Michael: Back in Panama

The katamoundi
Walked through the woods below us
Scavenging for food.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

We have returned from a one night stay over in Costa Rica with renewed passports in hand. Here’s an outline of the process going from Panama to Costa Rica then back into Panama at the Rio Sereno border crossing:

1. At the Panamanian Immigration Office we were asked to show our passports and a copy of the information page. We didn’t have a copy. The kind young officer said we could go to a store just down the street to get copies. He suggested we make two copies - we’ll need one for exiting and one for returning.

2. After we made the copies and returned to the office, he stamped our passports indicating we were leaving Panama. He reminded us that on our return to Panama we would be required to show an exit stamp from Costa Rica, a copy of our passport information page, our plane tickets indicating that we would be returning to the U.S. within 6 months, and $500 each. The physical plane tickets we didn’t have, but Kimme had our itinerary on her I-Pad, which was acceptable. You also don’t have to actually have cash. A credit card voucher, money order, or traveler’s check indicating you have the $500 is also acceptable.

3. We then walked about 20 yards to the Costa Rican Immigration Office to enter Costa Rica. There we only had to fill out the declaration form you usually fill out on an airplane when you fly to another country. We had to include the flight number of our arriving plane, which we didn’t have, so we just used the same flight information we gave the Panamanian officer.

4. On returning to Panama from Costa Rica we first needed to stop at the Costa Rican office to get an exit stamp. Before we could get that we had to pay an exit tax of $8.50 each. Naturally, you don’t pay it there. We were told to walk to a store down the street and around the corner and come back with the receipts. We did.  On returning, we filled out the declaration form again and we were off to the nearby Panamanian office.

5. There we were asked for our passports, a copy of the information page, and our flight itinerary. When I took out an envelope and offered to show the officer the required cash, he politely deferred indicating that he trusted me. After worrying about traveling with all that cash, I was kind of annoyed that he didn’t at least go through the motion of counting it.

He did ask us a few questions about where we were residing in Panama, which maybe either a gotcha kind of question or an inside joke kind of a thing, as being Panamanian, he knows that no one has an address in Panama. The best we could do is give a round about description of where our little cottage is located; like in Volcan near Finca …, the fourth house on the right. It’s white with blue trim…across from Mary’s house… and you just keep on going until the officer is satisfied.

6. After that, he stamped us back into Panama and we should be good to go for another 6 months.

The way the process works, at least at Rio Sereno, it would be very easy to avoid the expense of going into Costa Rica just by walking to the Immigration offices, going through the exit process, then taking a bus or driving back to Volcan and returning the next day and go to the offices  again in the order necessary to get the exit and return stamps.  

But we very much enjoyed our stay in Costa Rica and plan on returning. We’re just hoping that we don’t have to go through the walk back and forth between the offices and stores and go through the awkward dance steps required by the process necessary to renew a tourist visa.