#371 – The Expat Files: Immigration, Residency, and Life in Latin America

Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.

[00:14] Hello there all you expat wannabes, I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to The Expat Files, living in Latin America. The show that tells you just what it's like to live, work, play and or retire down here in Latin America. It's a mix of the good, the bad, the ugly and the great and it's all right here so let's get started. Okay, before I get rolling now, I'm gonna mention that we've only got about 7 or 8 days before my latest expat wisdom seminar gets underway. So for all you last minute folks scrambling to get your you know what together and for all you guys and gals sitting on the fence, there's still time to get in. In fact, for my last seminar back in January, I had 5 people sign on just 2 days before we put on our boots and hit the road. So just go to www.expatwisdom.com, click on the latin seminar link at the top of the page

[01:03] and jump on board. Because you know, the way things are going down up in the states, this just might be your last chance to get in on a seminar like this. You know what I mean, I don't have to tell you. Anyway, let me start with an email today. It says, Dear Johnny, Why doesn't the Mexican government stop all those illegal aliens coming up through Central America? I'm talking about all those millions of latins, not from Mexico, but coming from countries like Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, etc. It's obvious the only way to get to the states is through Mexico, so why doesn't the Mexican government do its part to stop these guys and send them back? In fact, from what I can see by looking at a map, illegals from Central American countries have to travel about a thousand miles through Mexico to end up in Texas.

[01:52] Or Arizona, or California, or Nevada for that matter. I mean, come on, if an illegal has to travel that far through a country like Mexico, it would be a no-brainer for the Mexican government to pick up and detain these folks since, according to an article I read, the average illegal coming up through Mexico spends two weeks in that country on his travels, and they stop in at least 10 or 12 cities and towns along the way. And that article said that a full quarter, that's 25% of all illegals coming through Mexico up through Central America end up staying in Mexico for months and months at a time. Those are the ones that ran out of money, missed their contacts, or whatever. So basically, at any given time, there are millions of illegal Central Americans in Mexico

[02:38] waiting for their chance to jump over. I don't know, Johnny, it just seems screwy to me that we spend billions on immigration and border control, and still it seems like any illegal that wants to can just walk right in. As for me, I'd really like to know, what's your and your audience's take on that? Cheers, Johnny, keep up the good work, Henry. Thanks, Henry. And you know, I do occasionally rub shoulders with embassy types and corrupt Latin government officials, I mean, are there any other kind? And it's not that I'm friends with these guys, in fact, I can't really stand the sight of them. But often I'm stuck standing at the bar or sitting down at a quinceaños party with one of these jerks. And when that happens, I usually like to pump them. After all, they're the supreme gringo wannabes and they love talking with gringos like me.

[03:27] Oh, they've blabbed to me all right off the record. And they will to you too, if you ever meet one of these guys at a party. Only the difference is, I get to talk about these jerks on the radio. And some months back, I had that very discussion, the one about the migration of illegal Central Americans through Mexico. And why Mexico refuses to do anything about it. So I had that conversation with a somewhat plastered cabinet minister from El Salvador, no less. And by the way, as usual, this pompous jerk was drinking Johnny Walker blue label. Now, I don't know what that stuff costs, but I don't know anyone who works a real job in El Salvador that can afford that stuff. You know, politicians of all kinds just make me sick. But I digress. Anyway, the conversation that we had was unofficial and off the record.

[04:16] And like I said, at a quinceaños party, no less. And here's what I got out of him. He said, number one, the Mexican government does not want those people to stay and hang out in Mexico. They want every last one of them to keep on trucking right on through to Texas or California or whatever. And why is that? Well, they're the poorest of the poor. They've got no education, no skills, no money and nothing to lose. So it's better that they just walk on through to the United States so they don't end up being Mexico's problem, which in fact really does make sense because these people are the poorest of the poor and the lowest of the low who haven't got two dimes to scratch together as if Mexico needs more people at the bottom rung of the ladder. They've already got about 50 to 70 million people like that already.

[05:03] Then this cabinet minister said, number two, all those millions of Central American immigrants slipping through Mexico every year are big business for the coyotes, the ripoff artists, the cops who depend on bribes, and the narco gangs running the safe houses and the roots of escape. And as it turns out, nearly all of these Central American immigrants, once they land in Mexico, are also there illegally too because Central Americans, by the way, need a visa to get into Mexico legally and almost none of them can qualify. They can't get a visa because they can't prove income or job stability, etc. So these Central Americans being illegal in Mexico, if abused or shaken down or whatever, cannot run to the authorities because

[05:48] then they'll end up in a miserable Mexican jail. And as it turns out and what most people don't realize is that almost all the illegals passing through have family members up in the states who if pressured enough will wire transfer money down to coyotes or gang members holding cousin Julio for ransom before they'll let him pass through the border. So as it turns out, there's another big business component. Western Union and other wire transferring services do huge business. In fact, tens of millions of dollars a year by wiring cash from illegal alien relatives up in the states down to Mexican extortionists handling the coyote trade. It's big business. In fact, just about six months ago, I read in one of the big Latin daily

[06:36] newspapers that Mexico earns more than $300 million a year in commerce. From the million or so illegal Central Americans passing through. That's about $300 per person. And that money is spent or extorted in their travels through Mexico as they work their way to the states. So in effect, why would the Mexican government want to deprive its citizens of that $300 million in commerce? Now that said, I'd like to read you another email that's quite interesting. And this one comes from Chris. He says, hey, Johnny, just to let you know, I'm living in Guatemala myself and I personally know a woman who slipped into the US illegally just a few weeks ago. I heard it cost her 5,000 bucks. Of course, she didn't have the money, but a family member of hers that has been

[07:25] living illegally in the US already paid the coyote for her. Neither I nor her family heard anything from her for three months. And then all of a sudden I get a call from her in Dallas, Texas. I was a little surprised and disappointed. It worked the first try for her, but apparently it just takes five grand and a three month wait and you can get your way in. And of course, once you're in, no one cares. At least not in California, where I'm from. Then Chris goes on to say, I actually tried to dissuade her from going, giving all the reasons why the US is a bad place to be nowadays. But it's like trying to tell a kid before Christmas there's no Santa Claus. They just don't get it.

[08:10] Just thought you liked that info and I appreciate the show. Thanks, Chris. Now, let me encapsulate the final email I'm going to talk about today on this topic. One guy wrote to me and said, Johnny, I understand it costs the US about $11,000 every time they catch and deport an illegal alien. Since once on the US side, our personnel have to do all the medical screenings, fumigations, et cetera, house them, feed them, et cetera, and then ship them back on a jet to their home country. Not to mention the salaries and benefits of all the US paper shufflers and border personnel that have to do all that crap, et cetera. Well, you know, Johnny, I spent a year and a half in Mexico myself and I can tell you this. One way to completely eliminate the illegal immigration problem to the US

[08:58] is to perhaps announce to all the Mexican police departments that there will be a $1,000 bounty on every illegal Central American caught in Mexico. Then once caught at the police station, they could just fingerprint them and detain them until they have enough to fill a school bus. Then drive them back down to Honduras or Guatemala or whatever and drop them right off at the border. And you let the US subsidize that cost, which would be about $1,200 per person instead of $11,000. In fact, about a 90% savings per head. And in the end, everyone's happy except, of course, the illegals. And you might ask with a corrupt country like Mexico, would there be abuse with a plan like that?

[09:43] Certainly, but think of the massive abuses going on right now. Anyway, just a thought. Good shows. Thanks, Manny. Thanks for that, Manny. But you know what? The US government would never dream of implementing a plan like that. It's just way too logical. And just think, with no more illegal aliens piling through to Texas and California and such, they'd have to lay off homeland security and border patrol people, so there'd be class action lawsuits and unions marching in the streets and all that. Good try, but I don't think so. Okay, enough said about that. Now before I finish with our interview with Dave, our Expat Wisdom seminar alumni who's getting his residency papers in both Guatemala and Paraguay, I'd like to mention right now that the reason I'm talking about this Guatemalan Paraguay residency thing

[10:31] is because both those programs are unusual in that if you go through the correct process, you don't have to make a physical investment in the country like you do with almost all other Latin American residency programs. Now the thing is, if you want to get residency in most other Latin countries, you have to buy land, start a business, or make some kind of investment in the country to the tune of 50 grand or more. Whereas Guatemala and Paraguay are two of the very few countries that you don't have to make an investment like that at all. And don't forget if you come down to my Expat Wisdom seminar, you'll get the detailed scoop on that and much more. So that said, let's finish off our interview with Dave who's going to talk to us a little bit more about residency, citizenship, and passports in Paraguay.

[11:18] And the steps Expats have to go through to get on board that process. Anyway, Dave, we ended up in the last show talking about the fact that you got a facilitator in Paraguay that wasn't a Paraguayan citizen. Yeah, he was born in Germany and he's lived in Paraguay for 20 years. He's not a lawyer. He is a facilitator and he knows everyone in the immigration office and all the different offices very well. So him being German and not being a Paraguayan lawyer, tell us more about that setup. Yeah, I don't have any experience with the local lawyers even though the guy I worked with is not from there and he's not a lawyer. He worked with stereotypical German efficiency, took about a day and a half to hit all the offices,

[12:04] get everything submitted and done. I was really impressed cutting through Latin American bureaucracy the way he did. Now, Dave, I know when you have to get any kind of legal or governmental paperwork in Latin America, you have to stand in lines and run to a half dozen government buildings all across town before you get the proper seals and signatures. How'd that work out for you? Yeah, he picked me up at my hotel and got all the material, got it notarized and took me to all the offices and got my application in. So after that initial day or two of running around, then what? And then I had to wait until it came through. I put everything in May and my residency came through the following November.

[12:50] I received my Sedula card and two other cards and I had the option of going there or picking it up or he said he could FedEx it to me. So I had him FedEx it to me. I received the cards and last month, I was able to enter Paraguay as a permanent resident, not needing a visa. So after you handed him the paperwork, it took six months. But because you're not a citizen yet, you don't have a Paraguayan passport, you needed your US passport to enter too, right? Yeah, I needed the passport as well as the card. And I did not have a Paraguayan visa, which is required for US citizens, by the way. And I entered as a permanent resident and got in quickly. Now, I met a bit about US residents needing a visa to go to Paraguay.

[13:37] Tell us about that. Yeah, my first trip to Paraguay, they did not have visas on arrival. So you had to apply through a consulate. But just as of a year ago, you're allowed to get visas on arrival. And the cost, I believe, is around $130-some to get that. Now, Dave, not so long ago on the Exped Files show, I mentioned that Central American countries do not hit Americans with a big visa fee on entering, but South American countries are starting to. In most cases, $100 to $200 just to get in. Yeah, because they figure if the US is charging their nationals the price to get in, what's wrong with charging the US person the same price that they have to pay to get in the US. So an American coming in with just a US passport and no old residency card or

[14:28] settler from Paraguay will pay that 100-something bucks. And that's good for quite a long time, right? Yeah, I think with the Paraguayan visa, it's good for the life of the passport. Now, Dave, getting a Paraguayan residency is a bit different from most other Latin countries, whereas in other countries, you get a temporary residency that lasts about a year or so. Then, after a year or whatever with that temporary card, if you're a good expat resident who doesn't rock the boat, what I mean by that is you don't commit any crimes or end up on a police blotter, then you apply for that permanent residency card and it comes automatically. So what makes Paraguay different is that they skip the temporary residency part, right, Dave? No, it goes right to permanent residency. There is no temporary residency.

[15:15] So bottom line, Dave, what does it cost? Well, the cost to get the permanent residency, you have to put a $5,000 deposit in a Paraguayan bank to start the residency process. And you also have to pay the person who's helping you with the application. In my case, I paid about $3,000 and something. There are people, local lawyers, who claim they can do it for $800 to $1,000, but I was happy to pay the extra money to pay for someone with a good reputation. And I'm really glad I did, because when that impeachment process happened and all of a sudden there was a new interior secretary, he was kind of holding up the applications. And the guy I hired was able to go to the department and say, this was already in process, get it through without any hassle.

[16:03] So you can find cheap people, but I'd rather pay the extra money, better being safe than sorry if someone has a good reputation. So that's the cost involved for the permanent residency. And the cool thing is you get that $5,000 back as soon as your permanent residency is approved and you get your cendula. But you got to keep that original piece of paper. Yeah, I guarded that thing with my life. You're talking about all that paperwork in the bank receipt, right? Yeah, and what a lot of new expats and gringos don't know about Latin America is that it's the land of massive paperwork. Not just duplicate paperwork, but triplicate and quadruplicate paperwork. And believe me, some government agencies still use carbon paper. Remember that? I bet in the States you can't even buy that stuff anymore.

[16:50] But every corner stationery store down here has it. So anyway, Dave, I bet you have a paper file about two inches thick and your facilitators file on use like five inches thick. And really, it's no joke. There goes the rainforest, huh? So Dave, do tell us about that $5,000 deposit. Where does it go? With the facilitator? A government official? A government bank account or what? Yeah, you deposit it into a certain bank that the government approves of and it just sits there. It's mainly used as a proof of economic self-sufficiency. I got every penny back, yep. So after you gave them your five grand, how long did they hold it? They held it for about a year total. I could have gotten it back earlier, but I didn't have the time to get back to Paraguay. So now that you have your permanent residency, how much did it cost you in total?

[17:39] Yeah, I spent about $3,000 something for the guy to help me and $5,000 for the deposit. Okay, Dave, then after that comes full citizenship with a passport, right? How much extra dough do you have to shell out for that process? I understand it's a four-year wait and you have to pay $18,000, which is non-refundable. I understand that after you get your permanent residency card, you give your facilitator a partial payment of $12,000, right? Yeah, that's what the guy that I'm working with charges to get the process going. And then he says it can take anywhere from, I believe, 12 to 18 months for the citizenship to go through. And at that point, he'll get the extra $6,000 to make it a total of $18,000.

[18:26] So then after that four-year wait and the other $18,000 bucks, there's no more fees and charges after that, right? Yeah, that's his fee. That's all the government fees and everything. And again, there's people who say they'll do it for cheaper. So in the end, Dave, you pay about $21,000 to $22,000 for the whole process through your passport and citizenship. So Dave, let's go over those time periods again. It takes a year or just a little under a year to get the permanent residency, and then you have to wait three years to get your passport and your citizenship, right? Well, the Constitution requires a three-year permanent residency before you can get your citizenship. So that's one of the big time strains. Then what about actually spending physical time in the country?

[19:13] Because I know in the rest of Latin American countries, when it comes to residency, you have to actually maintain a sort of presence there to fulfill the requirements of that residency program. Like for example, in Panama and Costa Rica, two countries that have tons of gringos and therefore keep track of gringos very heavily because they just love to slap a fine on you if you're even in the country more than one day beyond your visa. The fact is, those are two countries that have become pretty sophisticated about keeping track of their gringos. And of course, it's all about the money and how much they can squeeze out of first world people, obviously. Anyway, I know that other Latin countries are off the gringo tourist trail, like Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua. For residency, they actually have a physical requirement of you being there a certain amount of days.

[19:59] But the fact is, as lawyers in those countries will tell you, it's a very loose system and no one's really paying strict attention to it. That said, what about Paraguay? Yeah, you don't actually have to be there for a certain amount of time. That's up for debate. Some people say one law says you do, but according to the Constitution, the only thing it says is there's a three-year period and the Constitution doesn't specify a certain amount of time. Yeah, and not to mention countries that are way off the tourist trail, like Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Paraguay, they really are in effect the farthest thing from a big brother state that you can get. And though their international airports and their immigration control might look somewhat modern, all you have to do is take a ride

[20:44] to one of the land borders and you'll see how backward things really are, which for expats and freedom lovers is a very good thing. Yeah, apparently they don't have a system to keep track of how much time you spend in the country. Now, Dave, even though Paraguay is a big country, as big as California, it's got a very small population, like 6 million, right? Which would mean, in effect, there's really a small trickle of gringos and first world people trying to get their residency and such. So I suppose there would be only a few facilitators around to go to, to get that process going. So the question is, do they all know each other? Are they in competition with each other or do they work together or what? Yeah, they all know each other. And in fact, it brings up an interesting point about something that happened last week.

[21:31] I met a woman who does the same thing, but she was arrested last week for fraud. In fact, her case has been all over the internet lately. And you met her then? Yes, she was. She was arrested in Paraguay because apparently she had a fast track program for citizenship and passports that wasn't on the up and up. They discovered some fraudulent printing machines that were forging seals and approvals needed for the process. I actually met this woman when I was there not too long ago. And two of my friends that I know, one began citizenship process with her and the other began the residency process. So kind of concerned about how that's all going to come down. So in other words, that could have happened to you, but you kind of smelled a rat or what?

[22:18] Oh, I was kind of suspicious because I drilled the guy that I work with. I drilled him about the constitution, the three year requirement. And as he explained it to me, he follows that three year requirement. His program, you got to hit your three years before you can get your passport and citizenship. But this woman that was doing it had a fast track program and that's where she got into trouble. And you know, Dave, in almost every Latin American country, they have the so-called passports that are completely on the up and up and gray market passports that in many cases can be totally real. But somehow some steps were skipped along the way. Exactly. And that's something I was really scared about was the so-called gray market passport.

[23:06] You know, not a black market passport was completely illegal, but a gray market where like you said, someone had to be greased along the way to make it happen. And a subsequent government could discover that and say, oh, everyone who got these passports is invalid. That's something I was really afraid of. So I wanted to find someone who follows the constitution and says, okay, you got to have that three year waiting period. All right, Dave. So where are you exactly in the process right now? You've got your residency and now what? Looks like another year and a half or so. I should hit my three year mark. So Dave, another thing that many expats and expat wannabes ask about is the stability of these Latin countries. It seems like the only kind of news first world people get about Latin America is bad news. You know, defaults, coups, strikes, earthquakes, tsunamis and all that.

[23:54] So being that you've been down to Paraguay a few times, what's your take on the stability in that region right now? And for the foreseeable future, of course. I mean, let's face it, you've got Venezuela close by, a bomb waiting for someone to light a match, and you've got Argentina right next door, a basket case. Yeah, as far as I can tell, things are pretty stable there. It's not crazy like Argentina. In fact, the Argentines are kind of upset now because the Paraguayan currency is much stronger than the Argentine currency. They had a pretty turbulent history, Paraguay. They're almost wiped out by Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay several years ago. I don't think the government's going to get overthrown or it's going to go Venezuela or anything crazy like that. I didn't see any indications like that on the ground.

[24:42] So let's talk a bit about business in Paraguay. Have first world franchises invaded there yet? Like they haven't most of the rest of Latin America, Walmart, McDonald's, etc. Funny thing is that Burger King outnumbers McDonald's. Five to one, it seems like. There's Burger Kings all over the place there. Yep, and as us long-term expats know, the only reason to go into a McDonald's or a Burger King is to use the bathroom. Well, thanks, David. Giving us a lot of boots on the ground information and some good advice for any expat or expat wannabe. Thinking about doing what I always recommend, getting residency somewhere down in Latin America where it's still easy to get and still relatively inexpensive. So anyway, Dave, before we let you go, since you really have traveled quite extensively,

[25:27] especially in Central America, can you give our expat wannabe and wannabe listeners a bit of final advice and words of wisdom about Latin America? Well, as far as the future in Latin America, I see a lot of positive things going on and anyone who's interested, I encourage them to get their boots on the ground and check it out. Of course, Johnny Seminar is an excellent way to do that. I highly recommend it. Oh, and Dave, one more thing I almost forgot. Compared with flying to Central America, and believe me, you can get a lot of direct flights to Central American cities from the big hubs in the States. Now, being that it's almost always a connecting flight or two to places in South America, and it takes most times a whole day and sometimes in overnight. That said, and you being from California,

[26:13] what are the flights going for these days to a place like Paraguay? Yeah, 800 to 900 on a really good sail. And that would be on Taka Airlines, but the thing is on Taka, you have to fly LA to El Salvador, then El Salvador to Lima, and then Lima to Asuncion. So you can get a flight for under a grand, but it's going to be three connecting flights minimum. And for sure, you're going to lose a day or even two both ways. I know, I've done it. Yeah, and there's also Copa Airlines out of LAX, which is a little faster. It's the Panamanian Airlines, so they go LAX, Panama City, and then Panama City direct to Asuncion. And that's what I flew this last trip. So if you want my advice

[26:59] and you're traveling to South America, download some Exped Files shows and bring your iPod. And thanks again, Dave. We'll talk to you soon. Okay, cool. Sounds good, Johnny. It's good talking to you. Oh, and by the way, for all you folks out there who occasionally ask me in emails, what are the cheapest airfares to Central American cities like San Salvador, Guatemala City, San Pedro Sula, Honduras, et cetera? Normally, if you keep checking the consolidators, you can get a cheap flight for around five to 600 bucks, but it won't be direct. It'll be connecting flights. You've been listening to the Exped Files, living in Latin America, coming to you twice a week from somewhere south of the border. Email me, theexpedfiles at gmail.com.

[27:47] And don't forget to check out expatwisdom.com to sign up for your free reports on Latin America. See you next time. Nos vemos.