PASSPORT RENEWAL TIPS:
Because of 9/11, ex-pats can no longer renew a US passport in the United States. They must do this instead at the nearest US Consulate.
Bonaire’s nearest US Consulate is located at J.B. Gorsiraweg 1, Willemstad, on a hill overlooking Punda. The phone number is 9-461-3066. Passport Services is ext. 225. The fax is 9-461-6489.
However, nobody ever seems to answer the phone. The one time somebody tried to call me back was at a time I had left word I would not be home. The e-mail address (info@amcongencuracao.an) posted on their web site has not worked recently.
The Consulate web site (www.curacao.usconsulate.gov) is out of date. I was told they are “working on it.”
Follow the rules posted there, however, NOT what the US passport web site says. You also can download the DS-82 form for renewals on the Consulate web site.
The best way to ensure you adhere to whatever the rules are on that day is to go to the Consulate in person.
You cannot walk there. Take a taxi or other car.
Currently Passport Services maintains a walk-in window from 9 to 11 on M, W, & F mornings.
Allow plenty of time to get through Security. Bring with you as little as possible. You will not be allowed to enter with cosmetics. Evidently a lipstick could contain a bomb. I was allowed to carry in only my passport, money, and application papers and photos. Everything else I had to leave at the entrance. The process also involves more than the usual airport scrutiny. They will touch things with explosives-detecting paper, and they will wand you from head to toe. If you want to avoid embarrassment, do not wear a dress or skirt, since the wand must go all the way up the inner as well as outer thighs. Avoid clothing with a metal zipper if possible. The gentleman on duty when I entered knew very little English, but he was helpful and courteous in these awkward circumstances.
Be sure to bring your old passport. It will be returned to you with your new one.
Currently only ONE photo is required. Since each of the three sets of passport photos I obtained in the US contained a somewhat different size face, I took all three sets with me. The people I dealt with at the Consulate cared about this less than the photo’s brightness because the photo itself will not be contained in your new passport. Instead, the image will be scanned.
I had obtained at MCB Bank in Playa a cashiers check for the required $67. Five people participated in the issuing process, and the check then went to a bank officer for signature. Everyone involved understood its purpose.
Yet when I presented it at the Consulate, a clerk, an official, and the Consulate cashier all determined it was not a valid cashiers check in the United States. They believed it could be interpreted as made out to MCB instead of to the US government. They said it was not negotiable in the US. So my cashiers check was refused. (It looked fine to me.) Fortunately, I was allowed to pay cash, which I had thought was impossible.
Currently the Consulate in Curacao wants the cashiers check made out to US Disbursing Officer. I had previously heard it should be made out to US Department of State but also read it should read: Passport Services. Perhaps the Consulate will clarify this soon.
If you want a longer passport (certainly advisable for Americans who travel a lot), write and sign a request for a 48-page passport. You will receive this longer passport at no extra charge.
Go to Rocargo and prepay an International airways FedEx form and take that and a FedEx envelope with you to the Consulate. Address it to yourself on Bonaire.
I dropped off my application on a Wednesday morning. Rocargo delivered my new passport to my home exactly one week later. Amazing!
If all else fails and you simply must have a specific response to a question, you can hope the nice Consular Assistant who agreed to let me pay the fee in cash in guilders is still there. Her name is Saskia T. Rozier, and her business card says her e-mail is rozierst@state.gov
Despite the difficulties which I encountered at the Consulate, I am so glad I went there. Had I submitted the application via mail or FedEx, it would have been returned to me. In person, you should solve any problem quickly.
PS, MCB cheerfully refunded my money, although they found the rejection I encountered puzzling. So do I.

I renewed mine in March. You can do the whole process by FedEx, and don't ever have to visit Curacao in person (I'm surprised you were allowed to ... when I called, they claimed they wouldn't allow an Antilles resident to do it in person). You FedEx the application, your old passport, the check, and a return FedEx envelope.

I had a similar problem with the check. I had MCB issue me a second check drawn on the Bank of America, and it was accepted without difficulty. Apparently, our embassy refuses to do anything with the local banking system.

I need new pages in my passport..what to do?? I have little space left in mine.

My MCB cashiers check WAS drawn on Bank of America, Kevin.
Yes, you can use FedEx, but I have spoken with people who had to apply more than once, running up FedEx costs and lengthening the whole process, because their first application was rejected. And you're another such person. I could not waste the time, and I wanted to see Kura Hurlanda and the synagogue--extraordinary experiences, both. They are among the major sights of this hemisphere.
The process seems to have changed somewhat since one year ago, Kevin. I spoke to Ruth about her experiences, and the rules keep shifting.
New pages are free, Ann. Take or send your passport and get them added to your current passport. You don't need to renew your passport to do this. You do need to put your request in writing and sign that.

Ok, if I still have a house in the US, when I visit, can't I have my passport done while I'm visiting the states?

That depends on what the US government thinks is your legal residence.
Do you pay resident income taxes to the US and no income taxes to the NA, or do you pay resident income taxes to the NA and non-resident taxes to the US? What have you declared is your legal residence?
And do you still pay resident income taxes to the state in the US where your US house is located?
I am a legal resident of Bonaire and a US expat. Therefore I could not renew in the US. I have registered with the State Department as an expat.
Has your passport been stamped by Bevolking (sorry; don't know the spelling offhand) as a resident? Mine was stamped there (meaning I registered as a resident here) several years ago.
I have no permanent US residence.
You would know best whether you are a US resident or an NA resident. i posted my information for NA residents.
Good luck working this out, Liz! And no need to try to respond to these questions on BT! They are for your use only.

Tish,
I can tell they change. Like I said, when I went, they said that I wasn't permitted to do it in person. I already was going to Curacao that day, called to make an appointment, and they insisted that I do it FedEx. For security reasons, they weren't allowing US citizens in the US embassy.

Right! Got it! That change is an improvement: walk-in hours, no appointment required.

I know State has a reputation for being unfriendly to US citizens overseas but what 'security reasons' close any embassy to US citizens? Sounds as though they have it backward.

Curiouser and curiouser.

After 9/11, the embassy/consulate in CUR went thru major "enhancements" (read: bigger walls, sand-bags, razor wire, security gate w/guards, etc). It was supposed to have been closed (pre 9/11), but now that the Dutch & Americans work together more closely re: drug trafficking, and the Americans have/share a base there, the consulate stayed. If you go to the Denny's, you'll see the Marine's entrance to the port they use. The guard in uniform with the mirror on the long stick inspecting the underside of entering cars is the tip-off.

I've had nothing but good experiences there, and expected the intense search at the entrance. I got the impression that they were simply understaffed, hence had limited hours for walk-ins.

Ok so to understand this, if I need new pages, I simply send my passport to the CUR address via FEDEX and asked them to add pages in a formal request/letter? What is the FEDEX address please? Thanks all.

Ann
It seems from their Website that Rocargo is the Fedex presence on Bonaire.
Mickey

No, please, the CUR/US Embassy website..thanks Mickey..

Ann, I don't understand your last post. What is it you need?
The web site for the Curacao Consulate is in my first post at the top of this thread.
Be sure that you are on Bonaire when you do this. You would not want to be stuck in the US without a passport, and FedEx packages from the US to the NA often get rerouted to the Netherlands or otherwise go astray.
I was very lucky I got such fast service, but it's not guaranteed, so do this when you won't need your passport for a while.

If I need new pages, I FEDEX from BON to CUR using:

US Consulate is located at J.B. Gorsiraweg 1, Willemstad as an address and send a letter asking for new pages? There is no fee? Do they FEDEX back and do I send payment for this?

Please and thanks..

You do just what I described that I did, supply a return FedEx pre-paid International airways form. Rocargo knows just how to do this. They told me people often come to them for this. You must address that pre-paid form to yourself.
I think the answers to your questions are likely all in my initial post.
As I said, there is no fee for extra pages.

Here Ann:

http://www.amcongencuracao.an/

Hope that helps

Jon, thanks!
The consulate handed me a printed form with that other url on it, but it's not working at all. The one you supplied does, but it contains somewhat out of date info for the renewal process.
The process which I describe at the top of this thread is up to date as of right now.
Ann does not need to worry about all that, however. She is not renewing, but only getting extra pages.

The url issue perfectly illustrates the frustration of trying to renew a passport on Bonaire.
Because my url was not working, I used the one Jon supplied to go to the Consulate site and access the passport renewal directions. That form, posted on Jon's site, still lists the url which I supplied as the correct url. And nowhere does it mention the url Jon supplied.
ARRRRRGH!
I guess passport services at the Consulate must be understaffed.

Tish, as with anything US Govt related, go to the source web site. In this case, www.state.gov.

I understand that the ConsGen and staff in Curacao are pretty pre-occupied with counter-narc and Intel issues regarding places just south of Bonaire at the moment--probably will be for the foreseeable future as well.

If I'm not mistaken, they also have a tight deadline at the end of April to compile and coordinate the NA and Aruba law enforcement stats from 2005. No small task, since the US started basing significant counter-narc/counter-terror assets at the airport on Curacao

If you are saying folks can reach the Curacao Consulate by going through the US government website, well, okay, if that is true, but why not go direct?
If you are telling people to get passport info by going to the US site, I disagree. I did that at first, but I wasted my time and confused myself by doing so.
I started this thread because the information on the US site does NOT apply to ex-pats. Some of it is the same as the info on the Consulate site, but a lot of it is not, and the US site will confuse US residents of Bonaire.
Just as US tax laws are different for ex-pats, the passport rules also differ.
Thanks for your other insights, Jon Very interesting!!

Tish, you're right...

Find me a sub-department or any other remote or unattached activity of the US Govt and they're all pretty clueless!

Taxes? You still file? If all your income is earned overseas--and you live overseas--then you don't even need to file. Well, unless you plan on coming back for any length of time, then I guess those IRS ********** could nail you on a technicality.

But back to the question at hand...

What I was saying, is that the core State Department website carries the most current regs and laws. Not anything against the NA CONSGEN, but just a matter of fact.

My best operating procedure is to get on the phone and make sure you take full names from the person from whom you're receiving information--whether in the US or in Curacao. It's all a CYA exercise with bureaucrats.

Cheers Love!
Jonny

P.S. And yes, it's all very confusing. Moreover, no, I don't believe State treats US citizens right! We should go to the head of the line...ya?

Not true, Jon, on both subjects.
The State Department website might appear to cover it all, but in fact it doesn't. If I had followed the instructions there, my application for renewal would have been denied. I started this thread for a very good reason.
Indeed, the publishers of the Bonaire Reporter, who renewed their own passports recently, are so aware of this that they are publishing my tips in the next issue. Those of us who live on Bonaire have had a tough time getting the facts. Please don't confuse us by sending island residents to the wrong set of instructions.
I'm amused at your suggestion about telephoning. That doesn't work either, as I explained in my initial posting.
And all US citizens, no matter where they live, must file a US tax return. They must use a different set of forms and rules from those which US residents use. The booklet US residents use does not work for us.
I assume you must live in the US. You wouldn't be making your assumptions if you had lived on Bonaire for several years.
Have you read Don't Stop the Carnival? It doesn't cover these topics, but it does demonstrate that the islands have their own ways. Carnival season might be a good time to read it. Enjoy!

Tish,
Thanks for the information about passport renewal. Mine still has a few years left, and by that time may be the US government will come out with a different set of rules!!
I also understand that US citizens must file income tax no matter where they reside, but since living on the island, I was told by several long term residents, retired and still working folks, that expats don't have to file income tax. True or False? My accountant in the States has no clue. We are the first customers he has that retired overseas.

The statement that expats don't have to file US income tax returns is false. I don't know any US citizen officially living here who is under that misconception.
I would suggest that you not use a US accountant who has no experience filing ex-pat taxes. There are different forms, different instructions, different most everything.
I taught myself to do the ex-pat taxes. (I have always done my own.) When the IRS disagreed with something I did, I persevered and the auditor changed his mind.
Otherwise, ask other US ex-pats who does their US taxes.
There are several island accountants who can do your Netherlands Antilles taxes and even work with your US accountant. I do use an island accountant because the forms are in Dutch, a language I have yet to master.
Good luck to you!

I know a few ex-pats that say that, but they all seem to be aware that they are committing a criminal act ... they just don't think that they will get caught. Even Jon seems to be aware that if you don't file, you can't go back to the US. I don't think that you can even renew your passport. I seem to remember having to fill out a form that allowed the consulate to notify the IRS of my location in order to get my passport renewed.

I was not asked to fill out such a form, but I notified the IRS, the State Department, and whoever else when I moved to Bonaire.
Maybe when we become a Kingdom Island we will fall under the tax treaty between the Netherlands and the US designed to prevent double taxation.

While we live on Saba and not Bonaire, both are currently part of the Netherlands Antilles. We received our new renewal passports today -- sent them via FedEx on March 3 -- 2 weeks to the day. I was impressed. I called the Consulate in Curacao, spoke with someone who then sent me an e-mail with proper information. Worked smooth as silk. Interestingly, along with our passports we received our IRS refund check for 2004 (we filed late). I was wondering how they managed to do that -- especially within a two week period including shipping to and from Curacao. This was one of the most efficient operations I've seen our government complete.

for Americans living on Bonaire all the forms are available at the Trans world radio. They come with full instructions and addresses, etc. You need to have your photos a specified size thst is not common on island. Paradise photo can do them. It is really quite simple to renew your passport.