Costa Rica Passport Makes Journey from MRP to ePassport

In 2021, as Costa Rica reached the 200-year anniversary of independence from Spain and at a time when countries around the world were struggling with the effects of COVID, the country took the bold move to upgrade its travel document from machine-readable to a fully compliant biometric passport.

Under an initiative known as Costa Rica’s Biometric Passport Project of the Bicentenary, Veridos and the Latin American system integrator GSI Sertracen were contracted by the General Department of Migration and Immigration of the Republic of Costa Rica to create and deliver ePassports with a polycarbonate data page, the software and hardware for personalisation and a solution deploying colour image technology.

The new passport illustrates the values of the country, showcasing four important facets: biodiversity, renewable energy, education and peace, and talent. These are represented in a series of motifs, designed by Esencial Costa Rica (Marca País), showing plants, animals, ancient monuments, and other elements that are unique to the countries different regions.