Costa Rica prepares plan to regularize status of 200,000 mostly Nicaraguan migrants

Migrants, mostly Nicaraguans, sit at a migration facility while waiting for an interview with government officials to request asylum in Costa Rica due to the political situation in their country, in San Jose, Costa Rica January 10, 2022. REUTERS/Mayela Lopez

SAN JOSE (Reuters) - Costa Rica is readying a plan to regularize the status of some 200,000 migrants, largely from the Central American country's northern neighbor Nicaragua, authorities told Reuters on Wednesday.

The plan aims to formally include the migrants in the jobs market and healthcare system, Costa Rica's migration head Marlen Luna told Reuters.