communicated at a later date.
- Renewal of refugee card: In the case of persons who already have permits granted, in order to renew the same they will need to be registered with the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (C.C.S.S.).
- Deadline to apply for refugee status: Any new application for international protection must be submitted by the applicant within one calendar month from the day of entry into the country and in person without an appointment.
- Refugees must not leave Costa Rica: Persons who make a refugee application may not leave Costa Rica for any reason while their application is being processed, since if they do so, it will be understood as an abandonment of the process and their application will be definitively archived.
- As for the second decree, it refers to the so-called Special Temporary Category for Nationals of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, which will become effective as of March 1, 2023.