asylum costa rica

Costa Rica and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced Thursday an agreement that will provide health insurance to 10,000 refugees by the end of the year. 

The UNHCR office in San José said that the Covid-19 pandemic has aggravated conditions of vulnerability.

Costa Rica will try to improve protections for thousands of Nicaraguans who request asylum or refuge in the country through an initiative supported by the UN and the European Union.

To qualify for the new status, the applicant must show that her refugee claim was denied and that he or she has no criminal record.

According to official data, there are currently 87,190 asylum seekers in Costa Rica, of which 80% are Nicaraguans and 7% Venezuelans.

There are currently more than 87,000 applications for refuge in Costa Rica, of which 80% are from Nicaraguans and 7% are from Venezuelans, according to government data.

The UN urged countries Tuesday to take joint responsibility for caring for surging numbers of displaced people, while wealthy nations faced criticism for not shouldering their "fair share" of the burden.

Some 55,000 Nicaraguans have requested refugee status in Costa Rica, and most cases have not been resolved.

Costa Rica granted the Nicaraguan human rights activist Alvaro Leiva political asylum last week.

Costa Rica President Luis Guillermo Solís spoke Monday at Washington D.C.'s Wilson Center about the country's growing role in hosting migrants and refugees.