Costa Rica

The Western Hemisphere Regional Migration Program (WHP) is a U.S. government-supported program that has operated since 2011.  The State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration provides funding as a contribution to IOM to implement the program.

This action was submitted through the GFMD Mayors Mechanism Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees.

This action was submitted through the GFMD Mayors Mechanism Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees.

The General Directorate for Migration and Immigration, Ministry of Governance and Police, Costa Rica has embarked on a new iteration of the four-year National Integration Plan with support from the Migration EU eXpertise Initiative (MIEUX+), which is funded by the European Union and implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development.

The "migra movil" is a fully equipped bus supported by the Government of Costa Rica and the IOM to train personnel in charge of immigrant services that brings information and services to citizens living far from the capital, but also to vulnerable migrants in border areas.

Across Latin America and the Caribbean, Banking on Women helps financial institutions offer women entrepreneurs financial and non-financial services such as advisory support. Through Banking on Women, IFC has supported female entrepreneurs with direct investments, mobilized investments, and advice through banks in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Mexico.

The Second National Integration Plan for Costa Rica 2018 - 2022, emerges as a propositive response to guide the country's actions over the next few years in terms of integration of the migrant and refugee population. The initiative is based on the framework of the initiative MIgration EU eXpertise (MIEUX) funded by the European Union and implemented by the International Center for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD).

Costa Rica has designed a comprehensive National Integration Plan (2018–22) in 2017 that promotes equal opportunities and respect for human rights to improve inclusive social, economic and cultural spaces.

In the region of Los Santos in Costa Rica, public servants are given lessons on the indigenous language Ngäbe-Buglé in order to increase the access of indigenous trans-border communities to public services in the areas of health, education and employment. Clearer communication between immigrant groups and service providers can lead to a higher quality of services and a higher usage of services provided to target populations.

In 2014, the OECD Development Centre, in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO), initiated a three-and-a-half-year project, co-financed by the EU Thematic Programme on Migration and Asylum. The project assesses the economic contribution of labour migration in developing countries as countries of destination. It seeks to arrive at a reliable and evidence-based understanding of how immigration affects the economies of a number of low- and middle-income countries, focusing on particular on: