Taking $$ into Colombia

Medellin Traveler says on Dec 10, 2007, 19:58:

Did has been coverd recently do a search.

"Huevos Rancheros en Medellin, No Quiero Taco Bell." - www.medellintraveler.com

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guacharaca says on Dec 10, 2007, 20:15:

Always declare when required. Customs is not worried about $2000. That is just change for them. They are looking for the big bucks.

You can bring in up to US 10000 cash before you have to declare it. I recall it being the same as the US. Check out this tourism site for yourself.

http://www.turismocolombia.com/newsdetail.asp?id=4578&idcompany=127

Colombianos: Las armas os han dado independencia, las leyes os daran libertad. (Santander)

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Jebediah says on Dec 10, 2007, 21:45:

Thanx for that guys

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lpdiver says on Dec 11, 2007, 06:11:

Sounds Good...You cannot get a thousand dollar bill at any bank. You might be able to get one from a collector. I am sure it would be useless in Colombia.

t

"cook some rice!"

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elmodefoque says on Dec 11, 2007, 06:19:

i brought closed to 10,000.USA in cash with no problem. I stuck in one of the many pockets of my cargo pants. as soon as i arrived in curramba, headed straight to murillo for chicharron then to the worst part of town for dope then picked up a hooker and went up to my hotel room placed the money inside my pillow case. the hooker had no idea she was laying on hard core good ol USA mula

PROUD ENEMY OF THE RIGHT WING!!!!!! THANK YOU!

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El Piloto says on Dec 11, 2007, 08:30:

Be prepared to be asked by Customs how much money you are bringing in.

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chrispej says on Dec 11, 2007, 17:55:

You CANNOT bring over $10,000 CASH US into Colombia. You cannot just declare anything over $10,000 and keep it. They will take anything over $10,000 and you will have to fight DIAN to get it back. If you bring over $10,000 and DON'T declare it, they will take it and you lose. Under $10,000 is fine. Bring fresh, clean $100.00 bills to make the exchange easier.

Bancolombia will exchange up to $3,000 US per month only if you have a TOURIST visa. They will require a photocopy of your passport photo page and visa stamp page. They offer a fair rate much better than the exchange houses. No other banks will exchange dollars.

Last time I was there, the exchange houses were offering 1,750 to 1,820. Bancolombia gave me 1,932.

And yes, customs will ask you how much money you are carrying.

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arthur brode says on Dec 11, 2007, 18:18:

Elmo,i bet you didnt let that pillow out of your sight:)

GIB,You werent BS'n.You are into everything:)

http://www.calirentals.net/

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vicshere says on Dec 11, 2007, 18:24:

customs does not ask
"customs will ask you how much money you are carrying."
but you are required to answer the question on the customs declaration form about how much money you are bring in

in all the times I have entered I have yet to be asked if I am bring any money or any money over 10,000

listo

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Jebediah says on Dec 11, 2007, 20:50:

I normally wouldnt bring that much money in, but the AUD/USD conversation rate was quite strong, so i went for it. Im also bring my gf back with me this time, and she doesnt like to rough it how i do, so instead of gettin jipped on the credit card exchange rate when i pay for hotels etc, i got 2K at a good rate...YOINK!

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goin_south says on Dec 11, 2007, 22:28:

What is the limit to taking cash (USD) into Colombia.

IT COULD CHANGE! AT ANY MOMENT,... DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH YOU TELL THE SECURITY GUY AND HOW MUCH A WOOS YOU APPEAR... Take $1000 USD and...

YOU MAY NEVER POST ON PBH AGAIN!

Where do we go from here?

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aztec says on Dec 12, 2007, 03:42:

"vicshere says on Tuesday December 11th, 2007 18:24:

customs does not ask
"customs will ask you how much money you are carrying."
but you are required to answer the question on the customs declaration form about how much money you are bring in

in all the times I have entered I have yet to be asked if I am bring any money or any money over 10,000

listo"

Last month Costoms pulled my wife out of the line and pointedly and directly asked only one question. "Do you have $10,000 or more on your person?" Her response was to laugh and state that she certainly wished she had that much money. No more questions and she was waived back in line.

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tomtom33 says on Dec 12, 2007, 04:12:

I was never asked by anyone in Colombia how much money I was carrying. You just check the "less than US$10,000" box on your DIAN form 530.

Once when I was in Miami boarding a plane for Havana, I was directly asked about how much currency I was carrying.

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aztec says on Dec 12, 2007, 07:02:

Must make it clear that I was speaking of U.S. Customs. Correct that no one at Colombian Customs has ever asked about funds carrying.

Incidentally, I have been told that the new US money has a fine metal strip and it can be picked up on a scanner. Have no proof that it is so.

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El Piloto says on Dec 13, 2007, 06:50:

I have been asked by Colombian Customs when entering the country how much money I am carrying. Also was subjected to a secondary baggage search that involved, among other things, leafing through each book that I had in my luggage. I assume that the point of Customs going through books is to look for $100 bills hidden between pages.

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orestesdd says on Dec 27, 2007, 16:09:

How much can I bring in gifts? I am bringing gifts worth about $3000 US. Is this a problem? Thanks

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pedro says on Dec 27, 2007, 17:18:

Jebediah, you're in Australia, open a Wizard Clear Advantage. If you travel on any other card, you're just throwing away money.

You'll lose badly on the USD to Peso cash exchange once you get to Colombia. So I don't know why you bothered. You take more risk (big wad of cash that can go missing) and it costs you money.

que nota!

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tomtom33 says on Dec 28, 2007, 04:38:

If there is nothing else taking up space in your briefs, that sounds like a good plan.

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lpdiver says on Dec 28, 2007, 07:21:

I agree with Pedro about the exchange rate. I do usually bring a few thousand in US dollars for emergencies. I usually return with the cash as well.

t

"cook some rice!"

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thegrower says on Dec 28, 2007, 11:58:

you can bring 10k on your person and then divide the other2ok through all your bags , jeans pockets, shorts pockecket, in book pages, in maps, shirts. you can easily bring 20-30k with you. no problem. NEVER go home with cash buy emeralds, gold, ass something but invest it in this great country.

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tomtom33 says on Dec 28, 2007, 12:28:

You guys are brilliant. You sign a statement when you enter that you are not carrying more than US$10,000 in cash or negotiable securities. That includes cash stuffed in your briefs, all of your luggage, and your wallet. Can you bring more and not get caught? Most probably. But why? When you try to convert the dollars to pesos, you will take a worse screwing than if you wired money into the country.

On the off chance that you get caught, you can kiss all of that cash goodbye and worse.

You could open 10 bank accounts in the US and get 10 ATM cards. You stock each account with US$5000. If your bank allows US$500 per day withdrawal, it would take 10 days in Colombia to take US$50,000 from ATMs. Why on earth would you want to fuck around transporting cash?

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