Key Takeaways
• Costa Rica faces a 41% drop in UNHCR refugee funding, severely impacting essential support for displaced people.
• Policy changes now restrict refugees’ right to work and require social security payments, pushing many into poverty.
• U.S. budget cuts, including eliminating major food aid programs, strain global humanitarian efforts and endanger millions.
Costa Rica 🇨🇷 has long been recognized around the world for its open doors to refugees. Known for respecting human rights and welcoming people forced to flee their homes, this small Central American country is now under severe strain. The United Nations Refugee Agency, or UNHCR, has raised a serious warning: Costa Rica’s tradition of helping refugees is at risk because of major funding cuts. As global budgets tighten, refugees in Costa Rica and across the world face new uncertainties and dangers.
What Is Happening With UNHCR and Costa Rica?
UNHCR, the United Nations agency for refugees, recently reported that Costa Rica is among the places most affected by the global reduction in humanitarian funding. There has been a dramatic 41 percent drop in money available to help displaced people in Costa Rica. This cut is not isolated—it’s part of a bigger crisis where similar funding shortages are hitting refugee-support programs worldwide.
Many people living in Costa Rica today have arrived after fleeing violence and threats in their home countries, especially from nearby Nicaragua 🇳🇮. Now, the ability of Costa Rica to help these families and individuals is at risk. The country’s ability to meet even the most basic needs of these people—like places to live, food, health care, and basic safety—has been deeply affected.
UNHCR’s funding cuts are causing real problems. Programs that used to help thousands are now struggling to keep doors open. The consequences could be severe for people who need protection the most.
The Bigger Picture: A Global Funding Crisis
Costa Rica’s problem is not unique. Across the world, international support for refugees is declining just as the need is rising. Here’s what the UNHCR and other organizations have reported:
- UNHCR’s health budget has been cut by 87 percent for 2025 when compared to the year before. That is not a small drop—it means almost all of the money to keep refugee health services running has been lost.
- Nearly 13 million people around the world—more than half of them children—are in danger of losing access to life-saving health care. These people are already fleeing war, violence, or disasters, and many now may not get the basic medical help they need.
- Cutting this funding threatens to undo years of work. For example, in many refugee camps and settlements, people with serious diseases like HIV have been able to get care and medicine. These programs could now disappear.
Basic needs are often the first to be affected. With less money, clinics and hospitals may run out of medicine or space. Water supplies, toilets, and places to wash hands might go unrepaired, raising the risk of diseases spreading fast. Every step back can make daily life much harder—and in some cases, dangerous—for refugees.
What Caused These Funding Cuts?
Several big factors have come together to cause this sharp drop in available money. Among the most important are changes in the foreign aid budgets of donor countries, especially from the United States 🇺🇸.
- The budget proposed by President Trump for the 2026 fiscal year would cut funding for international and State programs by almost half—47.7 percent less than the year before.
- Only $4 billion is set aside for critical humanitarian aid around the globe, which many experts see as not nearly enough given the rising number of conflicts and disasters.
- One of the biggest programs, P.L. 480 Title II, which funds much of the world’s food aid, would lose all of its money under these cuts.
The ripple effect from these cuts goes far beyond the United States. When the single largest donor for global humanitarian aid reduces its budget, all organizations that depend on this support, including the UNHCR, must reduce services. This is not just numbers on a page—it means fewer teachers in refugee camps, less medicine, and even fewer tents for families needing shelter.
These funding cuts have forced difficult choices. As reported by VisaVerge.com, international agencies now must decide if they provide some services to many people or focus on only the most desperate cases and pull back everywhere else. It is a painful balancing act that leaves many at risk.
Costa Rica’s Own Refugee Policy Struggles
On top of these international funding changes, Costa Rica has also made changes to its own rules for refugees that make things harder for those seeking safety within its borders. In November 2022, President Rodrigo Chaves signed a new decree that reworked refugee regulations in the country.
This decree brought several new restrictions:
– Asylum seekers can now face heavy delays and extra barriers in trying to get permission to work.
– Rules make it hard, and sometimes impossible, for asylum seekers to find jobs. For some, self-employment—like running a small shop or business—is not allowed.
– Those whose requests for asylum have not been decided after a long time must now pay into Costa Rica’s social security system just to keep their right to work. This can cost about 10.6 percent of a worker’s monthly pay—an amount that can be a heavy burden for people already struggling.
The impact of these rule changes has been swift. Without the ability to work legally, many refugees and asylum seekers are pushed into poverty or forced into risky jobs. Reports say clinics and social services now see higher demand as refugees can no longer support themselves.
Pressure From Abroad: Deportations and Reception Centers
Recently, Costa Rica has also been caught up in the management of deportations alongside the United States. In February 2025, two charter flights landed in Costa Rica carrying 200 people forcibly sent back by U.S. authorities. Out of the 200, there were 80 children. These arrivals were taken to special holding centers near the border with Panama 🇵🇦.
Human rights organizations have sounded alarms about this practice. They say there are real concerns that these people—many of them families with young children—may not be getting a fair chance to ask for asylum or protection. The fast arrival and processing of dozens of people at once can make it very hard for each person to explain their situation or get help.
This situation shows how funding cuts and policy changes can combine to make things even harder for displaced people. With less money in the system, authorities struggle to provide food, beds, basic security, and handle the legal work needed to process each case correctly and fairly.
Costa Rica’s Long-Standing Commitment, Now at Risk
Despite all these challenges, Costa Rica’s long record of protecting refugees now hangs in the balance. The country’s new multi-year plan for 2025 to 2027 remains focused on important goals:
– Ensuring people seeking asylum are protected from violence and harm
– Working to find lasting solutions, such as helping refugees settle safely or, if possible, return home
– Improving conditions for people who have no citizenship status (stateless individuals), making sure they are not left completely without help
But without the money to keep programs running, there is a real risk these goals cannot be met. UNHCR’s own public plans, such as their 2025 strategy document for Costa Rica, stress the need for keeping a ‘favorable protection environment.’ This means making sure refugees are respected and get what they need to rebuild their lives. But all this depends on reliable funding.
The Human Cost: What Happens Without Enough Support
What does this mean for a mother who fled violence in Nicaragua and hoped for a safe home in Costa Rica? Without enough funding, she may be unable to find a doctor for her sick child, or she may lose her right to work and cannot pay rent or buy food. A child who escaped threats and does not speak Spanish 🇪🇸 may not be able to get into school or understand lessons, falling behind or becoming isolated. The local clinics, already busy, could find themselves short of basic medicines or overwhelmed by new arrivals needing urgent help.
Everyone from children to the elderly feels these results. Medical services, clinics, water supplies, and waste collection break down without enough money. This can lead to outbreaks of diseases and puts everyone—both refugees and Costa Ricans—at higher risk.
The Way Forward: International Responsibility Needed
UNHCR and other humanitarian groups are urging the world not to look away. They warn that allowing services to disappear does not just harm those fleeing danger now; it also puts whole communities at risk, and the costs—financial and human—are much higher when problems grow.
Costa Rica, despite its size, has shown for decades that with support, countries can welcome people in need and help them build new lives. If the world allows funding cuts to continue, the country’s long-standing model will be lost. Regional instability could grow, and families who hoped for safety may find themselves falling into deeper crisis.
Governments and international donors must reconsider the deep cuts to humanitarian funding. The world has seen in recent years how quickly conditions can change and why preparation is key. Aid is not just about charity; it helps keep societies stable and prevents violence from spreading across borders.
What Refugees and Supporters Can Do
If you or your loved ones are affected by these changes, keep looking out for updates from official sources. Check the UNHCR website for the latest on available services in Costa Rica and worldwide. Community groups and trusted legal advocates may be able to help with navigating the sometimes confusing new rules. Being informed means being prepared.
If you are part of a community that wants to help, supporting local or international organizations working with refugees can make a real difference. Even at a time of global funding cuts, local action provides hope and support that large systems may no longer supply.
Final Thoughts
The situation in Costa Rica is a direct sign of wider problems affecting how the world treats people forced from their homes by violence, disaster, or persecution. UNHCR has clearly warned that without enough money, lives are at risk and years of progress could quickly be lost. Funding cuts have caused the country’s capacity to support vulnerable refugees, particularly those fleeing from Nicaragua, to shrink alarmingly.
Costa Rica’s own policy changes, the arrival of deportation flights, and the demands placed on an already stretched social system show how quickly conditions can change. For now, both local and international actors remain focused on keeping hope alive. But the burden of supporting thousands of displaced people cannot fall on one country alone. Broad support and renewed commitments from around the world are needed if Costa Rica’s tradition of welcoming refugees is to survive.
To stay up to date with key developments in global immigration and humanitarian policy, resources like VisaVerge.com and official government and UNHCR updates will continue to provide facts, news, and practical guidance. The choices made now by governments, organizations, and individuals will determine not just Costa Rica’s future, but the health and safety of millions of people worldwide who rely on international solidarity in troubled times.
Learn Today
UNHCR → United Nations agency responsible for protecting refugees and supporting displaced people worldwide, also known as the UN Refugee Agency.
Asylum seekers → Individuals who flee their country and apply for legal protection as refugees in another country, awaiting a decision.
Humanitarian funding → Financial resources dedicated to supporting people affected by crises, conflicts, or disasters, often allocated by governments or organizations.
P.L. 480 Title II → A major U.S. program that provides food aid to countries in crisis, now facing elimination in proposed budget cuts.
Stateless individuals → People who are not considered nationals by any country, lacking citizenship rights and legal protection anywhere.
This Article in a Nutshell
Costa Rica’s tradition of welcoming refugees faces its toughest test as international funding is slashed. With a 41% drop in support, vital health services, shelter, and safety are threatened. New legal barriers to work deepen hardships, while U.S. funding cuts undermine humanitarian aid worldwide, leaving millions more at risk.
— By VisaVerge.com
Read more:
• How to obtain Costa Rica residency for your non-American spouse
• How to bring your non-American spouse to Costa Rica with legal residency
• What happens to your 401(k) if you move to Costa Rica?
• Costa Rica offers three-month permits to US-deported migrants
• Deported Indians Stranded in Costa Rica, Labeled ‘Terrorists,’ Told to Pay for Flights
