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Pathway

Costa Rican Citizenship by Birth

Costa Rica Citizenship
Pathway overview

At a glance

If you were born in Costa Rica, your citizenship depends on your parents’ nationality. A child with a Costa Rican parent is Costa Rican by birth. A child of two foreign parents must formally choose and register Costa Rican citizenship: a parent can act before age 18, or the person can act for themselves before turning 25.

Citizenship at birth
Born in Costa Rica to a Costa Rican parent; a separate rule covers infants found there with unknown parents
Children of foreign parents
A parent may choose citizenship for a Costa Rica-born child before age 18
Adult choice deadline
Costa Rica-born children of foreign parents must choose personally from age 18 until their 25th birthday

Summary

Costa Rica does not grant citizenship automatically to every person born on its soil. A person born there to a Costa Rican parent is Costa Rican by birth. A person born there to foreign parents must be registered as Costa Rican by a parent while a minor or make that choice personally before age 25.

If you missed that deadline, Costa Rica’s electoral authority, the TSE, has a separate naturalization process for people age 25 or older.

Check your parents’ citizenship and your age
  1. Check your parents’ citizenship Find out whether a parent was Costa Rican when you were born or both parents were foreign citizens.
  2. Check who needs to make the choice For a child of foreign parents, a parent or representative acts before age 18. From 18 to 24, you act for yourself.
  3. Register the birth and citizenship Complete any required citizenship choice before applying for citizen identity documents.

If both parents were foreign, the choice must be made before you turn 25. After that, a separate naturalization process applies.

Could this pathway work for you?

Eligibility

One of the following must fit:

The Civil Registry will need to confirm the birth record, the parents shown in that record, and any required declaration choosing Costa Rican nationality.

For a child of foreign parents, age changes who may make the choice. Before age 18, a parent or legal representative makes it for the child. From 18 until the 25th birthday, the person makes the choice personally. Because the constitutional deadline is tied to age, a person near 25 should obtain instructions directly from the TSE instead of waiting for other family documents to be collected.

A separate rule protects an infant found in Costa Rica whose parents are unknown. It should not be used merely because a parent is absent, undocumented, or missing from a family file; the Civil Registry must decide whether the legal category is actually met.

If you were born in Costa Rica to foreign parents and are already 25, this registration route has expired. The TSE lists a separate naturalization process under Law 1916; do not use the under-25 pathway.

What This Route Allows

Once the birth and citizenship are correctly recorded, this route establishes Costa Rican citizenship by birth. It can allow the person to obtain a Costa Rican identity card when old enough, apply for a Costa Rican passport, live in Costa Rica without an immigration permit, and use the other rights of a Costa Rican citizen.

For a child of foreign parents, the registration does more than issue paperwork: it records the constitutionally required choice of Costa Rican nationality.

Citizenship by birth is also relevant to later family cases. A properly registered Costa Rican citizen may be able to transmit citizenship to a child born abroad under the separate Article 13(2) route, subject to that child's own timely registration. The Civil Registry record, rather than an informal belief about status, is therefore important across generations.

What This Route Is Not

This is not unconditional, automatic citizenship for every child born in Costa Rica. A child of two foreign parents needs a timely choice and Civil Registry registration.

It is not the right route for a foreign-born child of a Costa Rican parent, who falls under the separate descent rule in Article 13(2). It is also not the over-25 naturalization process for someone who missed the deadline.

Citizenship status should not be inferred only from a hospital record, an old stay in Costa Rica, or a family account. The TSE's Civil Registry must confirm what is registered.

Nor is this a naturalization application for a parent. Registering a qualifying child does not automatically make either foreign parent Costa Rican and does not replace any immigration status the parent may need.

Next Steps

  1. Obtain a current copy of the Costa Rican birth registration and check how the parents are recorded.
  2. If a parent was Costa Rican, gather that parent's Costa Rican identity or citizenship record.
  3. If both parents were foreign and the person is under 18, ask the TSE or the responsible Costa Rican consulate for the current opción de nacionalidad requirements for a parent acting for a minor.
  4. If both parents were foreign and the person is 18 to 24, contact the TSE promptly about making the choice personally before age 25.
  5. Follow the TSE's current form and evidence list. Identity, parentage, and civil-status documents issued abroad may need legalization or an apostille and an official Spanish translation.
  6. If the person is already 25, use the TSE service for naturalization of a person over 25 who was born in Costa Rica to foreign parents, rather than presenting the case as automatic citizenship.
  7. After registration is complete, follow the TSE's instructions for the first Costa Rican identity card and the official passport process.

The exact way to submit the application depends on where the family is located and on the registration needed. Ask the TSE or the responsible Costa Rican consulate which person must appear, whether an appointment is required, and whether any record must first be corrected. Do not send original civil records to an unofficial intermediary.

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Other routes in Costa Rica.

Sources