Costa Rica News – Costa rica Immigration will rent a building to process refugee requests for Nicaraguans. The temporary headquarters will open in the second week of this month and will meet a very urgent need.
It has funding from the UN Agency for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration due to the political crisis in Nicaragua causing many to flee for their safety. This financing will also allow for 60 more employees.
On June 25th, 4,000 foreigners lined up at Migration to ask for refuge. There are currently 17,000 refugee applications of Nicaraguans. About 80 percent of these 17,000 were already living in Costa Rica but now fear returning to Nicaragua.
Upon going to their first appointment, the refugees are given a temporary stay in the country until their application is resolved, in about 11 months. They are able to work during this time.
Apart from Migration, other organizations are involved in attending to the needs of the refugees, such as PANI, Conapam, Conapdis and Inamu. These organizations help children, the elderly, those with disabilities, and women, respectively.
