No visa needed

Do citizens of Costa Rica need a visa for Panama?

Citizens of Costa Rica don’t need a visa for Panama and can stay up to 90 days. You need a valid passport; border officers may ask for a return ticket and accommodation. For a longer stay you need a visa or an extension.

For citizens of Costa Rica: the passport opens 90 countries visa-free; San José — Panama City: ≈ 510 km, about 1 hour of flying.

Checked by visa analyst Albert Brown, 13 years of experience · September 26, 2026

At a glance

No visa needed

Stay: 90 days

Can I travel to Panama without a visa on a Costa Rica passport?

Yes, citizens of Costa Rica don’t need a visa for Panama for up to 90 days. A valid passport is enough.

Panama visa rules at a glance

With a Costa Rica passport you can visit 90 countries visa-free, 31 with a visa on arrival and 48 with an e-visa; 29 more require an embassy visa.
By the number of visa-free destinations, the Costa Rica passport ranks 67th of 199.
Costa Rica passport: visa-free access to 90 countries; Panama passport: 88.
Citizens of Costa Rica and Panama can travel together visa-free to 81 countries, for example: Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Jamaica, Colombia, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, and Saint Lucia.
A language both countries share: Spanish.
Costa Rica and Panama share a border, so you can also travel overland.
Citizens of Panama, in turn, don’t need a visa for Costa Rica. Costa Rica visa for citizens of Panama

Travelling to Panama: good to know

San José — Panama City: about 510 km in a straight line; a direct flight takes roughly 1 hour.
Time difference with your country’s capital: +1 hour.
Local time: San José 12:00 — Panama City 13:00.
Local currency: Panamanian Balboa and US Dollar.
Languages: Spanish.
Exchange rate: $1.00 ≈ PAB 1.00.
Panama is the 2nd closest of 197 destinations open to citizens of Costa Rica.