Costa Rica Security Minister, Michale Soto, announced the closure of the border will be extended to April 30, 18 more days than the April 12 date set last month.
Soto reported that the decision to extend measure is part of the contingency plan established by the government and health authorities.
On March 16, it was decreed that effective at 11:59 pm March 18, all borders would be closed until April 12. This restriction applies to land, sea, and air arrivals. Costa Rican citizens, legal residents, those whose residency is in process, minor children of Costa Rican citizens, foreign diplomats and air crews will be able to enter Costa Rica.
The extension means that ALL foreigners will not be permitted entry until April 30 and Costa Rican citizens and residents will be subject to a 14-day isolation order.
The minister re-iterated that legal residents who leave the country (as those who left after March 23 will be prohibited from re-entry during the national emergency.
The minister on Monday used the term “prohibited re-entry” along with the loss of residency status. In the past, President Carlos Alvarado has used the term “suspended”. There has been great confusion on this subject, and no clear answers by the government or the country’s immigration officials.
On its advisory bulletin, the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica notes that legal residents who lose their residency status “will not have to begin the residency process again”.
The best advice, is the emphatic message of minister Soto, “stay at home, now is not the time to be traveling”.
Illegal crossings
The Ministry of Security, through the police units such as the Fuerza Publica (national police), Policia de Fronteras (border police), and others, along with the Policia de Migracion (immigration police) are keeping vigilance of the 309 kilometer wide northern border with Nicaragua, both of attempts to leave or enter the country through the “blind spots”.
“We have received a series of complaints from residents living near the borders of people who are trying to leave the country illegally, that is why we have increased control measures through the national police and the immigration police in these places,” he detailed.