Q COSTARICA — How can you check if you have an “Impedimento de Salida” (travel ban) — the legal obligation to financially support qualifying family members, whether that’s your kids, your spouse, or in some cases, your aging parents — barring you from leaving Costa Rica?
Good news — there’s actually a pretty straightforward way to check this online.
Here’s what you need to know
The Costa Rican Judiciary (Poder Judicial) has an online portal where anyone over 18 can check whether they have a travel restriction. According to the Poder Judicial services portal, you can check by visiting pj.poder-judicial.go.cr or through their mobile app.
If a ban exists, the system will show you the case file number, the office handling the case, and a phone number to contact.
There’s also a more detailed route through Costa Rica’s online case management system, the Online Case Management System (Gestión en Línea). Per the Poder Judicial, you’d need to request a username and password in person at a judicial office — just once — and then you can monitor your status online going forward. If you’re already in Costa Rica, visiting a nearby courthouse (juzgado) to get that login is the move.
What happens if you have one?
If you owe, for example, child support (pensión alimentaria) in Costa Rica and haven’t paid, even if it is a small amount, say ¢10,000 colones, a travel ban can be placed on you.
If the restriction is in place, the quickest way is to immediately pay the amount owed through authorized banking channels and urgently submit the payment receipt to the corresponding court so they can issue the lifting order.
Do you have a trip planned soon or need to know how to guarantee future payments to the judge so you can leave the country legally?
According to the Poder Judicial, anyone who owes child support in Costa Rica may be required to pay 13 months of support in advance before being allowed to leave the country.
Your fastest option is the Poder Judicial website at pj.poder-judicial.go.cr. If you run into issues accessing it, heading to a local courthouse in person is the reliable backup. And if a ban does show up, consulting a Costa Rican family law attorney would be the smart next step to understand your options for lifting it.
Costa Rican law takes this seriously — the travel ban exists specifically as a mechanism to compel payment.