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I need to renew my passport and I’m considering getting a passport card as well. Are the passport card accepted by the authorities in costa Rica, Panama, and Nicaragua?
According to
[ http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppt_card/ppt_card_3926.html ]
“The U.S. Passport Card can be used to enter the United States from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda at land border crossings or sea ports-of-entry and is more convenient and less expensive than a passport book. The passport card cannot be used for international travel by air.”
The boldfaced type is included on the State Department website …
Although it cannot be used for “international travel by air”, I can not find anything that says whether you can use it if – for example – you decided to drive down from the U.S. to Costa Rica …
I would doubt it though as the paper shufflers and bureaucrats in most Central American countries LOVE to put their stamps on documents …
Hope that helps…
Scott
Whether the Immigration officers at the various ports of entry have ever seen or heard of a “passport card” is an open question. Whether you fly, drive, walk or come by boat, you’re likely to encounter an officer who’s looking for a conventional passport. For the minor inconvenience of having to carry a passport, I sure wouldn’t run the risk of being denied entry. Why confuse things?
To quote that renowned Scottish explorer, Hugo First, “You never want to be at the front of any parade.”
To quote that renowned Scottish explorer, Hugo First, “You never want to be at the front of any parade.”
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Sorry, but I had to add a Texas truth to the above axiom. We have horses toward the end of our parades. So, to add to David’s wisdom, “you never want to be “bringing up the rear” of any (Texas) parade!
The passport card is only good for [b][/b]ENTRY INTO[b][/b] the States [b][/b]FROM[b][/b] Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda – but not by air.
Don’t confuse the Passport Card with “GLOBAL ENTRY” which can be used for air travel to the States and allows you to bypass those long lines at us immigration.If you are here in Costa Rica, the good news is that it is much easier and faster to get the renewal done here at the embassy than it in the States.
Having said that, if you are in the States and need it done in a hurry there are services available (for a hefty fee) that will get the renewal done in only 2-3 days.
Some friends that were coming to visit recently discovered on a Sunday night that they had less than 3 months left on their passports. That night they went to a drug store and got their photos done, downloaded the forms from the expediting service, filled them out and fed-ex’d everything Monday morning. He called Tuesday morning to check, and the manager of the Miami office explained that Philadelphia office had a lighter workload and because of their relationship with the passport office there, they were the best shot at getting this done – so he over-nighted them to Philly (arrived Wednesday morning). Thursday morning at 10AM fed-ex delivered the two brand new passports to my friend’s office, and they were able to depart on schedule, the next morning …….. of course they arrived with about $1,000 less than they had on Sunday when they discovered the problem!
Renewal passports in less than a week – it can be done, for a price!
Just adding a detail to CRBill’s advice above . . .
If you lose your passport while in Costa Rica and need a replacement in order to leave the country, you can get an expedited replacement at the U.S. Embassy in Pavas.
BUT BEWARE! You ABSOLUTELY MUST bring your ticket out of the country to prove to the Embassy staff that this is an urgent situation. No ticket, no emergency replacement. It would be good, too, to have a photocopy of the lost passport and probably another piece of photo identification.
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