guacharaca has left 208 comments

guacharaca comments on Visa for France

OK....my wife is an "EU citizen spouse". How much easier is it?. I assume that there is no need for the hotel reservations.

guacharaca comments on Internet in Exito

Honest places, who do not have high overhead, charge 1k per hour, 500 for half and hour. Don't make a phone call from exito either.

guacharaca comments on Flexible Notoria required

What is your impediment to getting married? I do not think you will find a such a "flexible" Notary for a visa that was clearly not designed for you. If you can marry, get married. If you have true legal impediments to getting married, explain them to the notory and one of them may then become flexible.

guacharaca comments on The Most Deadliest Job(s) in the USA

What about the crabbers up at the north-west tip of Alaska? That show on TV looks pretty convincing.

guacharaca comments on Tourist Visa

No,not necessary. Yes, very risky. No chance on the $100 application fee (the US tax payer will not be paying for that interview). Better to say she is going to Disneyland and she brings her dad. (and only if that is the real truth). A friend truthfully explained to them that she is engaged to marry a man in Holland later that year. She successfully got her US tourist visa based on that info. There are lots of rhymes and reasons and there all to do with over staying or side-stepping the spousal visa process. They want to see a real good reason for your friend to leave the US on time. Don't underestimate the "attachment to Colombia" criteria for getting the visa.

guacharaca comments on Guys this is the type of Latina you need to find and Marry..

I am happy for you. I just hope your balloon does not burst a year after you get her home. Many men have felt the way you do and discouver reality a year later. I hope your future realty remains positive.

guacharaca comments on Apartment in Santa Marta

It is not easy to find something reasonable. After two weeks of searching, I rented a nice unfurnished two bedroom apartment for 350,000 in SM. The norm for gringos seems to be about 700,000 and above for furnished places. Good deals are saved for friends and relatives of locals. I did not do any searching in Rodadero because I have no interest in living there. I do know another Gringo that has an empty penthouse on the beach in Rodadero which he might be willing to rent out.

guacharaca comments on I wore my "NO MAS FARC" t-shirt in Skagway, Alaska today........

How many cruise ships are parked in Skagway today? In the off season, Skagway is the Taganga of the north.

guacharaca comments on calling a Colombian cell from a landline in Colombia

LilaM is correct. 035 is from cell to landline at coast. 031 from cell to landline in Bogota.

guacharaca comments on marriage in Cali

Get married in San Andreas. Take lots of photos and have them published in the newspaper in Cali. Then attach the newpaper clippings to you immigration application. It will be very convincing that your marriage is real to Immigration Canada. However, if you marry in San Andreas, make sure that all paperwork is in order for Immigration Canada. The difference between marrying in Cali and San Andreas is that the Notory in Cali makes sure that the marriage is legal....that is, he makes sure that your husband is actually single or divorced on paper before the marriage takes place. If you marry in San Andreas, the notory trusts you, as a couple, to make sure that he is legally able to marry. Immigration Canada checks up on the legality of the marriage in any situation. By the way, you would not have a prayer of getting a tourist visa from the Canadian Embassy so do not take it personally.

guacharaca comments on Colombian Grirlfriend, travel restrictions Help Please!

Just go to San Andreas. You take Copa airlines and she takes Avianca or Aero Republica and you meet at the airport. Done it, works good with no stress or uncertainties. Anything else costs more. (there is no "getting her out easily" unless she has already been out a few times before)

guacharaca comments on marriage in Cali

If he lives in Toronto or west of Toronto, he goes to the Consulate in Toronto. He needs to have someone translate his documents (does not have to be an official translator) and that someone swears in front of a notory in Canada that it is a true translation. Then those documents go to the Colombian consulate in Toronto and gets their stamp. The consulate then tells him to which office in Bogota that he has to give those documents to in order to get another stamp. If you do not have a relative in Bogota to bring your documents to that office and then forward them to you afterwards, I know someone. Then the documents go to your notory with your application for marriage. Your man will have to give you a notorised power of attourney (in Spanish) to submit the application on his behalf if he is not in Colombia. Yes you need a translator during the ceremony but it can be any kid that speaks English as long as your notory believes the kid speaks English well enough. If I were to do it over again, I would go to San Andreas. To hell with keeping the in-laws happy

guacharaca comments on What happened to the guy that used to post his grocery bill from Colombia?

If one buys a 5 ltr.bag of water instead of the jug at Olymica,it is only 1450 pesos. I am starting to believe that the monopoly (ogolopy?) held by Exito and Olymipica helps increase the prices in Colombia.

guacharaca comments on

It is all related to the US prime rate. Yes the US put it up a quarter of a percent and Uribe bought some dollars. As a result, it reduced the currency speculators and slowed that drug money returning to Colombia for a month. If the prime rate remains flat, the buck will start heading south again. US Prime rate up = peso down. US Prime rate flat or down = peso will appreciate again.

guacharaca comments on

Try Tamarindo instead. It is delicious fruit and works better. It also comes in a dehydrated form.

guacharaca comments on help please

I made the same mistake 20 years ago in Ecuador. As Gator said, an AMEX service location was the only place that exchanged them for me. Could not tell you where such a location is in Colombia though. If you brought your atm card or your visa, use it instead.

guacharaca comments on Colombian visa - any trouble with immigration into USA ?

If you are at big airport that normally sees flights from Colombia (LAX,MIA etc.), there are no problems because the agents are used to seeing travelers going to Colombia. However, when I go through YVR, the young inexperienced officers get a little nervous and figure this is their big chance to shine by saving Canada from whatever might be in my bag. Always smile and be polite as they ravage through your bags. While they are going though your bags, they also tend to get a little annoyed when you point out that their English to Chinese translations are incorrect and sound foolish. Despite what anyones says here, all other things equal, a non US citizen will always have it harder at the US Customs than a US citizen. The officers are required to be more suspicious when they see that foreign passport.

guacharaca comments on a little pedantic

I agree with BBC and I am not from the UK.

guacharaca comments on How do you deal with being apart from your Colombian/latina wife/husband/novia/novio ?

Canadaman I hope your lady lives in Peru. I suspect the wait there is less than what the residents of Colombia and Ecuador have to endure through the Canada Immigration office in Bogota. We waited 10 months for the visa after the initial filing.

guacharaca comments on Getting an ID card when emigrating to Colombia

There is a clinic about three blocks from the DAS in Bogota. They do it for 10,000 cop.

guacharaca comments on Going to Ecuador from LAX have layover in Bogata what should i know for customs/declaration process?

viajero123 is correct. Make sure your bags are tagged with the Quito airport code in BIG letters, and ¨¨bog¨¨ in smaller print.

guacharaca comments on land travel from baq to ctg

toneloc24 is correct. Furthermore, riding with Invertours is far safer than a regular bus. Regular buses pick up regular street people on route and that is not good for you if you have any attachment to your possessions.

guacharaca comments on Questions On Renewing My Cedula

The lady at the DAS said she wanted a blue background for the photos because (in my words) white gringos disappear in a photo with a white background. However, once she saw that I looked tanned in my photo with a white background, she accepted them. Application forms are available at the MRE and the DAS respectively. Don't forget to have the letter from your wife, requesting that the MRE renew your spouse visa, notarized. There is a notary a block away from the MRE (and it is not crowed). I saw another fellow at the DAS renewing his cedula and he had a blood type letter in hand (but I do not know if it is required on a renewal). The DAS can produce a cedula within two days. If you do not want to wait in Bogota for two days, the DAS gives you a slip of paper so your relatives can pick the cedula up for you.

guacharaca comments on Financial Move Opinions?

Wow...I did not realize the cost of capital was so high here. Now I understand why I see all the "se vende" signs around this city. If you do not have your own capital, you will be haemorrhaging from the wallet.

guacharaca comments on b bruce

Good story about the Pilot whale. I have spent time in Alaska & Hawaii with the whales.

guacharaca comments on What happens to the original nationality for naturalised US citizens?

The US government can not control the laws of other countries on how they react to one of their citizens naturalizing in the US. It purely depends on the laws of the other country. We naturalized US citizens understand that we can never be President of the US (by law) but we have a chance at becoming Governor of California. ColombianoGringo...Yes registering and naturalizing are different. Naturalizing requires an oath of allegiance while registering assumes that you already made that oath in the past (perhaps at birth). Your US citizenship is safe.

guacharaca comments on Financial Move Opinions?

What did you do....borrow on your credit card? Don't expect the exchange rate to improve until Obama gets in and the US is out of Iraq.

guacharaca comments on Are Colombian banks really interested in doing business or just pushing paper?

I noticed also that BanColombia's application form for a new account asks which estato the applicant lives in.

guacharaca comments on Colombia's Peso Weakens After Govt Tightens Capital Controls

and to curb speculators....which is good because even if the peso does not go down, the currency needs to be stable.

guacharaca comments on Can I request a translation?

Thank you too Juanfer. That was my Spanish lesson for the day.

guacharaca comments on Visa Renewal...some bad info...and lesson learned!

Was the document that you needed notarized, the request letter from your spouse?

guacharaca comments on

Durito is correct. No photos or fingerprints required. Only "documents" ....which equals cedula or passport. Tigo seems to be giving the best per min rates for prepago these days.

guacharaca comments on Colombia Strengthens Capital Controls to Stem Peso Appreciation

That is interesting. This could affect some future "investment visa' seekers too.

guacharaca comments on

Cold water? That is only because you are (were) at the Colombian coast. If you experienced China in the eighties, you would have seen a much worst situation for germs.

guacharaca comments on Visa Renewal

They will give you the form at the front counter at the MRE. If you are renewing a spousal visa, make sure your nortary issued marriage certificate is less than 90 day old as explained by durito above. Also don't forget your wife's request letter.

guacharaca comments on Visa Renewal

The DAS in Bogota can now give you your cedula within as little as two working days. Stay two nights at Casa Chico (a block away from the DAS) and enjoy the big rainy city and all that traffic.

guacharaca comments on I am in love

I think I saw Jade in a video once.

guacharaca comments on Investor Visa (Gator)

You already qualify for a permanent visa if you have had your spousal visa for three years. That is the reason you do not need an investor visa. Permanent visa is exactly equivalent to investor visa (an investor visa is also a permanent visa).

guacharaca comments on Colombia clowns killed on stage

Someone should tell them that politicians are clowns too.

guacharaca comments on Investor Visa (Gator)

If you have had a spousal visa for that long, I can not believe you are asking that question. You do not need an investor visa.

guacharaca comments on Colombian Investor's Visa - What is an investment?

Usually the money has to be "at risk".....but with your own home, the risk is minimal. For an exact answer, one needs to see how "investments" are defined in the "statutes and regulations of the international investments".

guacharaca comments on cedula after marriage

The process takes exactly two days to get your official cedula if, and only if, you are in Bogota with the correct documents. Since you are doing a prenup, then you are not married, Since you are not married, you can not get the temporal spousal visa, thus no cedula using this method. I do not have first hand experience getting the other types of visa. However, I do not see why you need to show you are a resident of Colombia. Usually with those type of things (marriage, divorce, prenup), most countries only require at least only one party to be a resident and I assume that your girl is a Colombian resident with a cedula.

guacharaca comments on What documents needed for Permanent Residency Visa?

Thanks. It makes sense that they would not deduct days for absenses if Colombia is copying the US two year temporary green card for newly married spouse immigration laws.

guacharaca comments on Meeting for American Citizens

The Farc has a great plan. Get all the Americans in one place......for coffee. Historically, I think the Germans used this tactic once or twice.

guacharaca comments on cedula after marriage

That database appears to be for driver's license (not cedula). But I assume that if one obtains a driver's license in Colombia, one would have to provide their cedula to that government authority. A cedula is basically the Colombian ID card so that big brother can keep an eye on all its citizens and it non-citizen residents. But it also has a lot of useful and convenient purposes too. I think Canada and the USA should adopt a similar system to control their illegal alien problem. There has been plenty of talk in the States to get a similar system, but the people rejected the idea for many reasons including the ideas presented in George Orwell's book "1984". poker11...your beating around the bush. Tell me what is your goal, or who you are hiding from, and I, or someone here, will give you a straight out, honest answer.

guacharaca comments on What documents needed for Permanent Residency Visa?

Another question on topic: Does one need to be physically here in the county for three years (do they deduct the days abroad) to get the Permanent visa? For example...If I return to Canada for four months at a time, will they exend my required stay by each of those four month periods in order to bump my temporal spousal visa up to a permanent visa?

guacharaca comments on cedula after marriage

First apply in the morning at the MRE in Bogota for your "hogar" resident visa. ($160). Don't forget your marriage certificate from the notary and your wife's request letter. Time waiting at their office=2.5 hours. They will give you a two year multiple entry visa that very morning. Then go to the DAS in the afternoon on calle 100 (Edificio Platinum) and apply for your cedula. (more money and blood test) Time waiting in their office for electronic fingerprints=30 min. Then pick up your fancy, plastic, machine readable cedula two days later. Time waiting in line = 1 min. Freedom that you no longer need to carry your passport in Colombia = priceless Yes, your mug is on the cedula and it will expire the date your visa expires. Your wife already has her own cedula.

guacharaca comments on Credit Card and ATM fees

I recommend RBC Centura Bank for atm withdrawals in Colombia. No charges and a fair exchange rate. Most US banks allow one to open an account if you are a resident in any state of the union. Some will even let you open an account if you are a resident of Canada.

guacharaca comments on Drivers License Check

Yes to your question. Colombia is a signature to the International driver permit system (but they will not call). However, a legit Colombian drivers license will not help you get an unrestricted driver's license in most other countries anyways. Also, a Colombian international drivers permit is technically only good if you are NOT a resident of that foreign country.

guacharaca comments on Which airlines service Bogota to Santa Marta

Avianca and Aerorepublica are comparable in price for that flight. Check their website and look for the "Super Promo" (< $100) fares. Sunday and Saturday can be a quarter the cost of weekdays.