No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeNewsCosta RicaEngland requires negative test for travelers: What it means for Costa Rica

England requires negative test for travelers: What it means for Costa Rica

England now requires a negative coronavirus test from most returning travelers.

The policy, which began to be enforced Monday morning, applies to nearly everyone ages 11 and older. In addition to the test, travelers must self-isolate after arriving in England.

While the test does not need explicitly need to be a PCR, it must “meet performance standards of ≥97% specificity, ≥80% sensitivity at viral loads above 100,000 copies/ml.” A PCR test, like the ones offered in Costa Rica, is among the listed examples of a valid method.

Test results must be in either English, French or Spanish and include the following traveler information:

  • name, which should match the name on travel documents
  • date of birth or age
  • the result of the test
  • the date the test sample was collected or received by the test provider
  • the name of the test provider and their contact details
  • the name of the test device

For more details on this policy, visit the government’s website.

England also remains on lockdown, which impacts most non-essential travel from UK citizens. As the government explains, individuals must not leave home unless they have a “reasonable excuse.”

You cannot leave your home or the place where you are living for holidays or overnight stays unless you have a reasonable excuse for doing so. This means that holidays in the UK and abroad are not allowed.

Impacts on Costa Rica

In 2019, 78,562 people from the United Kingdom visited Costa Rica, according to data from the Costa Rica Tourism Board. This made it the European country from which the second-most people traveled to Costa Rica, behind only Germany.

Due to the coronavirus, visits from the UK dropped significantly in 2020. From January-November 2020, 23,468 Britons came to Costa Rica — including just 16 people from April to July.

Tourists rebounded slightly in 2020’s later months, with 968 UK arrivals from August to November.

British Airways, which typically flies non-stop from London, is expected to resume its route to Costa Rica later in 2021. Other European airlines, including Air France, Iberia, KLM and Lufthansa, retook flights in 2020.

Several private labs in Costa Rica offer PCR testing on-demand for a fee. This include:

Laboratorios Echandi, Hospital La Católica, Hospital Cima, Laboratorios LABIN, Hospital Clínica Bíblica, Laboratorio Páez, Laboratorios San José and Hospital Metropolitano.

Trending Now

Canadian Tourism to Costa Rica Drops Amid Rising Crime Concerns

Canadian visits to Costa Rica have started to drop in 2025, with crime playing a big part in the shift. Data from the Costa...

Costa Rican Lottery Official Investigated in Money Laundering Case

Another money laundering case has shaken Costa Rica. Following a series of raids that dismantled a laundering network operating through legal and illegal lottery...

Costa Rica’s Tourism Faces Decline Amid Rising Crime and Costs

Costa Rica’s flagship tourism industry, long a cornerstone of our nation’s economy, is dealing with a noticeable downturn in 2025 as rising crime, health...

Algal Bloom Detected in Costa Rica’s Gulf of Nicoya

A noticeable change in watercolor has been reported across several zones of the Gulf of Nicoya and coastal areas adjacent to the Nicoya Peninsula....

EU and Central America Launch First Meeting to Expand Trade Relations

The European Union and Central American nations came together for their first Association Council meeting in Brussels. They focused on growing trade and investment...

Costa Rican Economists Raise Alarm Over U.S. Cash Transfer Tax

In 2026, the U.S. government will impose a 1% tax on cash remittances sent from the United States to Latin America. Electronic transfers will...
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica