#656 – Episode 656: Immigration Shifts, Privacy Strategies, and Gringo Dynamics in Latin America

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

[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came up to play and now as I wander 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 Uh-oh, I figured this was coming hate to say I told you so Hot off the presses just yesterday. You really got to hear this. This comes from Panama. So listen closely Panamanian immigration authorities are tightening some rules and

[00:46] Instituteing new ones to control access to the country by foreigners That means you and me The measures are intended to control what the servicio national de migration. That's the immigration service They say there are abuses by foreigners Gringos who do not have legal residency in the country quote The most important change of the rules is intended to combat the practice of foreigners leaving the country for a few days Then returning for the sole purpose of renewing their tourist 90-day status There have been abuses in the country's Hospitality and we will no longer tolerate this says a spokesperson for the Panama immigration service We do welcome tourists he says but for those who wish to reside in the country

[01:33] They must follow all of our rules then the article says Panama is the latest Latin country to revise its immigration rules in recent months Tightening and updating them as are other countries in the process including Ecuador Chile and Peru It says Mexico and Colombia are also now Conducting reviews of their immigration processes and will follow suit and tighten theirs up shortly It says the upgrades and changes are part of a greater vigilance Worldwide of the foreigners crossing borders much of this is based on concerns about terrorism But in Latin America, it concerns expats who are not abiding by the rules of legal residency Now listen to this according to the US Embassy in Panama

[02:20] Panamanian immigration officers have now been ordered to carefully examine passports to determine if there is a pattern of Reentries into the country indicating that foreign trips repeated entrances and exits by Gringos Especially are being done to repeatedly renew their 90-day visas Also as part of stricter enforcement laws It says Panama will step up the background investigations of tourists entering the country. Hmm, whatever that means Worse yet, it says the Panama immigration authority says it is now reviewing rules governing legal residency and said changes will be made Targeted at the many foreigners who are citizens of the US, Canada and several European countries Then it says many Latin countries have tolerated a high level of informality over the years

[03:10] concerning the entrances and exits of foreign tourists the practice of leaving a country and returning within a day or two to get a New passport tourist stamp for generally another 90 days has been widespread for years and tighter rules will end that It's a growing problem that must be addressed. Hmm. So Latin countries would have tightened up their immigration policies and their borders What an interesting concept, but it's not such an interesting or calming subject for you listeners up there Who are thinking about starting or are in various stages of your plan B So the idea is to stop your regular tourists from coming in out of the country every 90 days to renew their visas Forcing people to apply for residency. Well, nothing wrong with that except in almost all countries except Guatemala

[03:59] You have to stay in the country 30 60 90 even a hundred eighty days a year while you're going through the residency process And the normal residency process is around five years give or take till you qualify for a nationalization and get your passport Now the problem is since most are still getting their act together up north and can't just leave the states and spend Months at a time in the country where they've applied for residency The obvious first choice for residency would be Guatemala because you only have to be one day a year in the country to maintain that Residency. Yep. It's happening exactly as I mentioned Latin countries are cracking down on immigration Making it harder and harder to get in and out of that country and harder to get your permanent and temporary residency

[04:45] So those windows of opportunity are close and fast Which is why it's more important than ever that you try to get down to my expat insider seminar in July Kill two birds with one stone and apply at the same time for your permanent or temporary residency in Guatemala Of course getting your residency in any Latin country as long as it leads to passport and most of them do Well, that's a good thing But there are problems on the horizon and you can be sure very soon What's happening in Panama is gonna spread to all the rest of the Latin countries? Panama seems to be the bellwether of Latin America when they tightened up on their banking regs Everyone else followed suit a year or two later when they raise or invent some new stupid taxes a couple years later Most of the other Latin countries fall in line So all you gonna bees and wannabes and those of you who are in various stages of your plan B. This is your signal

[05:35] This is the warning shot Immigration policies throughout Latin America are gonna be tightening up very soon That means a lot more hoops to jump through if not in a year or two. I'm sure you'll be kicking yourself saying Why oh, why didn't I get the paperwork going back then when Johnny put out the warning and you know lately I've been doing a lot of plan B phone Consults with individuals and it seems like so many of them say Johnny. I'm really gonna do it I'm getting that plan B going just in case and I'm probably Figured I got five or ten years before I retire get the pension all that and I'm wondering man If you got a five or ten year plan that still involves the US or Canada or Europe Isn't that like the tail wag and the dog? I mean world events don't follow our schedules and the train gathers steam as it heads towards the cliff

[06:24] And it's okay to think you maybe got five or ten good years left up in the states But really open your eyes if the whole thing doesn't come tumbling down within the next year or so Me and a couple of million other people will be shocked and surprised Go ahead be as optimistic as you want, but prepare for the worst So to get started step number one go to www dot the new expat comm click on Johnny's Seminar link at the top of the page there You'll get all the info on the seminar and how to kill two birds with one stone for the Guatemalan residency process as well as information And sign-up details regarding those famous John Galt pre-imposed seminar trips So it's true The immigration regs in Latin America are getting tougher and tougher all the time as you've just heard That said if you just can't get boots on the ground right now never fear

[07:13] There's still a way to get your ducks lined up from right up there in Jersey, Seattle or Cleveland Just go to expat plan B comm and sign up for my eight hour expat essentials video course And of course, I'm always available for phone Consultation so we can go over your particular plan B and work out the details together I've done hundreds of calls like that so far And if you need a general overview of what you should be thinking about and what we'll be talking about If we do a one-on-one call have a look at my phone consultation questionnaire It should be up on the new expat comm website by now download it have a look fill it out And we'll take it from there Alright, what's next? Let's talk about something special something that's rarely spoken about

[07:58] If you plan ahead and you have to plan ahead if you're gonna do this You can do it something you could never ever do again up in the first world That is you can start your new life down here in Latin America with a very tiny social footprint in fact if you plan it Right you could be nearly anonymous But you have to have a plan and prepare ahead to make that happen That means from day one you'll have to follow certain strict rules to put it in action and after that It'll come easy because you know as soon as you get down here. You're gonna have to put your name to things rental contracts utility services internet cell phone service renting and buying cars and of course when you sign up for your internet service and you get a New smartphone if you start taking pictures of yourself and uploading all kinds of your information on the net every time a pop-up window

[08:46] Comes up offering a free subscription to this or that an Amazon coupon or a webinar You'll be right back in big brother land on everybody's radar including all the alphabet agencies and that cloud business and the Apple I store man. They suck all the information out of you They can and I'll tell you every expat gonna be and want to be I've ever done a phone Consultation with including every person has come down to my expat insider seminar They all tell me Johnny if I could I'd start all over with a clean slate no more photos on Twitter Facebook What's up? No shoving everything up on the cloud not that they'd go let it however They say if they knew then what they knew now they'd have used some other name or some other sign up technique But that's impossible now because they've already let their real name and all their debts out a long long time ago

[09:34] And they gave their debts to countless sources who also gave their debts out or sold them to other countless sources So basically your privacy is gone and there are parts of your life that are not yours anymore Well, you know what? I'm here to tell you there is a way to take that all back and it really is your last chance In fact, it's a golden chance to start all over again with as small a footprint as you want Of course, you can never be truly 100% anonymous But if you give it a good shot, you can get pretty close to it So let's talk about some of the techniques astute expats use first of all Let me tell you one of the key points in making that happen for real once you get down here is to Utilize your lawyer as you're permanent or somewhat permanent Latin country mailing address For example, if you're getting Social Security or disability payments or statements

[10:23] You certainly don't want the government to know exactly where you live now, do you? Simple give them your lawyer's address Now once you've got a trusted Latin lawyer and you really do become his client once you've bonded with him And he knows you're gonna be a steady client and friend That's really what you end up being when you hook up with a Latin lawyer down here because you know They all want to have in fact, they prefer gringo clients for a lot of reasons Not the least of which is that we're on time. We show up on time for appointments We do what we say we're gonna do and our checks don't bounce not to mention We come from that far-off place the first world where every Latin really wants to have a nice solid connection Remember the tsunami of human bodies is towards the north not the south All right. Number one you get a trusted Latin lawyer and believe me, he'll want to be your friend

[11:11] He'll invite you to his kids can say anyway parties You'll certainly end up going out to dinner with him and meeting the kids and the wife and all that That's just the way Latin lawyers are. It's not just a business relationship Most times you bond with them and end up becoming friends, and I know that rarely happens up in the states It's a strictly professional deal when you get a lawyer up there and for sure every call you make to his office is gonna cost you Money whereas here in Latin America lawyers do not charge you unless they've actually done something In fact, I've never heard of a single Latin lawyer who charges for phone time Except get this where the gringos have landed Panama Costa Rica big cities in Colombia why because they have so many gringo clients occasionally one will ask how much they charge for phone Time which puts the idea in the Latin lawyers head

[11:59] Hey, if gringos are used to paying lawyers for phone time We'll do it too Whereas off the gringo tourist trail chances are your lawyers gonna have very few gringo clients And you'll be on the short list of his prized clients to providing you're not a negative grading repulsive type with Overpowering halitosis or BO, you know takes all kinds right now as weird as this sounds you longtime listeners will remember I said every professional Latin person Wants to have a gringo buddy or two for instance to have a real live gringo or two at your daughter's quinceaños party Well, that's a feather in the hat I've been there and prayed it around a bit like a be great rock star and since I speak Spanish and can understand it Quite a bit. I've heard the other guests whispers stuff like who's that gringo? What's he doing here?

[12:48] I didn't know so-and-so had gringo friends. In fact where I am off the gringo tourist trail I'm often the only gringo at a party So when I hear those little whispers from some of the other attendees, it's curiosity with the tinge of jealousy thrown in You know wish I had a gringo buddy to pal around with of course That won't happen on the gringo tourist trail where the locals are pretty much jaded to having gringos around spending money I'm talking about my favorite places, which are almost all way off the gringo tourist trail In fact, just recently again, I hit a couple of those D camera on all inclusive resorts because I had some free passes You know Remember I mentioned if you stay for their membership spiel which lasts about an hour you get a free three-day two-night pass and I've Accumulated quite a few of those I had to make use of them because they're about to expire time dated

[13:37] You know now these D camera on all inclusives are big They hold at least a thousand people at a time and generally when I'm there I run into maybe two to five first world gringos and in most all of those cases They're not there because they know about the D camera and it's that they're married to a latina or latino spouse now besides that Very small handful of gringos. There's usually a group of 20 or more geriatric northern Europeans down on a charter flight many of them pretty wrinkly and decrepit with Canes and walkers. I don't get it hot sun 90 degrees pale white skin with a walker Having fun yet, and then I always seem to run in the requisite handful of geriatric Canadians down on a charter flight, too

[14:22] Don't know how that started and how the Canadians even found such a place if you happen to book a trip there and you speak Nothing, but English it's not gonna be easy So anyway, that's the normal gringo breakdown and you know gringos and people who look like gringos You know those northern Europeans. We do stand up. We're taller Definitely much whiter almost always way too sunburned after the first or second day And if you're kind of a veteran at those places like I am and you keep your eyes and ears open You see people are looking and talking about you and not in a bad way Like for example this little tidbit I overheard from a couple of teenage latinas. They said Mire Gringo bueno Loosely translated look a gringo cool Yeah, right Tell me if you've ever heard a comment like that when you're traveling through the rest of the world like for example Europe

[15:09] It'd be more like look a gringo So what's this the camera than thing have to do with being anonymous? Well, if you want to maintain a very small footprint You have your lawyer book all those trips through his corporation or through yours if you have one So the tickets are purchased on the books under the name of an SA corporation And you show up as an employee or representative of the company to claim the reservations Oh, and that's why I use start mail you guys know what that is, right? It's an email service like Yahoo and Google accept It's set up so that you can make it very anonymous if you so choose It's got anonymous encrypted email like a lot of services But what I like about it and use it for most is the anonymous alias email feature

[15:56] Now again, I make no money from plugging this. I'm just telling you what I use and how I use it now, you know It's not free. It's I think around 60 bucks a year, but I say it's worth it just for that one feature How does that work? Well, you get ten anonymous? aliases These are valid email addresses that you can create or you can let the service create them for you and you can maintain them indefinitely Or kill them after an hour a day a week a month your choice Let me give you an example Someone sends you a link to an article on a cool informational website You go there you start reading the article a window pops up blacks out your screen It says in order to read the rest of the article you have to put in your email address So you give it to them then they'll send you an email and you're going your email click on that link and you're in

[16:42] However, then you start getting all kinds of other junk mail because you're put on other related lists that site Sold your name, even though they always say they won't and it's confidential In fact, it seems every day as you're searching on the web and checking out sites and stuff I went a little pop up where you have to put in an email address to get something or another and you know If you do that, you're constantly gonna be getting crap for the rest of your life at your regular email site So often we weigh the pros and cons should I or shouldn't I know if I do I'll be giving up something Is it worth it? Maybe maybe not every time you do that you lose more and more of your privacy Same thing when you order things on the net or signed up for those wretched social media sites like LinkedIn and Twitter and Facebook They always want a valid email and you have to go to your email site and click it to activate and all that

[17:31] You know what I'm talking about, which is why I love start mail You can create up to ten aliases Use one or more of them when you have to plug in an email address for anything Then when you check your start mail inbox, you'll see those alias emails pop up as they're sent back to you And when the junk mail starts coming in at will you go into the settings and you kill those emails you find our link to those Nauseating spam sites like that wretched Pinterest site now You've eliminated the possibility for them to send you any junk anymore Unless of course you search out those sites through Google then you'll get bombbiter with ads and pop-up windows again Which is why you should always use start page as your search engine It's Google with your IP address stripped off after the search Oh, and by the way, when you first sign up for start mail

[18:18] They'll of course ask you for a verified email address, too So I suggest you don't give them any of the email addresses you use a lot Just create a brand new email box from some service or another and plug that one in of course years ago We all got sucked into using Yahoo and Google and hotmail and stuff We were just happy to have a free email service. That was before anyone even thought of the privacy issue So all of us and I mean all of us got sucked in to Google or Yahoo We know now they're wide open for hackers and the government has all that info But we've been on them for so many years and have so many emails backlogged in our email archives We're very reluctant to give it up Expedited he says it's like finding that a good long-term faithful employee has been stealing from you after so many years

[19:07] It's a hard thing to fire them We should have known a long time ago that free email services weren't free Their main aim was to spy on us sell us things and then sell our debts off to the highest bidder So go ahead keep your Google Yahoo hotmail, whatever, but get an anonymous service to for all the confidential and personal stuff All right, you've heard me say I've only got a dumb phone. Well, everyone and I mean everyone says what's your what's up number? And you know what? I don't have what's up and here in Latin America. It's so damn popular. You just wouldn't believe it Why because Latins make very little dough compared to what you make up in the States and therefore they'll do anything to save money and Telephone service, although it's pretty cheap down here

[19:54] Using what's up is internet-based and you know, that's almost free like Skype For example, the other day I was helping a gringo select skylights for his new house He doesn't speak Spanish So he asked me to help him and I phoned up a skylight fabrication place and they said they had various thicknesses models colors and Some installations they wanted to show me. What's my what's up? I said, I don't have it They said hmm. We haven't got our internet site updated with our new stuff Then the other day I sent an email to a hotel group couldn't get through by phone. So I sent him an email They fired one back saying what's your what's up? Here's ours So anyway, this stuff just keeps happening more and more I've been finding out if you don't have what's up you're the last person on the list. They want to communicate with yep

[20:41] I've been finding out all of Latin America's on what's up even shoeshine boys and cleaning ladies So finally just finally I decided I'm gonna check into this what's up thing. I'll get it in the most anonymous and small footprint way possible So I said to myself if I do this I'll get another phone that way I'll have two with one of them completely dedicated to the what's up thing So I prepared ahead of time and here's what I did went to start mail created one of those Anonymous alias addresses picked a good first and last name for myself one that I could remember I was gonna use that when I bought the phone and had it registered now I know when you get a phone anywhere You have to give up a lot of information and I wasn't gonna give a mine not the real stuff anyway

[21:27] So I went to a big mall now in every really big mall in Latin America They'll have the three four or five big internet and telephone branch offices But I knew if I was gonna buy a phone there I'd have to give him a copy of my passport those are the new rules and regs throughout Latin America now I decided not to go into one of the main offices because like I said, I'd have to give up my passport They'd make a copy of it and I don't want my passport copy floating around in Latin America. Would you now? I could like so many gringos do who are trying to stay way under the radar? Photoshop that passport alter a few things the phone company doesn't care if it's an original or a copy However, if you're a Latin person going in to buy a phone, they'll want your original DPI their country citizenship identity card

[22:12] But gringos again get a pass a copy any copy will do but most gringos are clueless So they do give up that original did you know the same thing works at hotels? Just give them a copy So anyway, instead of giving up a Photoshop copy of my passport at a main office I decided to do it a much easier way. You see in every big latin mall They've also got various little kiosks that sell every brand and makeup phone and they'll hook up service for you, too Now the guys in these little kiosks make their money on commission by selling things They're not on a fixed monthly salary like the people working at a specific office like Cladro or Tigo Movistar So when you walk up man, they really want to sell you something because they get a commission So here's how it went and it'll go the same way for you, too

[22:58] I walked up to one of those phone kiosks. It's so small There's only one person working there and speaking in Spanish because you know, I'm way off the gringo tourist trail and no one speaks English So I asked the guy what's the cheapest phone I could buy and still get what's up and maybe ways That really comes in handy Especially in Latin America where cities are not laid out in the strict Cartesian coordinate system like they are in the states Yep down here street signs are lacking as well as house numbers and ways could save you many hours a month when you're hunting places Down so I asked the guy to show me the cheapest phone that will get what's up and ways He pulled one out from the counter 25 bucks and it included a month of internet and 200 Minutes of talk on the phone then I played stupid green one said could you set this up for me?

[23:43] Could you put in the what's up and the ways he says sure that's what I do first thing. He says to me What's your email address because they got a plug it into the system. I gave him the disposable alias address from start mail He says what's your Gmail address? We need that one, too He said who knew it but down here in Latin America Anyway, when you sign up for what's up, you have to sign up through a Gmail account I said sorry don't have one just the one I gave you at start mail He said well, we need a Gmail account to do this. So I'll set one up for you I said cool and thought of an easy name and a password to remember for that new Gmail account that was gonna be linked to the What's up? Then he said all I need is 25 bucks and your passport and I forked over the door and I pulled a little piece of

[24:28] Paper out of my pocket It had my alias name on it and a nine digit passport number as well as an address a real address But wasn't mine. I told him I was Canadian and I had my passport back at the hotel I said all the debts are right here and handed him the paper and I walked out of there Maybe 20 minutes later ways and was up and stalled and ready to go Oh and a few minutes later, I took a picture of a tall light-skinned good-looking Latin guy for my headshot on What's up? He didn't mind Latin's love getting their pictures taken. So there you have it My what's up is now completely anonymous and untraceable and you know what? I like it that way and I'm even quite handsome now, you know Latin sort of way And believe me, I'll hardly ever use it unless someone or some business has to send me some photos of a construction site product

[25:18] Whatever or if they need something from me and they can't get it any other way Oh and note that ubiquitous Latin American and so-called Craigslist called Olx.com if you're looking to buy anything through that site often the only way to connect with a seller is through was up Oh and for all you straight arrow anal type gringos and gringos up there that might say well Johnny You can get in trouble find even jail time for giving out untrue information like that Well, yeah, I guess you're right if you're living up in the first world bud You see down here only organizations like governments and banks have strict wording about giving up false information on their contracts If you omit information or put wrong or misleading information on forms like rental contracts

[26:03] Utility hookups, whatever in most cases It's not against the law though That's not to say statements like that won't start appearing sooner or later But the fact is Latin's cut us gringos so much slack. You just wouldn't believe it Especially off the gringo tourist trail, by the way when I bought that phone I paid cash so I didn't even have to sign anything. So technically no signature no contract at all Now about going into clueless gringo mode I often get asked that question in reference to being pulled over by the cops What if you can speak pretty good Spanish? Should you speak in Spanish to the cop? Well, that depends but the fact is if you start speaking in Spanish You'll be there a much longer time because they'll want to talk to you hear your stories Tell you about uncle Julio in Minnesota that kind of stuff

[26:49] Oh and I'm referring to if you get pulled over south of the Mexican border now If you get pulled over in Mexico, you're almost always gonna get nicked for a bribe Whether you speak English or Spanish to the cops in Mexico chances are they'll go for your wallet But as soon as you get south of Mexico Guatemala Belize Honduras The cops are much more friendly in generally fatter lazier and more Barney Fife like than any of the cops you're likely to run into in Mexico one expect gringo friend of mine who travels a lot Put it this way. I'm always a bit nervous and afraid when I get pulled over by the cops in Mexico But as soon as I hit Guatemala Honduras and part south if I get pulled over I know it's gonna be a time-waster, but I'm not afraid and that pretty much says it all This is the expat files living in Latin America

[27:38] If you want me to help you out with your own plan B Just schedule a one-on-one consult send me an email the expat files at gmail.com And if you want to learn how to move forward with your own plan B from right up there in the States go to www.xpatplanb.com and check out my three videos. See ya nos vemos