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Moving to Bonaire: One way ticket entry
Bonaire Talk: Moving to Bonaire: Archives: Archives 2003 - 2007: Archives 2006-01-01 to 2007-12-31: One way ticket entry
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bas Noij (BonaireTalker - Post #34) on Monday, July 17, 2006 - 1:26 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

We are moving mid august. We have all the paperwork to get the residency permit at that time but do not have the actual permit. We have to apply for that one on island. We have booked a one way ticket with our frequent flyer points. Today I heard that we need a return ticket to get a tourist visa/permit. Is that true? A possible scenario would be for us to book an return ticket Bonaire-Amsterdam on top of the one way so that we return to Amsterdam after about 4-6 weeks and return to Bonaire 3 weeks later when we have the residency permit. Does anyone know how long the procedure will take if we are on island and can pursue it a bit personally?

Thanks! Bas and Ellie.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kevin Wayne Williams (The Great Escape) (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #180) on Monday, July 17, 2006 - 2:00 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

You need to talk to immigration directly. You aren't allowed to be on the island while they are processing your residency unless you are able to persuade them to give you a waiver.

I applied December 19, 2004 and received residency June 29, 2005. I'm told that I got mine pretty quickly.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bas Noij (BonaireTalker - Post #35) on Monday, July 17, 2006 - 2:53 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Oh my god...that would be very very bad news for us! I will make some calls and try to find out more. Can you not even be on the island as a tourist while they process the application? Does it make a difference that we are Dutch? If I find out more I'll post here.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Antony Bond (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #112) on Monday, July 17, 2006 - 5:07 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

It is possible to just go to Aruba while they deal with your application.

You only need to be off island for three days at a specific time during the application. Not for the whole process.

Look on the website for Sunbelt Reality, it has plenty of information of this kind.

Tony..............

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Phil Bennett (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #6) on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 - 6:06 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Now I'm confused. I have read different versions of how to get residence permit. Can I somehow apply before I get there? Do I just tell immigration when I get there that I'm going to apply & then do it locally or is there something else involved?
Is there a definitive government website anywhere??

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kevin Wayne Williams (The Great Escape) (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #183) on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 - 9:29 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

The Sunbelt Realty site has the best collection of information. I am not aware of a government website that details it.

Basically, you need to show up early in the morning Tuesday through Thursday at the government office, and they will give you a piece of cardboard with a number on it. When they get to that number, you will be allowed in, where you need to present a letter from your local police authority stating that you don't have a criminal record, an apostilled copy of your birth certificate and marriage license, a letter from your doctor stating that you carry no contagious diseases, and proof that you have money (I don't know the details of acceptable proofs and amounts). You have to file copies of everything again with the census office, and bring evidence of that to the immigration office. Some highly variable amount of time later, you will get a permit. The rules for how long you have to leave the island, exactly when, and how to get it waived are very unclear to me, and I have not heard anyone ever provide a good explanation of them. I had that waived because they understood that I couldn't keep the hotel open if I left the island.

It's a frustrating and slow process, but faster and less frustrating than immigrating to the US.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Phil Bennett (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #8) on Thursday, July 20, 2006 - 6:18 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Thanks: Is it correct that we have to have the residence permit to get our household goods? If so that presumable means that they have to be stored for an undetermined amount of time while we sleep on the floor. Maybe I'm missing something (other than furniture)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kevin Wayne Williams (The Great Escape) (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #185) on Thursday, July 20, 2006 - 8:50 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

You can post a bond with customs to be allowed entry to the container. It's more than the estimated duty for the goods in the event that you don't get a residence exemption, but you get it refunded if the residence is granted or when you take everything back off the island if residence is denied.

 


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