Immigration Officials With No Stamps
In a move to curb corruption, the Dirección
General de Migración y Extranjería (immigration service) will take away
their "official stamp" from the 150 immigration officers that attend to
visitors coming to Costa Rica at all border control points.
In the past, immigration officers were allowed to personally hold their
"stamp" - taking it wih them even while not on the job. This, according
to immigration Director, Marco Badilla, has caused problems for his
department.
The immigration department has investigated reports in the past where a
stamp on a passport did not coincide with the department's records of
entry.
Each visitor to Costa Rica, be it at the airport or at the land crossing
in Peñas Blancas or Paso Canaos, must have their passport stamped on
entry and a record is made on the immigration computer.
Foreigners who choose to stay over their limit of 30, 60 or 90 days
limit, have been able to purchase a an entry stamp - the stamp placed in
their passport but no record made on the immigration computer - for a
price ranging from us$50 to us$100, from dishonest immigration
officials.
This practice has been curbed but not complete stopped and the reason
for the changes.
The new policy forces immigration officers to leave behind their stamp,
which is then locked up at night at the immigration post.
Immigration boss Badilla said that he has no doubt that there are gangs
that have made copies of the stamp and that there have been complaints
against agents in his department, but no proof.
The new measure t is a temporary solution until a permanent one is in
place.
Badilla said that his department, in the next few months, will be
experimenting with an "invisible ink" that was donated by the United
States Embassy in Costa Rica, similar to what is being used in the U.S.,
as a pilot project at the Juan Santamaria airport.
Another proposal that is being discussed is to replace the
immigration officer officer signature that accompanies the stamp with an
electronic coding.
Send this Page To a Friend
|
|
