SurfTown wrote:
Any time they do an immigration raid, you need to have your passport to prove that you have not overstayed your 90 day stay, otherwise they have the right to put you on the bus with all the columbians etc. They can and do have the lawful right(costarican law) to detain you until you prove that you are within your 90 days.
That is why you need your passport on you, not a copy. The copy is for if you lose your passport you can get another at the US embassy to speed things up.
Most of the time they wont detain someone that looks like a week long tourist unless they get wind of it from someone that you have overstayed (wo being a resident). Not to long ago Some american that used to work at sonnys got turned in by a local (probably wanted his job) and did not have his passport on him and had to go to the clink for a stint.
ID probably knows the law better than I do though, this is what I got from watching TV, and the reports of the raids that they were doing.
Sorry, but this information is not correct.
A current B/W copy of your passport including the entry stamp is all that is required.
Many underpaid policia attempt to use the passport photocopy as a way to exact a bribe. Don't fall for it. Ask/politely demand to talk to the cop's supervisor.
I know this to be the law. Recently, the Immigration station at the airport was handing out little yellow flyers which explained this policy.
Tourists are being allowed to use a photocopy versus their real passport, because theft of the original documents has become quite a problem.
A valid U.S. passport can be worth as much as U.S.$1,000.00 on the streets.
Carry a copy.