www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Those of us that travel to Asia tend to fill up passports quickly. I got extra pages added in Singapore in less than an hour for free. Soon that is going to cost $82.

From http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#documentDetail?R=0900006480a8ffe8

"Department of State is proposing to increase the fee for a passport book application (including renewals) from $55 to $70; the fee for passport book security from $20 to $40; and the fee for obtaining additional visa pages from $0 to $82."

The $15 or $20 increases aren't a big deal, but $82 for extra pages is. If your passport is almost full and you're overseas, you might want to go an embassy ASAP. (Might need an appointment). It's much quicker than doing it in the US.

I think this was supposed to happen in April, but it seems to be getting delayed.

Add them now if you can because it is free unless you require expedited service(two week return). I had mine expedited at a cost of $60 plus overnight return shipping. The normal wait for free additional pages is 4-6 weeks so if you don't have a trip planned and are running low on pages send it off now before the price increase.

The best thing to do when you renew your passport is to request one with 48 pages, saves you from having to add more pages and costs nothing more (at least when I renewed mine).

I just checked to make sure I have enough pages and noticed that the new e-stamp Costa Rica is using on the passports doesn't fit in one box. Each passport page has four squares but CR's new stamp is a narrow rectangle that is longer than the provided squares. Thus I have some pages now with only two stamps instead of four with the old stamp.

I have also had extra pages put in my passport for free at foreign-based US Embassies, but it was always my understanding that the US Embassies overseas did it for free -- but if you get it done in the US, fees are charged. I think it might be just those fees that you pay to have it done in the US that are rising... but then again, the deficit has to be paid for somehow and it wouldn't surprise me if they started charging overseas as well. (And despite the fact that there is a lot of propaganda and spin from Washington about todays income taxes being the lowest since 1995, they're not counting the other taxes like fee hikes such as these - and the devaluation of the dollar in many foreign markets.)

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LIVIN' IT UP WHILE GOIN' DOWN!
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What a money grab. They could at least make it good for 15 years with the new higher cost.

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Go Dolphins!!!

How serious is foreign immigration about denying someone entrance to a country because of too many stamps? Looking at my passport, I've got 4-5 stamps on all pages up thru # 24. Is the inside back cover ok for entrance stamps-it's blank? If not, I guess I could rip out the Brazil visa from my passport to free up a page.

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"cuz I'm a back-door man" Jim Morrison-1969

Next time you are in CR and have some down time during the day go to the embassy and take your passport to have the pages added . As of now it is free and the time I spent was like an hour. You give them the passport and they call your name and give it back full of extra pages and you are set. OK just a suggestion to burn some time during the day.

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Always nice to wake up and see what will happen today

Can you request the extra pages at any time?
I have only used about a page on my passport, but would like to get the extra pages while it's free, but don't want them to sent it back telling me that I haven't used it enought to worry about adding pages.

I'll be in sjo next month. How do I get to the embassy from the gulch?

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"cuz I'm a back-door man" Jim Morrison-1969

Take the Hershey Highway to calle 120

http://sanjose.usembassy.gov/conscitizen.html

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Living well is the best revenge
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You can take a taxi cost about 3500 colones. You can take the Pavas bus from the south side of the Coca Cola mercado which is at avenida 1 calle 16 y 18 cost about 225 colones.

Consulate is only open in the morning except on Mondays when they also have afternoon hours.There is usually a long line just go to the door ring the bell and show your passport to get admitted without standing in line.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
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Alex Levine

Thanks for the info ID & PL. I'll be making my 1st trip to Pavas next month to get the new pages. Now if only there were an mp in the neighborhood...

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"cuz I'm a back-door man" Jim Morrison-1969

Here's a report on my excursion to the embassy to get another 24 passport pages. All in all it was extremely quick & cheap.

I hopped in a cab in Barrio Amon @ 8:30am & was back @ my hotel @ 10am, total time 1 1/2 hrs., travel time included. There were loooong lines to get on the embassy grounds & on the property but being a U.S. citizen has its privileges in this place. You go to the front of these lines & quickly get to the waiting area. I got a #, filled out a form & my number was called in about 15 mins. Sat back down, 15 mins. later my name was called & my passport w/the add pages was ready. All very efficient. Hopped in a cab returned to the gulch.

The additional pages were free, my only expense was the $14usd round-trip cab fare. Now I'm passport ready for many more mongering trips. So if your in the need for some more pages, this is the cheap & easy way to go.

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"cuz I'm a back-door man" Jim Morrison-1969

This is from the Passport website, under "Fees". What crap. Has anybody ever read about the embassy in CR helping anybody who was robbed?

The reason for the increased fees is to maintain the hundreds of lazy civil service workers they employ who do not do much in a day. If they cut some of the fat (figuratively and literally), they could get it done with no increases. But this is another inefficient, bureaucratic office, so that would never happen.


What would the embassy do if you were a victim of a crime and had nothing? Would they give you a temporary passport if you didn't have the money to pay for it? I doubt it. You'd be stuck in Costa Rica.