The Directorate General of Immigration in Costa Rica made the announcement over a month ago, tourists, foreigners who live in Costa Rica but are not legal residents and those who have temporary residence or special category but whose DIMEX (Migratory Identification Document for Foreigners) is expired will be fined $100 per month of irregular (illegal) permanence in the country.

This coming Friday, April 20, Article 33 of the Immigration Law in Costa Rica will come into effect; the application of this article was on hold by Executive Decree N⁰. 40791 which concludes April 19, 2018.

Those foreigners in irregular condition that can’t or refuse to pay the fine will not be able to enter the country again for a term equivalent to the triple of their unauthorized stay; in other words if a person overstays for a month, they will not be allowed to enter the country again for a period of three months.

Many foreigners have raised their voice against this measure, particularly Nicaraguans that are in the country illegally. One worry of this law is that this will cause an increase in the number of people that enter and leave the country illegally promoting the smuggling of people.

The fine does not apply for minors, permanent residents (even if their DIMEX is expired) or refugees.