The General Directorate of Migration and Immigration (DGME) of Costa Rica announced this Monday the creation of a new “Temporary Special Category” that will allow thousands of migrants from Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cuba, and Colombia to regularize their immigration status and work legally in that country starting in September 2026.
The measure is aimed at individuals whose applications for refugee status recognition are still pending resolution or have been rejected by the Costa Rican immigration authorities.
Who can benefit?
The mechanism applies to those who submitted asylum applications between June 1, 2014, and May 7, 2026, as long as those cases are pending or have been denied.
The eligibility condition will be verified ex officio by the immigration authority, without the applicants needing to initiate additional procedures to demonstrate it.
Applicants should also not have any other valid immigration status nor be involved in regularization processes other than the asylum application.
Applications will begin to be accepted on September 1, 2026, and the deadline for submission will extend until September 1, 2027.
Free access to the labor market
One of the central benefits of the new category is unrestricted access to formal employment.
"The beneficiary of this special category will have the freedom to engage in any paid work activity, whether self-employed or in an employment relationship," states Article Two of the resolution.
The beneficiaries will also be able to enter and exit Costa Rica without the need for additional permits, as long as they comply with the ordinary immigration controls.
Two-year validity and indefinite renewal
The special category will be valid for two years and may be renewed for equal periods indefinitely, as long as there is no higher regulation stating otherwise.
Those who have recorded irregular income or expenditures after obtaining the benefit must present documentary evidence justifying the absence of records; if the reasons are not accepted, the authority may deny the renewal.
The benefit will be automatically canceled for those who do not renew the document within three months following its expiration.
It can also be revoked for those who pose a threat to public safety or who have been convicted of intentional offenses in the last 10 years.
An asylum system under extreme pressure
The measure responds to the accumulated saturation of the Costa Rican asylum system.
As of May 2025, Costa Rica had over 220,000 pending asylum requests, of which approximately 83% were from Nicaraguans.
Between 2014 and April 2025, Nicaraguans submitted 195,512 asylum applications, and only 5% received a resolution.
In that same period, Costa Rica received 10,895 applications from Venezuelans, 7,292 from Cubans, and 4,685 from Colombians.
The new measure expands the scope of a similar category implemented in 2023 -which previously covered only Nicaraguans, Venezuelans, and Cubans-and for the first time includes Colombians.
The previous experience showed modest results: between April 2023 and January 2024, only 8,427 people applied for the benefit against an estimated universe of around 290,000 applicants.
Diplomatic break with Cuba, but humanitarian opening
The announcement comes at a time of tension between Costa Rica and Cuba.
In March 2026, then-President Rodrigo Chaves announced the closure of the Costa Rican embassy in Havana and requested the Cuban regime to withdraw its diplomatic personnel from San José, in protest of the deterioration of human rights on the island.
The president Laura Fernández Delgado, who took office on May 8, 2026, supported the diplomatic break and was emphatic: “Costa Rica will not tolerate violations of human rights.”
At the same time, Fernández reassured the resident Cuban community, estimated to be around 10,000 people.
"The Cuban people residing in Costa Rica should remain calm. There are about 10,000 Cubans living in Costa Rica, many of whom have even applied for asylum. They can be at ease," he stated.
The new special category, which includes Cubans among its beneficiaries, reflects that duality: firmness against the Havana regime, but humanitarian openness towards those who have fled from it.
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