Expert: Cesar - 1/10/2010

Question
We weren't aware that my 80 year old Colombian mom needed a Colombian passport to enter or leave Colombia.  She has travelled with her US passport upto last year without problems.  Now she has a return ticket for Jan. 22 and was told she needed a passport.  How long do you think it takes, she doesn't even have her old Colombian passport?  It didn't occur to her to tell us this as soon as she got there, she just advised us today.  Is there anything that can be done about this.  She is in Barranquilla right now.  Thanking you in advance.

Answer
Dear May:

There is a law that is a few years old that requires Colombian citizens to use their passports. Airport agents are making more and more difficult for dual citizens to enter and leave with another passport. They want to see the Colombian passport. I have a Colombian relative who had a hard time leaving with her US passport, but was able to do it since she had an American passport and was going to the US, but she had to wait and see if a supervisor let her. I do not know if she showed an expried Colombian passport or not and that is why they let her. Maybe an agent will let your mother travel with her US passport on January 22. Normally, someone like a supervisor would have to give the okay. I suppose some people just show their US passport and not say anything about being Colombian. If asked if they are Colombian then they would need to decide what to do. I know someone who said he is American when he entered and left Colombia and only shows his American passport, but that was before agents were less strict. He has a poor English. The problem is that US the passports of naturalized citizens indicate the place of birth and therefore the agent in Colombia would notice that the person was born in Colombia and would ask for the Colombian passport. Colombian passports in other countries can be issued in just one day. Since she is in Colombia then she would need to go to a local office (the nearest Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores). The process takes a few hours. They would ask for her registry of birth, two photocopies of that, passport photos (there are stores nearby that take those photo sizes), fill out a simple form, show a Colombian ID plus enlarged photocopy of that, and to pay a fee. If the person lost the passport then the person would need to go to a notary and sign a sworn statement that says she lost it, where, and how. Most likely she would have to have someone type the letter for her so that she can take it to a notary. If you look at some US consulate websites you will see how much they charge for passports. The price for one in Colombia would vary like 30% from that price, probably less. Therefore she can go in in the morning and she would have her passport in the afternoon for something like 120 dollars (but in pesos) more or less.

The details of what is required to get a passport appears at:
http://www.gobiernoenlinea.gov.co/tramite.aspx?traID=201

Other links:
http://www.cancilleria.gov.co/wps/portal/espanol/!ut/p/c1/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xB...

http://www.cancilleria.gov.co/wps/portal/espanol

Regards,

Cesar
www.CesarUSA.com
www.ColombiaInforma.com