QCOSTARICA – As we close in on the second (after January 1) of the mandatory pay holidays in Costa Rica, we thought it would be a good time to review all the upcoming holidays for 2022.
These will be the holidays of Costa Rica during 2022, of which three of them will be non-mandatory pay. Two holidays are moved to Mondays, and for the first time, a new holiday will be on August 31.
- Saturday, January 1: New Year
- Monday, April 11: Day of the Battle of Rivas
- Thursday, April 14: Good Thursday in 2022
- Friday, April 15: Good Friday in 2022
- Sunday, May 1: Labor Day
- Monday, July 25: Day of the Annexation of the Party of Nicoya
- Tuesday, August 2: Day of the Virgin of the Angels
- Monday, August 15: mother of all holidays in Costa Rica, Mother’s Day
- Wednesday, August 31: Day of the Black Person and Afro-Costa Rican Culture (for 2022 moved to Sunday, September 4)
- Thursday, September 15: Independence Day (for 2022 moved to Monday, September 19)
- Thursday, December, 1: Day of the Abolition of the Army (for 2022 moved to Monday, December 5)
- Sunday, December 25: Christmas
Law 9875, to move holidays to Mondays, in order to promote internal visits and tourism during the years 2020 to 2024, tries to “promote the reactivation of the tourism sector in Costa Rica, one of the most affected by the coronavirus pandemic”.
The idea is that the holidays that fall during the week are moved to a Monday to extend the weekend and that people can take advantage of that time to carry out tourist activities.
Mandatory pay
The Labor Code (Codigo de Trabajo), in article 148, stipulates that the following will be considered holidays with mandatory pay:
- January 1
- April 11
- Good Thursday
- Good Friday
- May 1
- July 25
- August 15
- September 15
- December 25.
Non-mandatory pay
- August 2
- August 31,
- December 1
