Costa Rica and the EU Are Working Together to Revise Immigration Regulations.

Central America and Spain are currently in negotiations over several issues, and Costa Rica has begun to exert pressure on the European Union (EU) to revise its immigration policies for Central Americans. Among issues to be discussed, Costa Rica hopes that the UE will approve exceptions to its restrictive immigration policies for Central Americans.

“Europe has much to discuss with the Central American countries. It’s an opportune moment for Europe to put its cards on the table about a subject for which the rhetoric is not necessarily consistent with what is practiced everyday,” Costa Rican Minister of Planning, Roberto Gallardo, expressed yesterday. He continued, adding that “immigration is not a voluntary phenomenon. It’s a tragedy for people that are forced to do it in countries that do not offer the necessary conditions and that force them to uproot themselves.”

Costa Rica has one of the lowest emigration rates in all of Central America — that is, a low rate of Costa Ricans that move abroad permanently — yet the country understands the needs that confront other nations. Since all countries involved are taking part in the current diplomatic negotiations, which have already found resolutions to 80 percent of its items, Costa Rica chose to spearhead this subject’s negotiations. The goal is to reach an agreement which will put more concrete immigration measures into place.

This is not a new issue for Costa Rica and European nations: in September 2007, Costa Rican Chancellor Bruno Stagno met with Miguel Ángel Moratinos, his Spanish counterpart, to discuss Spanish immigration policy for Costa Ricans. Among the issues under discussion was the subject of Costa Rica Tourism, which has also been impeded in several case. For example, in the first nine months of 2008 alone, 68 Costa Ricans saw their European vacations severely shortened, when Spanish authorities denied them entry into the country.

Last year, Stagno insisted that Spain review its policies and provide better consular advice to Costa Ricans interested in traveling or moving to Spain. Stagno also called for better communication between Barajas airport authorities and the Costa Rica Embassy, especially when Costa Rican citizens are denied entry to Spain. “We have insisted that the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Relations must begin lobbying from the inside to reduce this problem, which affects not only Costa Ricans, but all nationalities.”

The Spanish Ambassador to Costa Rica, Miguel Albero, responded by explaining that the problem is not a lack of communication, but a lack of information - almost all Costa Ricans that are denied entry to Spain are lacking the necessary documentation and paperwork to visit the country. “The problem is that there sometimes no information, not that there is a discriminatory immigration policy,” Albero emphasized.

Clearly, Central America and Europe have much to talk about regarding immigration and visiting policies, as evidenced by the issues experienced between Spain and Costa Rica. Among all European countries, Spain is one of the easiest for Central Americans to visit, as a long-standing agreement allows Central Americans to visit and live in Spain, even allow dual-residency between Latin America and Spain, a privilege only granted to few countries’ citizens.

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Filed under: Costa Rica News on October 3rd, 2008