Getting into Paraguay an Adventure in Bureaucracy

Getting into Paraguay: an Adventure in Bureaucracy

Paraguay is one of the few South American nations that require New Zealanders to reap a visa to go into, and at US$seventy five for a unmarried access or $one hundred for multiple, it`s now no longer a reasonably-priced one. Last year, touring thru South America with a set of 3 different Kiwis on a good time budget, it simply didn`t appear really well worth the fee, or as a minimum now no longer for the time we ought to provide to Paraguay. This year, Craig and I determined to fork out. After all, we figured, he has a UK passport and British residents don`t require a visa, so we`d handiest want one among the 2 of us… and if we stayed for every week that turned into handiest approximately $10 in line with day. And virtually we ought to save $10 an afternoon on what we`d been spending in costly Brazil… yes. The maths worked, and we determined to head for it.

For a few reason, locating records approximately who desires visas to go into which nations is one of the maximum tough duties concerned in travel, and the Paraguay visa records turned into even extra elusive than maximum. I trawled the net, searching for an legit internet site to provide me the records I wished, finally turning to the forums. There, I observed out the fee and that I ought to get a visa in Foz do Iguaçu, which turned into going to be our final forestall earlier than coming into Paraguay anyway. I stopped analyzing and determined to go away it till I were given there.

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Encarnacion

We arrived in Foz on an in a single day bus and checked right into a lodge earlier than venturing out to discover the Paraguayan consulate. It turned into marked at the map we`d picked up withinside the bus station, however I determined to revisit the beneficial discussion board submit I`d observed simply to double-check, which turned into really the proper decision. I mentioned the cope with and additionally study that I wished a passport picturegraph in addition to a credit score card and US$seventy five for the fee. Luckily, I continually have some passport snap shots on hand, so I threw a pair into my passport and we headed out the door.
The consulate turned into marked in extra or much less the proper area at the map, however having the cope with made it lots less complicated to discover. The sign up the door stated the workplace might receive files for visas till 2.30pm. I glanced at my watch: 2.05. Just in time. We had been met on the door with the aid of using a pleasant consulate worker, who defined what we had to have with us (fortunately we had it all), and who then gave us a slip of paper to take to the financial institution 3-and-a-1/2 of blocks away.

At the financial institution, a financial institution worker deposited our 127 reals (which to my reckoning turned into pretty lots much less than US$seventy five, however oh well…) withinside the consulate`s financial institution account. We walked lower back to the consulate, exceeded over the receipt, passport and picturegraph, stuffed in some paperwork and… waited. I`d concept I`d be instructed to return back lower back withinside the morning, however in reality they didn`t inform us anything. We waited withinside the workplace in which I`d stuffed withinside the paperwork, using an open net connection to fill the time.

An hour or so later (ninety mins in view that we`d first arrived on the consulate) I turned into given my passport and we had been unfastened to go away. And unfastened to go into Paraguay! Sure, it had taken a protracted time, however appreciably much less than the total day I`d expected.

The subsequent day we hopped on a public bus to take us over the border. I requested the motive force to forestall at customs, in view that we needed to byskip thru passport manage to formally depart Brazil and input Paraguay — there are massive fines in case you don`t do that. He now no longer handiest had no trouble with that, he additionally gave me blue slips of paper and instructed me we ought to hop lower back on the subsequent bus that got here alongside to take us throughout the bridge. Awesome.
The cooler choice than on foot

We exceeded thru Brazilian customs with out a hitch, in view that we hadn`t misplaced the all-vital white papers we`d been given on arrival. Back out of doors again, a bus turned into simply pulling up. We confirmed our blue tickets and the motive force instructed us to get on thru the lower back door, glaringly now no longer looking us to byskip thru the turnstile which registers the quantity of passengers, in view that we weren`t paying any other fare. We rode throughout the Friendship Bridge in relative comfort, now no longer envying the loads of human beings on foot throughout withinside the noon heat. A short time later we disembarked again, to go into Paraguay.
The customs officer took my passport and gave a small nod on locating the visa withinside the proper area. He stamped me in and I sighed in relief. Craig exceeded over his UK passport and turned into in addition stamped in… it turned into as clean as that. There turned into even an records workplace withinside the equal room, in which we were given sufficient records to plot our complete trip, and, extra importantly, our complete day.

Conclusion

Getting to Paraguay clearly wasn`t a quick, clean, or reasonably-priced process, however we were given there withinside the end. And it turned into clearly really well worth it… however that`s any other story.

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