europeantraveler has left 14 comments

europeantraveler comments on Is there such a thing as a postal service in Colombia?

Of course there is an "official" state postal service in Colombia. As others have mentioned, it is now called "4-72" (http://www.4-72.com.co). They have offices in all major towns, and quite a few in Bogotá (Unicentro, there's another one at the corner of 72 and 15 next to Panamericana, etc). They have improved their service quite a lot, and I always send international letters with them - they have always arrived. You do have to drop off all letters at their offices, though, since there are no mailboxes elsewhere. But who would pay DHL a ridiculous amount of money to send a regular international airmail letter abroad? That ordinary Colombians don't know of their official postal service's existence, nor its name, nor where the post offices are, is a well established fact. It's just part of the culture here (and I guess the result of a real bad level of service from the state postal service a couple of decades ago). Oh, and they even have ZIP codes now (see "codigos postales" on the 4-72 website), another fact that almost all Colombians are completely oblivious to.

europeantraveler comments on Certificado de proporcionalidad

Colombian law requires that 90% of a company's regular employees and 80% of executive and specialist employees must be Colombian citizens. Companies with 10 or less employees are exempt, but you still need to apply for a "Certificado de Proporcionalidad" in any case. See the "Código Sustantivo de Trabajo", Art. 74: http://www.dafp.gov.co/leyes/C_SUSTRA.HTM

europeantraveler comments on

Regular mail sent through the postal service can take anywhere from 5 days to 5 weeks to arrive in Colombia, although I've also had my share of mail that never arrived. Outbound mail from Colombia takes the same amount of time, but everything that I've mailed in person at a post office in Bogotá has always arrived. Unknown to most Colombians, the state postal service is now called 4-72 (which are Colombia's geographic coordinates), after being known as Adpostal for the longest time, and Servicios Postales Nacionales thereafter. All mail or packages that you send with the U.S. Postal Service are delivered through 4-72. Their website is www.4-72.com , where you'll also find full information on postage rates. The main problem with using the Colombian state postal service is that they don't have too many offices, and no mailboxes exist for depositing stamped mail. Of course, for domestic mail most Colombians use one of the countless private courier companies like Servientrega or Deprisa, which have similar prices and more offices (and are probably less likely to loose your mail). For international mail and packages, however, they and FedEx, UPS, etc charge many times more than 4-72. Note that 4-72 also offers Express Mail Service (EMS), which is comparable to FedEx in arriving relatively fast, but still cheaper.

europeantraveler comments on VISA NEEDED FOR COLOMBIANS TO VACATION IN COSTA RICA OR NOT?

The link to the Costa Rican visa regulations has just changed: http://www.migracion.go.cr/visas/Directrices%20visas%20Febrero%202008.pdf It's still the same document, though, and the rules haven't changed: any U.S., Canadian, or EU entry visa (a tourist visa is enough; it doesn't have to be a residency visa) that is valid for a minimum of three months beyond the entry date to Costa Rica is valid for visa-free travel of Colombians to Costa Rica. I don't know of any other country that has a similar rule, and Costa Rica itself only came up with this in mid-2007.

europeantraveler comments on VISA NEEDED FOR COLOMBIANS TO VACATION IN COSTA RICA OR NOT?

Yes, Colombians need a visa for Costa Rica. They do not need one, however, if they already hold a valid visa to the U.S., Canada, or a country of the European Union that is valid for a minimum of three more months beyond entry to Costa Rica. In that case Colombians can stay for 90 days in Costa Rica without a separate Costa Rican visa. The full Costa Rican visa regulations can be found here (Colombia is in Group 3 of countries): http://www.migracion.go.cr/visas/Directrices%20visas%20Enero%202008.pdf

europeantraveler comments on

OK, let me clear up some of the confusion regarding airport and exit taxes in Colombia. There are three types of taxes on international flights, each with different amounts and exemption requirements: (1) International Airport Tax: this tax varies depending on the departure airport. In Bogotá it's currently 64.600 COP. Exempt are basically only babies under 2 years and passengers in transit. See here: http://www.elnuevodorado.com/tramites.html?articulo_id=88 (2) Exit Tax ("timbre nacional"): this is currently 50.500 COP. Exempt are: (a) non-Colombian citizens, not resident in Colombia, who entered as tourists (stamp TU in passport) and have not stayed longer than 60 days; (b) Colombian citizens, not resident in Colombia and holding a foreign resident permit or passport of dual citizenship, who have not stayed longer than 180 days; (c) children under 5 years. See here: http://www.elnuevodorado.com/tramites.html?articulo_id=86 (3) Tourist tax: this is currently USD 5 and must be paid by anyone not traveling on a Colombian passport, regardless of place of residence or length of stay. Exempt are persons over 65 years, students and university professors/researchers. See here: http://www.mincomercio.gov.co/eContent/NewsDetail.asp?ID=5781&IDCompany=1 http://www.mincomercio.gov.co/econtent/Documentos/Normatividad/decretos/2007/Decreto-1782-2007.pdf Another topic entirely is which of these taxes are included in your airline ticket, and which ones you may have to pay in cash (USD or COP) when checking in. This depends on the airline and the place of purchase of your ticket. Whether to accept credit or debit cards is also up to the airline. Some airlines don't include any of these taxes at the time of buying the ticket (such as TACA or Air Comet). Others (such as Avianca, Air France and Iberia) include taxes (1) and (3) in tickets bought outside of Colombia, and taxes (1) and (2) in tickets bought inside of Colombia. The only way to tell is to look at the fare calculation line on your ticket receipt: Tax (1) would be listed with code CO, tax (2) with code DG, and tax (3) with code YI. At that special counter at the airport they only check whether you meet the requirements of being exempt from tax (2), for instance by looking at the entry stamp in your passport. The piece of paper that they give you serves as proof for the airline that you either don't have to pay tax (2) at check-in, or that can get a refund from your airline if it was already included in your ticket. Tax (1) and (3) will still be collected, though, if applicable. If you stay a full 90 days as a tourist in Colombia, no exemptions apply, and you will have to pay all three taxes.

europeantraveler comments on Millions lost in translation

Actually, the international standard of counting in any language is the "long scale", where one "bi-llion" equals 1.000.000 (one million) to the power of 2, hence a million millions. It's quite consistent: one "tri-llion" is one million to the power of 3, and so on. Only the US adopted the "short scale", where a billion means 1.000 millions, whereas other English-speaking countries initially stuck with the long scale. Only in the last few decades has the US usage of "billion" spread to other English-speaking countries. In almost all other languages and countries (the notable exception being Brazil), the long scale is still the standard. The US "billion" is therefore called either a milliard or a thousand millions almost anywhere else.

europeantraveler comments on Does Conavi charge for taking money out of a cajero outside of Colombia?

Conavi doesn't exist anymore; it was bought by Bancolombia a while ago. Bancolombia charges COP 12000 per cash withdrawal at cash machines outside of Colombia. See here:

http://www.grupobancolombia.com/personal/necesidades/tarifas/index.asp?opcion=op1

(Click on Tarifas - Tarjetas and look for "Retiro cajero en el exterior con Tarjeta débito Maestro y Mastercard")

europeantraveler comments on Luggage storage in Bogota Airport

Luggage storage is available The luggage storage at the main El Dorado terminal building is on the ground floor, north side, next to the taxi booth at domestic arrivals. If you exit at international arrivals, turn left and walk the entire length of the terminal building check-in hall to the other (far) end. Look for the signs saying "Guardaequipajes".

europeantraveler comments on Help-Colombian visa Expiring

the law is clear You are allowed 180 days in a calendar year as a tourist. It doesn't matter if you leave and re-enter the country. However, since today is only March 21, it's impossible that anyone has already used up that amount of time in 2006. That's why Addy didn't have any problems re-entering, and the 60 days he got only take him to May - still less than 180 days in the country in 2006. Only from July onwards do people get into trouble for overstaying.

The applicable legal text is Decreto 4000 of November 30 2004, especially its article 56:

"Para efecto del control migratorio se entenderá por año calendario el periodo comprendido entre el primero (1°) de enero y el treinta y uno (31) de diciembre. Ningún extranjero que ingrese al país en calidad de visitante turista o visitante temporal podrá permanecer por más de ciento ochenta (180) días continuos o discontinuos dentro del mismo año calendario"

The full text can be found here:
http://www.presidencia.gov.co/decretoslinea/2004/noviembre/30/dec4000301104.pdf

europeantraveler comments on Colombians in Germany I need your help!!!!!!!

In general, you can only live in Germany permanently if you marry your girlfriend. It takes up to 3 months to get the residence permit. If you're not yet ready to marry, an alternative would be to get a short-term Schengen visa for a visit of up to 90 days. If you currently live in the U.S., you need to contact the nearest German Consulate:

http://germany-info.org

All the info you need to apply for a visa are on these pages:

http://germany-info.org/relaunch/info/consular_services/visa/visit.html

http://germany-info.org/relaunch/info/consular_services/visa/permanent.html

If you live in Colombia, you need to contact the German Embassy in Bogotá:

http://embajada-alemana-bogota.de

Their visa information is here:

http://embajada-alemana-bogota.de/sp/botschaft/abteilungen/visa.html

The Colombian Embassy in Germany is the wrong place to ask, and whether or not you have a US green card doesn't matter, either.

europeantraveler comments on Types of visas

You need a TS visa - Temporal Especial In your case, here are the requirements:

Para el ejercicio de actividades de carácter independiente

1. Carta de solicitud suscrita por el interesado indicando la actividad a desarrollar en Colombia.

2. Documentos que acrediten la idoneidad para el ejercicio de la actividad. Títulos convalidados por el Ministerio de Educación Nacional y permiso provisional o licencia para ejercer profesión que se encuentre regulada en Colombia. O, Acreditar experiencia según el caso.

Taken from this website:

http://portal.minrelext.gov.co/portal/webdriver.exe?MIval=co_vi_co_requisitos.html

europeantraveler comments on Travelling by bus - security question

I certainly agree about the danger from road accidents. That is far more likely than encountering guerilla roadblocks, especially on a road like Bogotá-Ibagué-Armenia, which has heavy truck and bus traffic, complete with lots of nice blind curves and steep drop-offs. I believe 25 people were killed throughout Colombia this past holiday weekend in traffic accidents. And like I said, roadblocks by illegal groups happen in Colombia, but they would certainly make the news if they happened on a major road like Bogotá-Ibagué-Armenia (I'm talking about it making the local Spanish-language news).

Back to the original question: From my experience a bus trip on the Bogotá-Ibagué-Armenia road is just as safe (or dangerous) as the other trips between Cali and Medellín that you've already taken.

To RUV: I've got no experience on the Bogotá-Medellín road, although I've heard that it's supposed to be more vulnerable to attack by the various armed groups.

europeantraveler comments on Travelling by bus - security question

I'd just like to note that the article posted by GIB is from November 2004. That said, incidents like that can happen again anytime, but I wouldn't consider La Línea between Ibagué and Armenia the most dangerous strecth of road in Colombia - it's heavily guarded and there is usually lots of traffic.