Back from Bolivia with no passport?

February 9, 2006 8:02 AM

My Dad, a British Citizen, is currently in Bolivia and has had his passport stolen. How do we get him home?

While it seems obvious - go to the embassy (done), get temporary passport (applied for), fly home, but it's not turning out quite that simple. For one thing, there's no direct flights.

The first major stumbling block is US immigration, they don't let anyone fly through on a temporary passport. My Dad went out via Miami and was going to come back that way, but a proper passport could take up to a week to get, and we'd like to get him home a bit quicker.

Simple, we thought, fly to Brazil or Argentina and fly back to Europe from there. No go, also stolen with his passport is my Dad's yellow fever certificate. You can't get into these countries without one.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

posted by BigCalm to travel & transportation (20 comments total)

I'm really speaking out of ignorance here and taking a shot in the dark - but has he looked into coming back through Canada or Mexico?

Does he have his american drivers license or other american ID?
posted by twiggy at 8:10 AM on February 9, 2006

You should be able to go to the clinic where he got his Yellow Fever certificate and get another copy. (I have done this myself - but I don't know if this will be a problem as to whether the patient has to present themselves personally.) Can you find out whether a fax copy of the certificate will be enough for Brazilian/Argentinean border control?
posted by biffa at 8:12 AM on February 9, 2006

I just flew into Argentina from Peru and didn't need to show my yellow fever cert.
posted by meehawl at 8:14 AM on February 9, 2006

Mm, we'll chase up the certificate thing and see if we can do it something via Brazil and Argentina then.

My Dad does have some ID (even a photocopy of his existing passport, plus his British driving licence), and a credit card so he'll be ok for money too. Getting a temporary passport won't be a problem.

Ironically, my brother was there 6 months ago and got stuck there too when the riots were going on (his hotel was just down the road from the presidential palace). He was backpacking at the time though and can generally take care of himself.
posted by BigCalm at 8:22 AM on February 9, 2006

The american consolute (sp?) in Paris was extremely helpful when mine was stolen, I would go that route.
posted by joshgray at 8:34 AM on February 9, 2006

Who says your dad can't come through the US on a temporary passport? Is he going to lay over in Miami or simply change planes?

Does he have his american drivers license or other american ID?

I don't think most Brits have US drivers licenses or ID's.
posted by Pollomacho at 8:35 AM on February 9, 2006

Who says your dad can't come through the US on a temporary passport? Is he going to lay over in Miami or simply change planes?

That's what we've been told by the embassy, even if we could do a US airport it would be a hang-about-in-the-airport-for-bloody-ages type thing waiting for a connecting flight - I think it would be fine if it was a refuel job, but as I've said, there's no direct flights.

I suspect Canada will be identical to US because of the unguarded border, but we'll check.
posted by BigCalm at 8:39 AM on February 9, 2006

Could he get a titer drawn in Bolivia to get a new yellow fever certificate issued? Not sure if that's even possible (I'm not a doctor), but if it is, it seems like one of the easier ways to get him home.
posted by penchant at 8:46 AM on February 9, 2006

There are no direct UK/Bolivia flights at all? How about Chile? I went to Chile in 2002 (on an American passport) and didn't need a yellow fever certificate. I don't know if the regulations would be different for a UK citizen or if they've changed since 2002.
posted by srah at 8:57 AM on February 9, 2006

Hrmm... coming through Canada, isn't it possible that he'll not even go through Canadian customs before catching his connecting flight? It's two international flights, I would've thought you just get off your plane from Bolivia, zip through the terminal to your next gate, and off you go? Why would they check your passport if you're not actually entering the country?
posted by antifuse at 9:00 AM on February 9, 2006

All US Customs and Border Patrol requires is a "machine readable" passport, I don't know of any other restrictions on passports. Your dad is from a visa waiver country so he doesn't have to have anything else to enter the US or Canada.

If your dad already has his onward flight booked he could also travel on a transit visa. In other words, he isn't actually given entry into the US, he's just allowed to wait for the onward flight, even if that flight is on a totally different airline.

Even if they "denied him entry," what are they going to do? The CBP don't care where you go as long as you don't come in, so if he's got an onward ticket they will just stick him on that and send him on his merry way to the UK. It's not like they would deport a Brit to Bolivia.

Worst case scenario is that the airline won't let him on the plane to Miami. In that case he could find another country to fly through, Canada, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Cuba...
posted by Pollomacho at 9:00 AM on February 9, 2006

He is probably best served by hounding the British consul in Bolivia to make sure that he can clear through any US customs problems. I can't imagine this doesn't come up often enough anywhere. The consul should be able to provide documentation and pull to bypass any problem.
posted by JJ86 at 9:12 AM on February 9, 2006

Hmm, perhaps it is out of date, but the FAQ for the U.S. embassy to Japan has the following to say:

Q: I am a citizen of a visa waiver program (VWP) country and I have lost my passport. Can I still transit the US?

A: U.S. immigration authorities will grant a parole (special admission) to an otherwise admissible VWP national whose passport is lost/stolen under the following conditions: The VWP traveler:

• must have had a passport lost, stolen or expired while outside the home country.
• must present an emergency or temporary passport issued by a government authority to replace a lost or stolen passport.
• must be in direct and continuous transit through the United States for the purpose of returning home.
• must have confirmed airline tickets (or electronic ticket record) for return to the home country.
• must be admissible to the United States.
• will be required to pay the $65 parole fee if granted a parole.

However, as of June 26, 2005, all VWP nationals traveling to the US without a visa have to present a machine readable passport. In addition, since October 26, 2005 all machine readable passports must have a digital photograph printed on the data page. I don't know if your father's temporary visa meets these qualifications. However, this does suggest another possibility. Perhaps your father could circumvent the issue by calling the U.S. embassy in Boliva and seeing if they'll issue him a nonimmigrant visa? With a visa your father could transit the U.S. even if his temporary passport doesn't meet these requirements. Unfortunately it seems unlikely that obtaining a visa will be any faster than the other options you're considering.
posted by RichardP at 9:24 AM on February 9, 2006

First of all: LAB has a flight from Santa Cruz to Madrid, which would solve all of your problems.

It's an annoying quirk of the US (and Canada) that you have to clear immigration on arrival, even if you're not leaving the airport. And if the passport doesn't pass US muster, then a C-1 transit visa won't help. I'd call the British consulate in Miami, explain the situation, and see what they can do. If the consular staff make representations so that US border control is forewarned, that may make a difference.

I'd also suggest going back to the British mission in La Paz to ask them have a quiet word with the US mission, and see if they might wangle something: there's obviously no benefit for either country to create more problems for your father.

Even if they "denied him entry," what are they going to do?

Well, he might want to visit the US in the next ten years, and being deported may slap that on his record.
posted by holgate at 9:27 AM on February 9, 2006

Well, he might want to visit the US in the next ten years, and being deported may slap that on his record.

A) He won't be removed even if he's denied entry. He will be voluntarily leaving, so why would they go to the expense of detaining him for months, trying him in a court and removing him? In the US that is the only legal way to do this.

B) Even if they were to go to the expense for the above, he would not accrue enough unlawful presence to warrant a 10 year bar.

He might wish to go to the US consulate himself and see if there is any advanced parole he can receive otherwise I would just start looking for connecting flights through Miami.
posted by Pollomacho at 9:35 AM on February 9, 2006

Thankyou all, we think the embassy/consulate in Bolivia has come up with a solution, they can do an 'emergency' proper passport (machine readable) so he can transit the US. He should have this by tomorrow afternoon we hope.

We're also looking into trying to get a copy of the yellow fever certificate faxed out to him in case something goes wrong with this (copies are fine apparently), but as it was several years ago he had the vaccination, they're going to take a while digging it out of the records. A second vaccination whilst he's out there is pointless as it takes 10 days before the certificate is valid.

If all goes well with the emergency proper passport, he should be home by Sunday we hope. I'll check back and post here when he's home.

Thanks again for all the advice and help, it's greatly appreciated.
posted by BigCalm at 9:49 AM on February 9, 2006

Great! Everything will be fine, I'm sure! Best of luck!

Incidentally, for everyone's future reference, if there is any question about your entry or transit through a US port of entry, try and travel on a business day.

I'm sure your dad is going to be just fine, but the Sunday of a US federal holiday long weekend (President's Day is Monday) will be the least staffed day. That means there are the least amount of supervisors, the people with the most training and understanding of what is going on.
posted by Pollomacho at 10:13 AM on February 9, 2006

I think I read your last post wrong on first view. President's Day is Monday the 20th. This Sunday, the 12th will have short staff, but it won't be as short as the 19th. The issue is not always so much the port itself as the places they have to contact for verification.
posted by Pollomacho at 10:28 AM on February 9, 2006

Dad's home safe and sound, if anyone's still reading this.
posted by BigCalm at 2:07 AM on February 14, 2006

Yes we are, and good to hear.
posted by Mitheral at 8:07 AM on July 19, 2006