Expert: MRZ - 3/2/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hi Marta.  First and foremost thank you for helping us all.! Marta I am a Canadian citizen.  With my family of five we are planning to move to Colombia in one year to do free lance humanitarian work, and we are driving down from Canada.  One; Once in Panama, how do I get my vehicle across the ocean into Colombia.  Can I get a temporary permit to drive my vehicle in Colombia without having to pay taxes.  Two, can I open a bank account in Colombia, and what would I need for this, and three, is it correct that w would get a 90 day visa and then have to renew it back on at DAS in Medellin or Bogota for only one month.  Thank you

ANSWER: Hi Alfonso,
You can obtain a temporary permit to enter your vehicle to Colombia, however it is only valid for 3 months and you have to obtain a new one every time by driving the car out of the country. You can enter the car by boat from Panama to Colombia.
You can obtain a Temporary Working Visa, if you are a foreigner working as a volunteer or missioner for a religious association, who is not a member of its organization. This would be your best bet to get a long time Visa, you of course would have to find an organization to sponsor you.
Otherwise you should just get a tourist visa and get it renewed every 90 days with DAS.
You can only open a bank account in Colombia with a longer time visa, the temp. working visa would qualify you, since you need a cedula de extranjeria to be able to open an account.
If you need any other info or you need help with any type of visa you can reach us directly at info@colombianpossibilities.com
Thanks
Marta

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you Marta.  Any idea on the name of companies and so forth to contact in order to get a quote for boating my SUV from Panama to Colombia please?  Also if instead of opening up a bank account I get sent money orders to Colombia, how do I exchange them?  Thank you

Answer
Hi Alfonso,
You would be hard pressed to find someone or even a bank that would allow you to exchange money orders in Colombia. My suggestion would be for you to just have an account in your country and have an ATM card to withdraw money here in Colombia. Of course you would be subject to paying the usual 3% fee to withdraw money in a foreign country and the best way to get around that is to open a Paypal account, get a Paypal debit card and have someone transfer money into it, and you withdraw here, Paypal only charges $1 per withdrawal even if it is international.
Email these folks, they will be the ones to guide you with transporting your car: info@zulysbackpackers.com, they are also a good and inexpensive place to stay. Let me check companies that transport vehicles, give me a day and please contact me at my email, info@colombianpossibilities.com
Thanks
Marta