If you are getting ready for your trip to Latin America, whenever this bloody virus finally allows us to travel smoothly again, you might be also looking into some of the more boring elements of travelling in order to be able to deal with them fast. And one of those is checking out the entry requirements, to prevent you from getting stuck on the border for longer than necessary. And for that reason, here’s a country-by-country list of entry requirements as well as border fees in Latin America, suitable especially for travellers from Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.
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Entry requirements and procedures for South Americas
Crossing borders in Latin America could make the lives of the spoiled borderless Americans or Europeans from the Schengen Area harder. Many of us have forgotten how it is to queue to get stamped out of the country we’re leaving first, then queue to get the entry stamp of the destination country and then queue to get our bags checked. And in some cases, there are more queues at the end of which you going to pay the border fees.
For EU or British passport holders, most South American countries will not charge you to enter or exit their territory. If you are American, Canadian or Australian, you have it sometimes a bit harder as in some South American countries, you could be a subject of reciprocity measures. However, the good news is that many of those reciprocity fees have been scrapped in the last few years so if you thought that you had to pay $160 USD to enter for example Argentina, I’m afraid that you rely on outdated information.
To give you the general idea, below I’ll list all basic visa and border fees requirements for South America, the way they are right now, in 2021, excluding the numerous temporary variations caused by the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, which you can find here (July 2021). I still however urge you to check your gov pages to check for any possible updates before your departure to avoid any unpleasant last-minute surprises.
When you do that, also check the list of prohibited items. Unless you’re smuggling drugs, weapons and all that stuff that’s illegal everywhere, there are also few particular restrictions you will have to follow, such as not bringing any seeds into Chile. When it comes to the actual border-crossing process, you might be asked to open your bags for an inspection between some countries but other than that, it’s just getting stamped out and in.
Border fees in Latin America: South Americas, in south-to-north order
Before I get on the country-by-country list, I’ll mention few things that apply pretty much to all countries. The validity of your passport is an important one. Most of the time, it needs to be valid for at least 6 months upon your arrival, but sometimes it’s all right if it just simply runs beyond the length of your stay. Furthermore, when arriving by plane, most countries might ask you to provide proof of onward travel (a flight or a bus ticket back home or to another country) or show sufficient funds that you will be able to afford to leave the country.*
Chile
- No visas are required for the citizens of the EU, UK, USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand
- Length: You’ll be granted up to 90 days entry to stay in the country
- Reciprocity fees only apply to Australians, who need to pay $117USD to enter the country
- Note: upon entering the country, you’ll be given a little paper slip (Tarjeta de Turismo). Keep it keep safe because you’ll need to present it to the immigration officer upon your departure from Chile
Argentina
- No visas are required for the citizens of the EU, UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand
- Length: You’ll be granted up to 90 days entry to stay in the country
- Reciprocity fees for Americans, Canadians and Australians were scrapped in 2018
Uruguay
- No visas are required for the citizens of the EU, UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand
- Length: You’ll be granted up to 90 days entry to stay in the country
- No reciprocity fees
Brazil
- No visas are required for citizens of the EU, UK and NZ
- Visa: Citizens from the USA, Australia and Canada all require visas, which they can apply for electronically in advance
- Length: You’ll be granted up to 90 days entry to stay in the country
- Reciprocity fees for Americans are $200USD; Australians need to pay $150USD and Canadians $100USD
Paraguay
- No visas are required for the citizens of the EU and the UK
- Visa: Visitors from the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia need to obtain visas
- Reciprocity fees are $72USD (single entry) or $110 (multiple entries) if applied in advance. You can also apply for a visa upon your arrival but the fee goes up a little, to over around $150USD
- Length: You’ll be granted up to 90 days entry to stay in the country
Bolivia
- No visa is required for the citizens of the EU, UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand
- Length: You’ll be granted up to 30 days entry to stay in the country, which you can extend to 90
- Reciprocity fees: Citizens of the USA will be required to pay $160USD for 90 days entry (valid for 10 years)
- Note: A proof of Yellow fever vaccination is required if you are flying from a country with a risk of the disease
Peru
- No visas are required for the citizens of the EU, UK, USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand
- Length: You’ll be granted up to 90 days entry to stay in the country but this length is capped by 183 days per year maximum
- No reciprocity fees
Ecuador
- No visas are required for the citizens of the EU, UK, USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand
- Length: You’ll be granted up to 90 days entry to stay in the country
- No reciprocity fees
Colombia
- No visas are required for the citizens of the EU, UK, USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
- Length: You’ll be granted up to 90 days entry to stay in the country
- No reciprocity fees
Venezuela
- No visas are required for Canadians, Australians, Europeans and Brits
- Visa: Citizens of the USA will need to obtain a visa in advance for $30USD
- Length: You’ll be granted up to 90 days entry to stay in the country
- Note: You’ll also need to show proof of a yellow fever vaccination upon entering the country
Guayana
- No visas are required for Western Europeans, Australians and Kiwis
- Visa: Citizens from Eastern European countries need a visa for $30USD
- Length: You’ll be granted up to 30 days entry to stay in the country
Suriname
- Visa: Citizens of most countries require to obtain a visa for $40USD ahead of the journey or at the airports
- Note: It is very hard (if not impossible) or nearly impossible to obtain those when arriving at the country via its land borders. You’ll be granted up to 90 days entry to stay in the country
French Guiana
- Despite being located in South America, French Guiana is part of France. So while for the EU passport holders it’s the same as being in France, the non-EU nationalities from the visa-exempt list can stay for 3 to 6 months without a visa.
Entry procedures in Central Americas
As an EU passport holder, I was spared of all fees across the Southern part of the continent, so upon my arrival to Central Americas, I found the border procedures a bit silly. It wasn’t because of the fees, I was suddenly exposed to. It was because of the way they make you pay them. You literally become a queue master because some Central American countries came up with numerous little fees, including silly ones, such as exit fees. And many times, you need to queue for each of them separately.
On the other hand, the bag-checking was however a little easier. Except for the heavy and multiple sniffing dog checks on the Colombian-Panamanian border and bag-screening upon entering Mexico, nobody ever bothered to check my bags.
Border fees in Latin America: Central Americas, in south-to-north order
When it comes to the various border fees, in practical terms, except for El Salvador and Guatemala, you’ll need to pay various fees and taxes in every Central American country. Given the rather corrupted nature of some border officers, those fees often vary even within the same country, depending on regions or perhaps even the current mood of the officer. The actual process is mostly rather smooth but it often involves various bureaucratic forms and multiple queues.
Panama
- The fees vary, depending on the corruption levels of the day. Officially, the entrance fee is $3,- and the exit fee is $3,-USD, unless you fly, which would bring it up to $40,-USD
- Length: You’ll be granted up to 90 days entry to stay in the country
Costa Rica
- Fees: No entry fee, but there’s an exit was $7,-USD
- Length: You’ll be granted up to 90 days entry to stay in the country
Nicaragua
- The fees are reported to vary a lot as there are various local taxes and so on. I’ve paid $12,-USD entry fee + $1,-USD tax to enter the town of Rivas. The exit fee was $3,-USD
- FYI, Nicaragua is a member of the so-called CA-4 group. The other members are Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Technically you should be able to travel free between them all but you’ll be checked and charged the various fees anyway. You’ll be granted up to 90 days entry to stay in the country
Honduras
- Fees: Entry fee is $3,-US, no exit fee
- Length: You’ll be granted up to 90 days entry to stay in the country
El Salvador
- Fees: No entry, nor exit fee. However, Americans, Greeks and Portuguese must apparently purchase a tourist card for $10 USD on an entry that is valid for 30 days
- Length: You’ll be granted up to 90 days entry to stay in the country
Guatemala
- Fees: No entry, nor exit fee
- Length: You’ll be granted up to 90 days entry to stay in the country
Belize
- Fees: No entry fee. An exit fee is $20,-USD if you’ve stayed in the country for more than 24hrs (up to $17,-USD if you stay no longer than 24hrs
- Length: You’ll be granted up to 30 days entry to stay in the country, then it’s $25 per month if you want to stay longer
Mexico
- Fees: $558,-MXN ($26.50,-USD), if you stay over 7 days. Otherwise, you won’t need to pay for it. If you fly, the fee might be included in your flight ticket
- Length: You 180 days upon re-entering the country
Conclusion
I believe that I’ve listed all the basic information you need to know when deciding about your next trip. As I said above, make sure to double-check the info with your official gov pages, to make sure that there weren’t any updates on both, entry requirements and safety. Plus, by now we all know that these Covid-19 travel restrictions and rules from July 2021 will change before you finish reading this piece, so if you’re on the road right now, you must be even more prepared.
There’s one more thing I didn’t talk about. Visa extensions. You might fall in love with one country only, which could potentially make you looking into extending your stay. In most Latin countries, this is mostly possible for a small fee, otherwise, you can always head to a neighbouring country and come back to renew your visas. I’d think of contacting your embassy regarding this subject if I were you.
Well and that’s it from me on this subject. I hope that you’ll find this list of entry requirements as well as border fees in Latin America useful 🙂
Footnote
*the proof of onward travel isn’t mostly an issue if you have a return flight. If you’re however planning to travel around the region for a while, so you’ve arrived on a one-way flight only, you might have to deal with this issue. The way to go around it is to purchase a flight that you can cancel after you cross the border. You can also use the service of numerous companies that can do that for you for a little fee, such as Best onward ticket, which I’ve used once and it worked.
More practical info about travelling in Latin America
- Budget: in case you were interested, here‘s an article listing the country-by-country basic expenses for a traveller in Latin America
- Safety: Few safety tips on how to secure your valuables, what to watch out for and more could be found here
- Transport: Information, safety and some other practical advice regarding public transport in Latin America can be found here
- ATM withdrawal charges: Some practical info, including the list of free-of-charge ATMs in Latin America, can be found here
- Pre-trip preparations: Few things you can do ahead of time before you’ll become frantically busy prior to your departure are listed here
- Packing list: What to take with you for an extended trip as well as some security tips could be found here
- Cheap Flights: few tips on how to score a cheap/er flight, better seat on a plane, where to get a nap at a particular airport and so on
Latin American locations covered on Quaint Planet
Santiago de Chile ► Valparaíso ► Santiago de Chile ►Punta Arenas – Ushuaia – Punta Arenas ► Puerto Natales – Torres del Paine – Puerto Natales ► El Calafate (Perito Moreno Glacier, Arg) ► El Chaltén (Los Glaciares National Park) ► Chile Chico (Ch) – Puerto Rio Tranquillo (Marble Caves) ► Coyhaique – Puyuhuapi – (Carretera Austral) ► Puerto Chacabuco – Quellón/Castro ► Puerto Varas – San Carlos de Bariloche (Arg) ► Buenos Aires ► Colonia (Ur) ► Montevideo ► Punta del Diablo – Cabo Polonio ► Montevideo ► Salto ► Concordia (Arg) ► Puerto Iguazú (Iguazú Falls) ► Salta ► San Salvador de Jujuy ► Tilcara ► San Pedro de Atacama (Ch) ► Uyuni Salt Flats Tour (Bol) ► Uyuni ► Sucre – La Paz (Death Road Tour) ► Copacabana (Lake Titicaca) – Isla del Sol – Copacabana ► Cusco (Per) ► Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu) ► Cusco ► Lima ► Máncora – Montañita (Ecu) ► Puerto López ► Quito ► Ipiales (Col) – Pasto ► Tatacoa Desert ► Bogotá ► Medellín ► Villa de Lleyva ► Santa Marta – Cartagena – Rincón del Mar Necoclí ► Capurganá ► Puerto Obaldía (Pan) ► Panama City ► Las Lajas ► Cerro Punta ► David ► Bocas del Torro ► San José (Costa Rica) ► San Juan del Sur (Nic) – Ometepe ► Granada ► Managua – El Rama – Bluefields – Corn Islans ► Léon ► El Tunco (El Salvador) ► La Antigua Guatemala – Lake Atitlán ► Lanquín (Semuc Champey) – Flores (Tikal) ► Belize City ► Bacalar – Tulum – Playa del Carmen – Mérida – Valladolid – Cancún ✈️ .
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