Find the correct embassy or consulate before booking an appointment or sending documents. This guide links to official directories for Costa Rican offices abroad and foreign missions in Costa Rica, with direct contacts for U.S. and Canadian citizens.
Contact sources checked 8 September 2026. Confirm current opening hours, appointment rules and the office responsible for your location on the official page before travelling.
Costa Rican embassies and consulates abroad
Use the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s Representaciones de Costa Rica en el Extranjero directory. Select the country and open the relevant office. The Ministry also provides a country search under “Embajadas, consulados y misiones.”
Check whether the listing is an embassy, consular office or honorary consulate. Ask that office whether it handles your particular service and your place of residence. The closest office is not necessarily the correct office for the procedure. Keep the official listing bookmarked so you can recheck its details.
Foreign embassies and consulates in Costa Rica
If you need assistance from your own country while in Costa Rica, use the Ministry’s Representaciones Extranjeras en Costa Rica directory. Its listings distinguish embassies, consulates and honorary representatives. Follow the official office website for service-specific instructions.
For example, a Canadian passport question belongs with Canadian authorities; a question about a Costa Rican immigration procedure should be checked with the relevant Costa Rican authority. Explain both your nationality and the service you need when asking where to apply.
U.S. Embassy contact for American citizens
The U.S. Department of State lists +506 2519-2000 and acssanjose@state.gov for the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica. Use the official embassy website for American Citizen Services and appointment instructions. These contacts are for the U.S. mission, not Costa Rica’s embassy in the United States.
Source: U.S. Department of State Costa Rica information. For an immediate local emergency, call 911; contacting an embassy does not replace local emergency assistance.
Canadian Embassy contact in San José
The Government of Canada’s Costa Rica directory lists +506 2242-4400 and sjcraconsular@international.gc.ca for consular assistance. The office is at La Sabana Executive Business Centre, Building No. 5, third floor, behind the Contraloría General de la República in San José.
The same official page provides appointment booking and emergency-assistance instructions, including the Emergency Watch and Response Centre in Ottawa. Recheck those instructions before visiting or if you need assistance outside normal office hours.
What to ask before an appointment
- Does this office handle the service and my geographic area?
- Do I need an appointment, and how do I book it officially?
- Which originals, copies, forms and translations should I bring?
- What are the official fee and accepted payment method?
- Must I attend personally, and how will documents be returned?
- What is the correct channel for an urgent case?
In your first inquiry, give a concise description of the service, your country of residence and any deadline. Ask for the official checklist and secure submission instructions before sending sensitive identity documents. Save the office’s response and your appointment confirmation.
Residency documents and immigration questions
Start with DGME’s official website for Costa Rican immigration information. This contact guide does not establish eligibility, document requirements or approval times. CRIE’s document-preparation guide can help you organize questions, while the authority’s current instructions govern the procedure.
Keep separate contact details for your own embassy, the Costa Rican office handling your procedure and any professional assisting you. That makes it easier to direct questions to the organization that can answer them.