Costa Rica Embassy Canada

The Embassy of Costa Rica in Ottawa provides consular assistance to Costa Rican citizens in Canada. The Embassy also serves foreigners who want to visit, work or reside in Costa Rica.

This guide contains all you need to know about document legalization at the Costa Rican Embassy, including processing times, fees, and how to submit your documents.

Costa Rica Embassy Canada

Table of Contents

Embassy of Costa Rica Ottawa

The Costa Rica Embassy Canada legalizes documents that have first been authenticated by Global Affairs Canada. Each Costa Rican consular office across Canada is responsible for legalizing documents issued within its jurisdiction. See the legalization guide below for details on the whole process.

The Embassy of Costa Rica also offers other consular services, including the provision of visas, passports, ID cards, temporary travel documents, registration of marriage or birth, applications for certificates of delinquency, and the certification and translation of the Costa Rican driver’s license. It also accepts residency applications.

Contact details

Embassy of Costa Rica in Ottawa

Consulate General of Costa Rica in Toronto / Costa Rica Consulate

Honorary Consulate of Costa Rica in Vancouver, British Columbia

Opening Hours

Consular services are provided by appointment only. Set up your appointment by contacting the Costa Rica Embassy or Costa Rica Consulate.

Payment methods

To pay, you must deposit the consular fees as USD with a teller at any branch of the Bank of Montreal. The account number is N°0005-4608-520, under the name of “Embassy of Costa Rica, Consular Services”.

You can also pay by wire transfer as long as you deposit an extra USD 14 to cover the bank charges. Here are all the details you need to issue a wire transfer payment.

Bank name Bank of Montreal
Institution number
001
Transit number
00056
Branch
Capital Centre
Branch address
269 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, ON K1P 5J9
Branch phone number
613-564-6424
Bank account held by
Embassy of Costa Rica, Consular Services
Account number
0005-4608-520
Swift code
BOFMCAM2
Cash, credit card payments, cheques, and money orders are not accepted

Legalization

What is a Costa Rica legalization?

The Embassy of Costa Rica in Canada and its Consulates can legalize your documents in order for them to be recognised as valid in Costa Rica. This process is also sometimes called attestation, authentication, or apostille.

However, Canada is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, which means that it cannot issue apostilles. Authentication and legalization are the equivalents of an apostille.

Your Canadian documents must first be submitted to Global Affairs Canada for authentication prior to being submitted to the Embassy of Costa Rica. The Costa Rican Embassy can then legalize your authenticated documents.

The Costa Rica Embassy and each Consulate are responsible for a specific geographical area:

Areas of Jurisdiction

Embassy/Consulate Jurisdiction Address
Embassy of Costa Rica
Ottawa
350 Sparks St. Suite 701 (Office Tower) Ottawa, ON, K1R 7S8
Consulate General of Costa Rica
Toronto
60 Bloor Street West, Suite 400 Toronto, ON, M4W 3B8
Honorary Consulate of Costa Rica
Province of British Columbia
P.O.Box 16076, North Vancouver, Vancouver, British Columbia, V7J-3S9
It’s important to check each consulate’s jurisdiction before submitting your documents.

The Legalization process at the Costa Rica Embassy

There are two ways to legalize your document: by mail or in person. The below explains the legalization process for both ways.

By mail

  1. Before submitting your document to the Embassy or Consulate, your document must be authenticated by Global Affairs Canada.
  2. Issue payment for the consular fee via bank deposit, as explained in the payment methods section of this article. The fees for each type of document are found in the FAQ.
  3. Prepare 2 envelopes to be sealed:
    • Envelope 1: should contain the original documents you need to be legalized and the form requested by Global Affairs Canada.
    • Envelope 2: this one should have the bank deposit slip confirming that you made your payment for legalization at the Embassy of Costa Rica. It should also contain a prepaid envelope, and a note to the Embassy with your contact details on it, requesting legalization.
  4. Make sure to fill in section 2 of the Global Affairs form with the Embassy of Costa Rica’s address. This way, when Global Affairs Canada is done authenticating your documents, it will send them on to the Embassy for free via messenger.
  5. Seal envelope 2 and put it in envelope 1. Seal envelope 1.
  6. Send the package via secure means, such as courier or certified mail, to Global Affairs Canada.
  7. Once Global Affairs Canada is done authenticating your documents, it will send them to the Embassy of Costa Rica. Once the Embassy is done with legalization, it will send your documents back via the prepaid envelope you put in envelope 2.
  8. Once your documents are legalized by the Consulate, take them to the Authentication Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica (Avenue 7-9, Calles 11-13, San José, Costa Rica, AKA Casa Amarilla).
  9. Documents in any other language except Spanish must be translated by an official translator to be valid in Costa Rica. The website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica has a list of official translators.

 

In-person

  1. Before submitting your document to the Embassy or Consulate, your document must be authenticated by Global Affairs Canada.
  2. If you want your documents immediately legalized by the Embassy, book an appointment via telephone. Call at least a week in advance.
  3. If speed is not a priority, you can drop off the documents on any working day.
  4. Make sure to take the bank deposit slip, the document to legalize, and a prepaid envelope (unless you have an appointment for immediate legalization).
  5. You can either leave a prepaid envelope for the Embassy to return your documents in, or come back to pick them up.
  6. Once your documents are legalized by the Embassy or Consulate, take them to the Authentication Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica (Avenue 7-9, Calles 11-13, San José, Costa Rica, AKA Casa Amarilla).
  7. Documents in any other language except Spanish must be translated by an official translator to be valid in Costa Rica. The website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica has a list of official translators.

Costa Rica Legalization FAQ

The legalization fees vary depending on the type of document being submitted.

Here’s a helpful list of legalization fees per document:

General documentsUSD 40
Diplomas and transcripts of Costa Rican citizensUSD 10 / free for Costa Rican students with a scholarship
Diplomas and transcripts of foreign studentsUSD 15
Birth certificates, marriage, or death of Costa Rican citizens, with the purpose of registration at Civil Registry of Costa Rica Free
Power of attorney for the registration of a trademark or patentUSD 80

Firstly, your documents need to be authenticated by Global Affairs Canada prior to submitting them to the Embassy of Costa Rica. They can typically authenticate your documents on the same day if you’ve prepared the documents correctly and are submitting in person. If sending them in by mail, it will take a minimum of 15 days, excluding postage time.

If submitting documents in person, the Embassy of Costa Rica will legalize your documents on the same day you’re submitting them if you’ve set up an appointment. If you haven’t set an appointment, or your documents arrive at the Embassy via mail, the Embassy typically takes 5 business days to process and legalize your documents.

This may seem like too long, and it can be, especially if you don’t submit the correct documentation. At Document Authentication Canada, we streamline the authentication process, saving you time and money. Get in touch with us on 1-855-700-5840 for a free document evaluation and quote.

The Costa Rican Embassy can legalize the following documents provided that they’re authenticated:

  • General documents
  • Diplomas and transcripts of Costa Rican citizens
  • Diplomas and transcripts of foreign students
  • Birth certificates, marriage, or death of Costa Rican citizens, with the purpose of registration at Civil Registry of Costa Rica
  • Power of attorney for the registration of a trademark or patent
No, you don’t. However, for your legalized documents to be valid, you do need to translate them when in Costa Rica. Documents in any other language except Spanish must be translated by an official translator. The website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica has a list of official translators.
Yes, you do. The Embassy of Costa Rica or a Costa Rica Consulate will legalize them for you. Legalization of educational documents costs USD 15 per document.
Embassy of Costa Rica in Canada

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Other Consular Services offered by the Embassy of Costa Rica in Canada

Apart from legalization services, the Costa Rica Embassy in Canada provides consular services for Costa Ricans residing in Canada and Canadians and other foreigners who are traveling or moving to Costa Rica.

Below is a list of services offered by the Embassy:

  • Provision of visas
  • Provision of passports
  • Provision of ID cards
  • Provision of temporary travel documents
  • Registration of marriage or birth
  • Applications for certificates of delinquency
  • Certification and translation of the Costa Rican driver’s license
  • Residency applications.

 

You can find detailed information about each of these services on the Embassy of Costa Rica official website.

Costa Rica Embassy FAQs

Yes, it does. The Embassy of Costa Rica in Canada is in Ottawa. There is also a Consulate in Toronto and an Honorary Consulate in Vancouver, British Columbia. You can scroll up to the Contact Details section of this article to find the addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and email addresses for each consular unit.

Yes, there is. It is the Embassy of Canada to Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua.

This is where to find the Embassy:

Behind the “Contraloría” in the
Oficentro Ejecutivo La Sabana
Building 5, Third floor
San José, Costa Rica

08.00AM – 12.00PM, 12.40PM – 04.00PM Monday to Thursday
07.30AM – 01.00PM Friday

This is the contact information:

Embassy of Canada
PO Box: 351-1007, Centro Colón
San José, Costa Rica

Tel: (506) 2242-4400
Fax: (506) 2242-4410
Email: [email protected]

To work in Canada, you have to apply for a work permit. There are two types of permits: open-work permit and employer-specific work permit. The former allows you to work for any employer in Canada.

The Canada Work Permit Visa allows you to:

  • Work with the employer you list in your
  • work permit application (if applying for an Employer-specific work permit)
  • Apply for Dependent Visas for your family
    Travel across Canada
  • Apply for permanent residency at a later date.

The Canadian work visa is ideal for temporary workers and foreign graduates from Canadian universities.

You can find more information here.

The Public Health Agency of Canada has continued to advise against non-essential travel outside Canada. It states to use extra caution if you must travel, but that there are COVID-19 variants that are proving hard to control. Reports of variants in more countries are expected.

However, you can technically travel to Costa Rica. The Canadian government suggests you exercise a high degree of caution due to crime.

You can travel to Costa Rica as a tourist and stay for 90 days without requiring a visa. You can’t extend this beyond 90 days.

Canadian citizens can enter Costa Rica as tourists without a visa. Then, you’d have 90 days to present your residency application to change your status from tourist to resident. This costs USD 200.

You’ll need to legalize and translate your birth certificate, your criminal records, birth certificates of your spouse and any underage children, and your marriage certificate.

IN CONCLUSION

You should now have a better understanding of the legalization process at the Costa Rica Embassy Canada, together with the other consular services offered at the Embassy and Consulate.

Admittedly, authentication and legalization can get complicated: there are multiple entities involved in the process, as well as specific procedures to follow.

At DAC, we help facilitate the legalization of documents in Canada, navigating through the bureaucracy on your behalf so that you avoid unnecessary delays. Get in touch with our expert team on 1-855-700-5840 to request a quote and a free document evaluation.

Embassy of Costa Rica in Canada

About The Author

Lori, Director of Operations

Lori Shepherd is a licensed Paralegal, Notary and Mediator in the City of Ottawa and holds a B.A. from Carleton University. A native to the City, she has lived and worked across Canada and overseas. Lori is client focused and dedicated to clear and concise communication to ensure clients feel secure in using our services.