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.

In recent years, increased migration flows have led to a significant growth in migrant populations in Costa Rica, made up of different categories of migrants with a high degree of vulnerability, such as asylum seekers, women and minors, and entire families.

The complex and diverse migratory context has translated into a major challenge for the country and its authorities in terms of an efficient response for orderly, safe and regular migration.

The 2020 annual evaluation of the previous integration plan, active between 2018-2022, shed light on this new migration reality, which will demand greater involvement of actors such as the private sector, academia, NGOs and local authorities, e.g. municipalities across its six strategic axes. Moreover, the new plan would consider new aspects such as the reintegration of emigrated Costa Ricans and a stronger gender component.

Starting work in 2021, through a mix of consultations, workshops, a working group on gender and drafting support by European and Latin American experts from Colombia and Germany on the six strategic axes of the plan, the General Directorate for Migration and Immigration has laid the foundations for the new policy to enact positive change, involve the private sector and the Costa Rican municipalities as drivers of economic developments and hubs for migration.