Expert: Juan Carlos Valencia - 11/27/2008

Question
I am volunteering in the Dominican Republic for 2 weeks near the Haitian border.  Then I fly from Santo Domingo DR, to Panama City, to San Andres Colombia.  I was wondering since I am coming from the Dominican Republic, if I needed any special shots to get into Colombia.  Also I am visiting a friend in San Andres and was hoping on staying as long as possible.  Is there any way I can get a visa for 6 or more months without visiting Bogota?  Or do I have to make a trip into the main land?  What kind of visa do I get?  Thank you for your time

Answer
Dear Rachel,

I can only answer some parts of your questions as I´m not an expert on legal paperwork and visas...!

To get into Panama, you need a yellow fever vaccination and I believe that the certificate for it is the only thing that you may be asked for when entering San Andres.

This island is densely populated and the government is trying to control people coming in. That's the reason that visas there or what they call tourist cards expire fairly soon. I guess that the best thing you could do is contact the colombian embassy in the Dominican Republic. I think that the longest stay allowed with a tourist card is 90 days, but you may be able to renew it.

I hope that this helps !

San Andres is very nice, but if you can make it to the neighbouring island of Providence, that is paradise !

Good luck

JC