Feed
Sep
14
on getting a visa extension
Filed Under Immigration |
immigration 7:20 am - alex and i cue up to the butt end of a long line of pissed-off natives. for 15 or 20 minutes we just stand there, stuck in the hot morning sun. then the line begins to creep forward. i don’t know if it’s the harsh lighting, the time of day, the crowd and confusion, or if i’m just projecting, but once we’re inside everyone looks ugly, and beaten-down.
not much direction or help is offered at migration. you really have to force the issue. some gringos pay for “expert” help. but i find it’s best to play dumb in moments such as these, a role, i might add, that comes quite naturally to me. i just lumber up to a busy window start asking questions.
for pity’s sake, i take my Spanish down notch, fumbling when i ask for help. a rather large woman with a kind face hands me a form. i fill it out, omitting the part where a native vouches for me. i mean - really, at this point i’ve insulted everyone in the country.
when i return the woman asks for proof that i’m solvent. i tell her she already has copies of my visa cards, and anyone can instantly determine my credit worthiness by simply swiping them, or making a quick call.
she shakes her head and wags a finger as if i’ve been a naughty boy. then she tells me i must show that i own a home here, or have money in a bank, preferably a local bank.
sure, i’m posing as a tourist. i’ve been here 28 days. so naturally i’ve already set up a local account and purchased a house. i mean you can only spend so much time chasing strippers.
now a cynical man might think these visa changes are about the money. but i haven’t had my coffee yet. it’s too early for cynicism.
i go outside with my hsbc debit card, find an atm, print out a balance, make a copy of my atm card, and return to migration. satisfied, she tells me to return on friday.
thursday 8:10 am - upon seeing the crowd my girlfriend gasps “ay no - es lleno de colombianos.” while it’s true there are many colombians in immigration this morning, i really doubt alex’s assessment. i know for a fact a couple of them are ticos.
i only mention this because the natives are feeling exasperated with their leaders. why are they hassling gringos when their country is overrun with Colombians they ask me? i don’t have the heart to tell them it looks like their government doesn’t really like gringos very much.
minister ruben blades can argue that most tourists stay for only 7-30 days, and anyone staying longer is not a tourist. but really, who cares? panama is just punishing gringos who want to hang around and spend money. what does it matter what you call them?
happily, the poor, and low level workers at immigration don’t manifest the same anti-gringo sentiment. or if they do they keep it hidden behind their patient smiles.
i could tell you what a pain it is to go though all this, but this morning i talk with a jubilada who left home at 4 am. she traveled from the interior by bus, just to line up, suitcase in hand, for laser surgery over at the caja seguro social.
typical of panama, her doctor didn’t show. i mean, why respect someone who’s beneath your station? why take pride in your work? now this charming old woman, who’s slowly going blind from diabetes, must journey to seguro social for another appointment.
will her doctor even bother to show up next time? will he botch the operation and leave her sightless? fuck if i know. these are deep philosophical questions. you’d better ask ruben blades.
alex says that’s just how its done here. it strikes me as rather cruel. so i won’t complain about the problems of gringo tourists. its clear the government doesn’t give a fuck about its own people, why should they care about us?
this morning i’m in migration for only an hour. i pick up my passport, sign a card, pay $15 at the window, have an ugly pic taken, wait while a young man processes my photo, and then i am good to go.
only after my card is in hand can i confirm how long i am allowed to stay. a pain in the ass if you have air tickets. and you must have returning air tickets if you want to come to panama. so, after a quick breakfast at manolos we head over to American airlines, where we spend another hour getting a credit back to my visa card.
and that’s all there is to extending your stay in panama. really, it couldn’t be any easier. i don’t know why you’re all complaining. today i feel lucky, privileged to be a 90 day tourist in panama, and eager to spend more of my hard earned money in paradise.
on the net: panama investor blog
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when i came back two weeks ago with my car through paso canoas the five dollar tourist card gave me 90 days in writing. they haven’t changed the cards since the change in the law, i’m guessing because they don’t want to give up the extra two dollars for the stamps: one on the way in and one on the way out.
when i came in three days ago through the airport in david, i paid my five bucks but didn’t get the card.
i bought my e-ticket online from air panama flying from san jose and didn’t have to show round trip. they know that you don’t have a physical ticket so don’t ask for it. at least that’s my theory, but it may just be dumb luck.
pete…dont get too cocky about not having a tourist card from david…or what your tourist card says. if the newly reinforced immigration police catch you over 30 days here based on your passport stamp…they can immediately deport you with dire consequences about returning any time soon. Its always safer to just “play by the rules”…and if you have a car in Panama, costa rica isnt a bad place to drive every 30 days or so.:) lately i’ve been preferring the short 1 hour flight to cartagena. um um…
tman - agree with that. you just never know down here. of course, obeying the law is no guarantee.
what are you paying for the flight to Cartagena? i’ve always wanted to go. i hear the
womenbuildings are beautiful.FYI, last time I came in through Tocumen was the return portion of a trip and no one asked me if I had a ticket out of the country. Hmmm. I think that’s more enforced at Paso Canoas than airports. It is the worst crossing in Panama, but lots of helpers can make it easier. They used to be willing to carry your bags, too. Ah, the good old days of (virtually) slave labor prices.
funny that. i’ve never been asked for a return ticket in tocumen. nor have i been searched. but every u.s. airline makes me buy a return ticket before i leave the states. that’s why i always buy a refundable ticket, and cash it back after i clear customs.
i’ve been thru paso canoas a couple times. i get physically searched there every time. and they always ask me for a ticket. so i show them the return portion of my bus ticket.
you guys must be very suspicious looking:). i’ve never been asked for return tickets at immigration…at tocumen or paso canoas. of course after only one time, i avoid paso canoas like the plague. i always got the shivers watching the “twilight zone”, and paso canoas reminds me of many episodes.
cojito…i highly recommend the women/ oops…i mean…buildings of cartagena. they all are readily assessible for rent or to buy. best deals are with aires airlines…though i dont think they fly every day from panama. copa sometimes has deals last minute. send me your email and i will send you my summary notes on where to go/what to see.
why are you so worry about extending your visa when you can buy a new one just there, if nobody has offer you a visa yet, you are extremely unlucky as I know in the very same windows they can even sell you a brand new panamanian passport, dont you reckon it all about corruption??
tica - yes, fair point. i am extremely unlucky. no one’s ever tried to sell me a new/fake Panamanian passport. have you got one for sale?
ah, just as well, i like to keep it legal in panama. i don’t want to spend 2 years in jail waiting for the chance to come before a corrupt judge.
tman - i don’t think i’m all that suspicious looking. i always cover my gang tats, and gold tooth. i dunno, maybe it’s the pound of weed stuffed in my golf bag.
heh, no one’s ever sent me summary notes before. my email’s cojito@thepanamapages.com of course.