Venezuela/Colombia - How long can a bike be stored?
 

Anyone know what the temporary import limits are, or if we can leave a bike stored for 10-months?

Thanks!

Naughty but...
 

Not exactly what you're looking for but...

Earlier this year I left my bike in Bogota whilst I left the country. When I returned a month later my TIP had expired. I exited to Ecuador from Ipiales where the border layout is such that I was able to ride straight past a long line of traffic, past customs and into the main car park. From there I got my passport stamped at Migracion and rode across the bridge to Ecuador.

I'll find out in Dec/Jan if I've caused myself a problem regarding re-entry but as I'll be arriving at the border with my bike and a passport full of other stamps it was obviously a clerical error right!:innocent:

By the way...I read loads of your blog before leaving home back in 2006...nice one!

Cheers

Adam

Heya Adam, temporary thread jack here, what is a TIP?

Tip...
 

No worries guys!

TIP - Temporary Import Permit

:blushing: ... I shoulda known, thanks for that, better find out all about that too!!

I just picked up a bike I left in Bogota for 10 months after an accident - I was able to get an extension on my permiso with copies of hospital bills, a letter from the police up in El Cucoy etc but did have to track down a letter from the mechanics where the bike was stored saying the bike was not ridable as well - the bike not being ridable seemed to be the key.

From what I could gather at the DIAN office in Bogota without that info there would have been a rather large problem as the DIAN agents all seemed very upset that my permiso had expired, so you may need to get creative with why the bike was left.

Venezuela
 

Just arrived in Venezuela and got a full page stamp in my passport for the bike.

I guess that rules out leaving one here.

So how long can the bike stay in Venezuela?

as far as I know, legaly, only 6 months.

Do you guys know if you can fly out of Venezuela leaving the bike there with the intention of returning within the 6 month permit limit or will they stop you from leaving with out the bike even if the bike hasnt gone past the permits expiration date?

I don't know but I'm going to damn sure try or lose my passport. I've got ticket to fly on March 1 and talking with another local who travels back and forth from Colombia/Venezuela said it wasn't a problem. I'll let you know how it worked out.

90 day import is the standard from what I've learned.

My bikes been in Colombia 7+ months and I'm not thinking its a problem yet but will know here in a few days when I head to Ecuador from Colombia and turn around and head back North.

John in Cali getting ready for more:funmeteryes:

You will be given a maximum of 90 days when you enter. But you can ask for an extension for another 90 days at any Seniat office in Venezuela. But beware: When you go at the other office and ask for the extension, they will probably not know that this is permitted in the law, you will have to insist. The procedure is that this office calls the original office where you got your permit, and it is that office which faxes back the extension. So in fact what you receive is a "copy" of the original permit. If you get asked for the permit later on by a national guard and you show that piece of paper, he will ask for the original... you will have to explain that this IS the original, it arrived by fax etc etc... very complex situation, so just ask at the office that hands you the extension to stamp it so that you transform that copy into an "original", with a Seniat stamp....
I went through that once so spare yourself the problem of facing a national guard who says that you carry a homemade fake.. (that is what the faxed copy looks like anyway...)

As for the other question about leaving the bike behind and going out of Venezuela, I did it numerous times, by land and from the airport and never had a problem.