Costa Ricans who want to travel to a European country will have to apply for a permit online, starting in 2020.
The European Commission, the Parliament and the Council of the European Union communicated the creation of the European Travel Information and Authorization System (Etias), an entry permit that will be processed online.
The idea behind this requirement is reducing illegal migration, improve the internal security of countries, and reduce delays at borders by identifying people who may be risky in one of these areas, which means that some applicants could be denied.
Through a communiqué, the European Union explained that they will be able to carry out early checks with Etias and, if necessary, deny travel authorization to visa-free third-country nationals traveling to the Schengen area (an area comprising 26 European countries).
Those interested will have to fill out the form with information such as their personal life, education, employment, and security information, and mention the countries they will visit in the European Union and if they have relatives in some of these. This procedure will cost 7 euros for people over 18 years old (4,900 colones approximately).
The approval or denial of the permit will take an estimated time of 96 hours after completing the application. Those who have to provide additional information must wait another 96 hours on average for the final notification.
The countries that will have to comply with the requirement are:
Argentina
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Uruguay
Venezuela