Moving your household to Costa Rica

Importing of used household goods and personal belongings to Costa Rica. The import duties that you have to pay for your household goods and personal effects depend on how and when you bring them into Costa Rica.

There are 3 ways that you can bring in your goods.

1. With you as luggage on the airplane.
2. Sending a small shipment as air cargo.
3. ending as consolidated freight (LCL) or full container (FCL).

I. Bring used goods and personal belongings as luggage on the plane.

Costa Rica has been successful in becoming a popular tourist destination. The Costa Rican Government understands that tourist come here to enjoy and that have many different hobbies, likes and motives to come visit, and that in order to fulfill their enjoyment they need to bring many different things like: Surfboards, Bicycles, Kayaks, Musical instruments, Photo equipment, Portable Stereo, etc.

So in order to accommodate the tourist they have made a law defining the items a tourist can bring without having to pay import duties. The basic idea behind this law is that these personal items have to fall into certain criteria:

1. They have to be for personal use.
2. They are not intended for resale or commercial use.
3. Their quantity has to be reasonable in relation to the length of the stay.
4. The items have to be carried by a person as luggage and therefore have to be portable.

Luggage is considered:

Clothing jewels, purses, umbrellas, medicines, instruments, medical apparatus of hygiene or toiletries and disposables used with these, in quantities according the circumstances and needs of the portable. Stroller, toys, wheelchair if disabled, sporting goods such as muscular tension machines, walker, bicycles, exercise, surfboards, sail boards boats, balls tennis rackets, golf clubs, fishing poles, etc.

One video camera, one photo camera, one film camera, one tape recorder and its accessories up to 6 rolls of film or magnetic tape, one radio receiver, one portable television, one set of binocular or portable telescope, all portable items. one portable personal computer or portable typewriter, one calculator, tools, supplies and manual instruments pertinent to the trade or profession of traveler as long as these do not constitute a complete set of work shops, offices laboratories or similar books, discs, tapes, photographs for none commercial use the luggage allowed to be taken on the plane by airlines is limited and the weight is 20 kg.

Process to get through customs:

While in the plane you have to fill out a customs declaration form. If you are bringing anything that is not considered luggage under the law, declare it with a very low price. Once you have picked up your luggage from carousel you have to go to customs. If they red light you then you have to go for customs inspection, unless you walk through unstopped.

If your luggage is according to the law, customs cannot tax you. in case that you have items that are not considered luggage and are dutiable, there is another law that can help you; there is a duty free exemption for up to $500.00. Customs will stamp your passport so you cannot benefit again from the $500.00 exemption until 6 months.

II. Air cargo.

Air shipment

In case you have a small shipment of stuff that you could not take with you as luggage and are able to be send properly packed with freight forwarder by air, the rules for importing these goods change. The reason is that the luggage is considered carried and an air shipment is a separate shipment and does not travel with you. When your shipment arrives to Costa Rica, the airline will transfer your goods to a bonded warehouse (this is a private customs facility).

• Passport (Copy of the main page and last entrance to Costa Rica,
• it must not exceed 90 days)
• Original Air Way Bill
• Packing list

III. Consolidated Freight (LCL) or Full Container (FCL)

Surface Shipment

The surface would be another option and it is the most common. There are three ways to send it:

1. In 1x20 container
2. In 1x40 container
3. LCL ¼ of a container

In a container you might even ship your car together with your household goods.

The following are the necessary documents to clear your shipment from customs.

• Passport (Copy of the main page and last entrance to Costa Rica, it must not exceed 90 days)
• Original Ocean Bill of Lading
• Packing list

Boat and Yacht Importation

It is mandatory to present the following documents for the importation of boats and yachts:

• Commercial invoice
• Precise and exact characteristics of the vessel, measures, brand, type, motors, casing, etc…
• Bill of lading
• Exploration Statement

Once the vessel is nationalized it has to be registered in the Public Registry (“Registro Público”). For this paperwork you will need certified copies of DUA. After this procedure is done, the vessel has to be registered with the correspondent port Captain office (that where the vessel will be anchored).

In case the owner wants to get the inscription of the vessel (the National Flag) and obtain the navigation license, the correspondent paperwork has to be presented in the “Ministerio de Obras Publicas y Transporte” (Maritime and Pertaining to Ports Division) of the Navigation and Security Branch. In those cases were the owner wants to use the vessel for fishing activities, the procedures for obtaining a fishing license have to be done with the INCOPESCA office.

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