Visa Run - Panama or Nica

I JUST hours ago returned from trip #5 to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua & had ANOTHER GREAT TRIP!! 

I've started a non-advertisers "Info Site" which I'll be updating this weekend - SanJuanDelSurNI.com

I've also done Bocas del Toro, Panama 10 times & started the same type site - BocasDelToroGuide.com though I haven't been in over a year since discovering SJDS!

I'd LOVE other's input/updates so please e- me if you have things to add/change at  [email protected]

That is awesome. Thanks Sarong Goddess. I'll keep my eye on the site. We ended up going to SJDS with another couple. We rented a place out near Majagual - in the jungle above the beach. It was so beautiful, secluded and peaceful. We stayed for the week for $500 total. It had an infinity swimming pool that looked out over the ocean so we didn't even go to the beach some days. The other couple had the direct contact for the owner which is why we got it so cheap. I now have it so I think I've solved my Visa run problem. I don't think I'd go anywhere else. I could never afford to stay somewhere as classy as that back home so it is a wonderful indulgence at less than $20 a day!

I'd LOVE to get the direct contact on where you stayed to add them to my SanJuanDelSurNI.com guide!!! (help them stay in biz!!) & LOVE to know where all ya'll went to eat, etc.!!


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Puerto Viejo de Talamanca in Limon is not far from the Panama border. Lots of people use the Shuttle to Bocas del Toro that leaves from Rocking J's.

(Moderated: No free advertising, Please)

FYI - The argument continues as to whether you "need" to be out of the country for 72 hours or not. 

I asked an Immigration Cop as well as at the immigration jail delivering sweat suits) & the people WE spoke with said THEY do NOT have a 72 hour rule & on NUMEROUS message boards - NO ONE has presented ANY proof of any Old rule saying that or anything in the new rule.

Where there IS a 72 mention is with Customs.

What they DO require is 4 stamps - one showing you're leaving CR, one showing you entering another country, one showing you leaving that country & one showing you entering CR.

NOW you also HAVE to have some sort of ticket showing you're leaving CR within 90 days (this is posted at the CR Immigration window in Peñas Blancas, CR entering Nicaragua).  I've never been asked but my last 2 trips they asked the people in front of me so I showed mine (fyi - I make mine for 89 days - JUST in case).


I JUST returned Tues. from a quickie overnight trip to Rivas, NI where I stayed in an ULTRA BASIC place for $10/pp - clean/bed fairly decent (not like mine though). 

FYI - Prescription drugs are WAYYYY cheaper in NI than in CR!

I can only speak for Paso Canoas, I'm on the Osa so I go south. PC is an armpit, spend $4 on a minibus and go to David.

There are 2 shifts at Immigration, go out the morning with a bus ticket SJ-David and you 'can' get 90 days; go out the afternoon and you will ONLY get 30 days - the discretion of the official. Need CR exit and Panama in/out stamps of course.
This is true also - it seems - with a immediate in-out.

Correct, customs require 72 hrs for duty free import.

Going in 2 days, will update.

Bill

Has anyone crossed the Paso Canoas border recently? My tourist visa expired 9 months ago and IŽm wondering if IŽll be able to renew my visa successfully and if there is any chance of it, which border would be my best bet!? Help!

I haven't crossed there yet but I would say GO IMMEDIATELY as once they start the new law, they're saying you could be fined either $100 for each month you're over  OR  HAVE to stay OUT of Cotsa Rica for 3 times the amount of time you're over (by then that could be 3 years for you).  This they're saying could happen as soon as Dec. (most likely as around the holidays is the time they SCRUTINIZE passports, etc. WAY MORE because of the mass exodus!!).

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A BUS TICKET SHOWING YOU ARE LEAVING CR within 90 days!!!  They are almost ALWAYS asking these days!!

DO NOT get an open ticket as OFTEN these days they're ONLY giving people a 30 DAY STAMP!

Buy a ticket (I get the TransNica ticket [though I TAKE Deldu because it's only $9 vs $23 & leaves me off at the Peñas Blanca border hence it's 1-2 hours faster some trips]) for 89 days (never take that chance on that last day as once it happened that the Sixiola Bridge was closed the day we were traveling).  Then, 3 days before it expires, you'll need to go back to TransNica & they will NOT give you a new "ticket" (unless you BUY a new one) but they will give you a new "reservation" (I told them I wasn't REALLY going on the bus - just using it for the border) which you show with your original ticket.  I'm not sure how long I'll be able to do this but I think next time, I'm going to give him a few 1,000 colones or bring him some cake or something to show my appreciation since he IS doing me a BIG favor.  I can't remember the guys name but he's the regular guy there & he DOES speak some English (in San Jose that is).

I've known NUMEROUS people RECENTLY that have left/re-entered CR with expired visas & LATELY NONE had problems.  With that said, 6+ months ago I know a few people that were refused re-entry. These ALL were Americans (perhaps part of the crack down is a reaction to how HARD it is for Tico's to get a visa to visit the U.S.  Makes sense!!).

I'd also go JUST before they're going to implement the new law - especially if they're going to implement the part about not being able to go through the same border/country twice or something.

Do NOT NOT NOT mess with this.  SERIOUSLY!! & DO NOT give someone else YOUR Passport to get it stamped!  More & more people are getting busted and KICKED OUT for doing this.  Just welcome the little vacation!!

I did a overnight in-out in Paso Canoas 3 weeks ago. What I was told on the street was that if one stayed in Panama 72 hours, then a 90 day visa would be given; but there is also a woman working the afternoon shift on the CR side who only gives 30 day visas - no matter who or what. Have the appropriate stamps and tickets of course.

A muchacho for $60 had his 'friend' give me a 90 day visa !!
Several ways to run at this, $60 is a lot cheaper and faster than 3 days. As noted above, do not give your passport to anyone; I did and it was a huge hassle to retrieve it.

If your visa has expired DO NOT DELAY, go immediately. They can implement the new existing law at any time they choose.

Bill

I hear that Panama is REALLY TOUGH now!!  MANY are telling me that even Panama is asking for a bus ticket showing you're leaving Panama within 90 days - EVEN if you give proof you LIVE in CR!!!  Can we say $$$$$$/CONTROL?!?!?!?!!

SG
Yes, if you just walk up to the window to enter Panama they will ask to see your ticket out; the solution is the same. In Paso Canoas before leaving CR go to the Tracopa station and buy 2 $15 tickets, SJ to David and David to SJ. I have used open tickets but got some questions about the dates. The tickets are valid for 90 days - which is why one can get a 90 day visa.

If you use a connected muchacho he will get you through Panama w/o buying the SJ to David ticket (save $15). Talk with the muchacho before you start to identify what will be needed and what his services will cost ($60 to $150 is my experience). Its all part of the cost of doing business.

I just buy both tickets, exit CR and then find a fixer.

Bill

thank you for the helpful answers everyone! IŽm going to give it a try ASAP and hopefully i wonŽt get deported or fined! Because purposely losing my passport would be a bad idea, right?

I can't say what's the best thing, I'd just make sure I had PLENTY of $$$ - JUST in case.  Based on LOTS of feedback I've heard lately, IF it were me, I'd do it in/out of Nicaragua (though coming back from NI there are a few police checks - not sure how that might effect you).

Hey, my husband is Ecuadorian, but has permanent residence in Canada. Therefore, he needs a consular visa to be in Costa Rica, but he doesn't have to apply in advance. He gets 30 days. We have been here almost 2 months. After the first month he did a visa run to Nicaragua. He just noticed that upon re-entry to Costa Rica, they did not write in how many days he has in the country. He will be leaving Costa Rica for good in 75 days. Would he get away with just staying here until he leaves since they didn't write in how many days he can stay in the country? Should we write in 90 days?

Advice?

Thanks!! Ecuacnd

The BIG CHALLENGE here is EVERY DAY, EVERY PERSON has a different experience/reality!!!!  Only YOU know what FEELS right for ya'll!!!

I just renewed my tourist visa yesterday in Panama. I've done it in Nicaragua several times before, but compared to the militant and corrupt Nicaraguan border, Panama was a breeze! No "helpers" breathing down your neck telling you the rules have changed and you need their help in return for a "tip" and much better places to pass the time. The shopping is great and there are restaurants and the people are friendly. I stayed at the border for about 3.5 hours, but I don't even feel that was necessary. I'm pretty sure I could have gotten all 4 stamps in a strait sequence. Upon exiting CR they asked my for proof of my return to the US. This was a flight confirmation for a trip I'm taking in 2.5 months. If I didn't have a trip planned, I would have done what I've done before, which is buy a reimbursable trip on my credit card, then cancel the trip. Although if I have to do this again, I'll probably just take my flight confirmation and edit it to change the date and voila! I've got a new ticket. They barely look at the page anyway. Upon entering Panama, they required the same ticket back to the US, and proof of exit travel out of Panama, which was a $21 bus ticket from David to Paso Canoas (the CR side of the border). Other than that, it was a cinch. They did not ask for a bank statement, but I brought it with me just in case. Exiting Panama requires no forms, and no payment, they just stamp your passport. Entering Costa Rica they ask how long you will be staying. I showed them the same flight confirmation to the US. And badda bing badda boom, in and out in a few hours.

Like I said, I'm pretty sure I could have gotten all 4 stamps in row without hanging around. There's no one checking your stamped passport at the line like in Nicaragua who will see the same face cross back and forth within a short time. The officials at the entry and exit windows are different people, so they won't recognize you or say anything. So I did it all in one day. I did have a car, which made it much more comfortable and convenient. Good luck!

Some custom's officers are only giving 30 days upon re-entry to Costa Rica, good luck.

It also depends on where one crosses in Nicaragua ..... we have always gotten 90 days (doesn't really matter as we are resetting our driver's licenses) but there has never been one shred of paperwork other than showing our passports.