Costa Rica receives approximately 265,000 temporary labour migrants per year. These are comprised of 230,000 migrants from Nicaragua and 35,000 from Panama (Ngäbe and Buglé ethnic groups). Through improved management and regularisation of seasonal migratory flows, the project aims to facilitate access to the labour market, particularly in the agricultural sector, while dissuading migrants from seeking unsafe and irregular migration channels.
Specifically, the project will:
1) Develop a pilot project proposal to regularise up to 2,000 seasonal migrants, in coordination with the respective government counterparts and the private sector employers;
2) Conduct a detailed mapping of seasonal migrant workers in order to understand their needs and assist them with tailored services;
3) Provide language training courses for the General Directorate of Migration staff to improve their communication skills with non-Spanish speaking migrants.