South America
Making aliyah from Costa Rica
164 people moved from Costa Rica to Israel between 2015 and 2025, including 10 in 2025. Here is what the official record shows about them, and what the process looks like from Costa Rica specifically.
Olim in 2025
10
granted oleh status on arrival
Total since 2015
164
11 years of the record
Busiest year
2022
26 arrivals
Most chosen town
Tel Aviv-Yafo
30 people
Settlement concentration
Not ranked: Costa Rica has fewer than 1,000 olim on the detailed record, so its top three towns say more about one absorption programme than about a pattern.
The record
Aliyah from Costa Rica, in the ministry's own files
Every arrival counted once, in the year they landed and the town they registered in.
Arrivals from Costa Rica by year
Where they settled
Absorption town recorded on arrival.
- 1Tel Aviv-Yafo30
- 2Jerusalem19
- 3Kfar Saba11
- 4Haifa10
- 5Beit Shemesh9
- 6Herzliya8
- 7Netanya6
- 8Ra'anana6
- 9Nahariya6
- 10Karmiel5
Age on arrival
15% arrived as children, 4% at 65 or over.
- 10-1724
- 218-2459
- 325-3434
- 435-4924
- 550-6416
- 665+7
What they did before moving
Occupation recorded at registration. "School pupil" and "student" reflect how many arrive as dependants.
- 1Student32
- 2School pupil18
- 3Not stated12
- 4Unskilled6
- 5Professional services6
- 6Self-employed5
- 7Psychologist4
- 8Civil engineer4
Destination
More went to Tel Aviv-Yafo than anywhere else
30 of the 164 arrivals from Costa Rica registered in Tel Aviv-Yafo, ahead of Jerusalem, Kfar Saba, Haifa.
That is 18% of everyone arriving from Costa Rica, against 12.3% of olim from all countries.
The town is recorded once, on arrival, so the chart above shows where people registered rather than where they live now.
How it works
The process from Costa Rica
The Jewish Agency for Israel runs the process through its regional office and the Israeli consulate.
Commercial flights, usually via Europe or a direct seasonal route.
Latin American olim have strong footholds in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ra'anana, Netanya and Be'er Sheva.
Documents are the slow part everywhere: birth certificates, proof of Jewish descent, police clearance and, in most countries, apostilles. Start collecting before you open the file, not after. The full sequence is in the aliyah guide.
Arriving with Spanish as your first language, ulpan is the single biggest determinant of how fast your first year goes. New olim are entitled to free Hebrew study, and the Hebrew alphabet and essential phrases pages are a no-cost head start.
Before you go
Work out what your money is worth: the cost of living page has rent, groceries and salaries in real numbers, and the shekel converter gives today's rate.
A market stall in Jerusalem with prices marked in shekels.
Check the calendar you are moving into: holiday dates close the country for whole weeks in autumn and spring, and Shabbat times govern the week.
A sesame-topped challah loaf, freshly baked.
See how Costa Rica compares with everywhere else on the full statistics explorer.
An open-plan office floor of screens and desks.
Aliyah from elsewhere in South America
Total arrivals 2015 to 2025, in brackets.
Start here
The move itself, in six steps
Eligibility, opening the file, the documents, the visa, landing day and the absorption benefits that follow. The guide is the same wherever you are starting from.
Frequently asked questions
How many people make aliyah from Costa Rica each year?+
10 in 2025, and 164 in total between 2015 and 2025. The strongest single year was 2022, with 26 arrivals.
Where do olim from Costa Rica settle?+
Tel Aviv-Yafo takes the largest share, followed by Jerusalem, Kfar Saba, Haifa. 18% of olim from Costa Rica settled in Tel Aviv-Yafo, against 12.3% of olim overall.
Who handles an aliyah application from Costa Rica?+
The Jewish Agency for Israel runs the process through its regional office and the Israeli consulate.
Is aliyah from Costa Rica mostly families or individuals?+
Of the 164 arrivals recorded, 15% were children under 18 and 4% were 65 or over. That skews towards adults moving without school-age children.
Source: Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, published on data.gov.il. Figures count people granted oleh status on arrival. Rebuilt 2026-08-05.