venezuela info!
 

hi, Im looking to fly into chile from the uk in the next couple of weeks ( probably santiago). I have a uk passport. I intentd to buy a bike and tour south america. My rough route will take me north to bolivia then peru, ecuador, columbia, venezuela, brazil, paraguay, argentina and then back to chile to sell the bike. Im looking at 10 to 12 months to do this.
I have been resurching entry requiements for each country and it seems as if entry is simply sorted at the boarder to each country with-out having to make any previous arrangement for myself or my bike. HOWEVER, Venezuela seems to be an exception (if entering by land) and also the rules are not very clear for columbia. If anyone can shed any light on either of these two countries or tell me I am mistaken on the rules of the other countries I have mentioned, Please post a reply!


anyone selling a bike in satiago?

would also like to hear from anyone who would like to join me along the way!

thanks in advance for any replies

david.

Hi David
Looks like you will beat me through but I will be travelling through Colombia/Venuezuela about late April. If you are around...

also am very interested in Venezuela border requirements - if you could let me know how you get on I'll owe you a beer!

A simple search of the Venezuelan Embassy in United Kingdom webisite states that if entering by land or sea you need to apply for a tourist visa prior to entry. It seems the airlines are allowed to issue on the spot visas. I would guess you would need to plan out which country to apply for the visa at the respective Venezuelan consulate. I would confirm beforehand that the Venezuelan consulate in the country issues the visa to UKers.

You should also call the VZ embassy in UK to get the latest and more accurate info.

NZ seems to be the same.

Do I get a beer now?


Check it out= http://venezuela.embassyhomepage.com..._london_uk.htm

phoned the embassy in london yesterday (thanks for the link and info BklynDakar). They told me that to enter a land boarder I need a tourist visa, it cost about £30 and lasts 1 year, only valid for 90 days entry. I need to arange this before hand and it takes about 3 working days. They assured me that no prior arrangement is needed for the bike, sorted at boarder!
hope this info helps someone!
If anyone has the same info for colombia I would love to here from you!

david.

Try this link. I don't seen England listed as a country not needed tourist visas and I checked several sites. Seems weird that Canada and USA would be listed and not UK. Maybe you could try searching yourself and tell us what you find.

http://colombia.embassyhomepage.com/index.htm

Thanks once again to BklynDakar for the link! I emailed the embassy in London and this was their reply:


Yes, as a British passport holder, you do NOT require a visa to enter
Colombia as a tourist.

Technically, ou are allowed to stay up to 180 days (6 months) in Colombia,
however upon arrival, immigration will stamp your passport with probably 30
- 60 days.

Just before these days are over, you must go to any DAS (Gov. office that
regulates immigration) in any city in Colombia and request an "extension".
This "extension" will give you another 30 days and so forth ... The
"extension" will cost aprox 10£.

In regards to yoru motorbike, I beliebe that as long as your bike document's
are in order,(licence, registration etc ..), you should be fine.

I hope the above information is useful to you.

Kind regards,

Nicole Schmidt
First Deputy Consul
Colombian Consulate General


So it seems the only country along my preposed rout that I require a visa and thus prior arrangement is Venezuel, all other countries I simply sort at each land boarder!
PLEASE correct me if Im wrong!

You might want to email them and tell them to correct their website.

News to me!!
 

I have never needed a visa for any of 12 Latin American countries, including Venezuela and Colombia. As for importing the bike, the only place that gave me any hassle was Costa Rica. You just need the title, a driving licence, a passport and the tenacity to find the Aduana. It's easy really.

Suerte

You can get the visa at the boarder for you and your bike
 

No worries about getting the tourist visa beforehand. They will do it for you at the boarder. 90 days for both you and the bike. I had german friends that rode in from Columbia last winter and they didn't need to get visas early. You'll be fine!



Ciao
Susan

Venezuela
 

David, send me a note a few (at least 3) weeks before you come to Venezuela. As the rules are always the same, there might be tips to enter.
There are lots of bikes to buy in Venezuela but due to import duties the prices here might be higher than elsewhere.
Teo