Medellin Reports

[Lucky Nuts]

I didn't have any issues filling it out on my computer using Google Chrome. Some guys have complained about it but I think if you just go slowly and double check your entries, it should work. I've been flying Spirit to Medellin and I can tell you that Spirit always ask to see your checkmig confirmation and if you don't have it, they make you fill it out before they will check you in. There were a number of people scrambling to fill out that form as they waited in line. As for people who say that immigration never asked for the paper form, it's on the computer when they enter the passport number. That is why they are not asking you very many questions once they scan your passport. I wouldn't try to fly to Medellin without filling out that form.

I'm coming and going every month on American Airlines and they also require proof that CheckMig has been successfully completed. If I recall correctly I think someone said that Colombia's national airline, Avianca, knows that it's not required and they don't need proof. But I can verify AA requires it every time.

[Lucky Nuts]

Authorities in Medellin, Colombia, have identified the body of a man who was found stabbed multiple times as that of Twin Cities comedian Tou Ger Xiong, who grew up in St. Paul and was known as an advocate for the Hmong community.

Unfortunately this forum is reading too much like an obituaries column lately.

I like that the article gave us some numbers to work with. It said that crime against foreign tourists is on the rise. This year there have been 248 reported thefts and 26 violent deaths.

Yes it's nice to have some raw numbers on the crime against tourists but they should be compared to the staggering increase of foreign tourists now visiting. Years ago I felt like the I was one of a few dozen people in the airport on any given day. Now it's always filled with hundreds or maybe even a couple thousand travelers. On a "per capita" basis I'd guess that crime is actually at a lower level than years ago. But first time visitors and naive vacationers (horny inexperienced guys) have no idea the what they are getting into here.

[KeviKev68]

Why not bring your own stuff if you have to have something specific, or eat before you get in the plane? No need to test your luck that something you do not want may be on offer.

It was a last minute trip. I packed after I got off work and had to get an Uber to SFO. No time for off site parking lots. I did not have Viagra / Cialis generics on me either but I was lucky to buy some in Lleras Park. I forgot. A can of Pepsi will cost you $3. 42 at SFO Airport.

[TjBrazil]

If this guy would have rented a hotel where the girls has to giver her ID, he probably would be alive. I said in many forums, air bnb and apartments increase your risk. A hotel has security in the front. Unless you sneak a girl in, you shouldn't have problems. Also how did they get this guys family members contact info. He gave her his real number? Google voice people.

[John Gault]

Authorities in Medellin, Colombia, have identified the body of a man who was found stabbed multiple times as that of Twin Cities comedian Tou Ger Xiong, who grew up in St. Paul and was known as an advocate for the Hmong community.

News of his death was carried online Tuesday by the Medellin-based newspaper El Colombiano, which reported that Tou Ger Xiong's body was recovered from the Corcovada ravine in the city's Robledo La Pola neighborhood. He suffered multiple stab wounds and blunt force trauma, according to the newspaper.

A written statement on Tuesday from Eh Xiong, Tou Ger Xiong's brother, described him as a "cherished member of our family, and the pain of his loss is indescribable. We are cooperating fully with law enforcement agencies who are diligently working to investigate this heinous crime. ".

Tou Ger Xiong, 50, a recipient of the prestigious Bush Fellowship in 2019, was a founder of "Hmong Minnesota Day" at the Minnesota State Fair, which draws Hmong visitors by the dozens to a stage led by Hmong cultural and musical acts. Tou Ger Xiong (Courtesy of the Bush Foundation).

A consummate storyteller, performer, motivational speaker and emcee, he hosted an online broadcast, "The Tou Ger Xiong Show," and often reflected on his own experience as a refugee growing up in the St. Paul Public Housing Authority's low-income Dunedin Hi-Rise.

In 2011, he married Andrea Bennett, who would be crowned Mrs. Minnesota International in 2013. The couple filed for divorce in 2019.

El Colombiano reported that Tou Ger Xiong, while on vacation in Medellin, had attempted to meet up with a woman he had met through social media, but was taken captive instead by men who contacted his friends and family by telephone to demand cash. On Monday, authorities confirmed that the kidnappers decided to kill him, possibly in retaliation for trying to escape.

Tou Ger Xiong's body was later found in a wooded area of the Robledo neighborhood with more than a dozen stab wounds and multiple bruises, apparently caused by a 60-foot fall into the tributary.

The newspaper reported that when authorities went to Tou Ger Xiong's apartment, they found a woman removing items from it. Authorities attempted to question her but she ran away.

Citing the city's central office, the newspaper said Tou Ger Xiong's homicide is the 27th violent death of non-migrant foreigners this year in the Aburr Valley region, including homicides, suicides, accidents and narcotic overdoses. In the prior month, three other foreign tourists had been killed, including two Americans.

As of early November, kidnappings in the greater area, known as Antioquia, are up 88% year-over-year.

How in the hell do the cops not catch the girl in the room?

[Oterri]

Why does this seem to be so difficult for you guys? - The answer is right there in your reply.

1. visitors should avoid movistar and use claro or tigo.

2. Should use a big offcial store (LOS Molinos shopping mall in laureles).

3. do NOT leave the store till you have ensured that store has registered the imei or you have downloaded the required app or know which web site to use for self registration.

Many, like me, visit just for a week or even 2-3 days and don't get the warning or ignore it.

No one has clarified the above before, hence the problems.

Why does this seem to be so difficult for you guys? Seems like every couple months someone posts about this.

Everytime you buy a new phone or bring in a phone from out of country you have to register the IMEI of said phone. Not sure about Movistar but with Tigo and Claro you can do this yourself within the miTigo or mi Claro app.

It is a relatively simple process that asks for your cedula number if you are a citizen or passport number if you are a foreigner. There is no need to have someone from the cell phone store do it for you and there is no need to keep buying a new sim card every few months. I have had the same Tigo sim card now since early 2022 and I have used it in various different phones.

I believe there is a grace period of like 25 days from the date that you first use the phone (whether as a newly purchased phone or as a phone you brought into Colombia from el extrajero) to register the phone before it is IMEI blocked for not registering it.

Atleast with Tigo and Claro they will send you warning messages during these 25 days telling you to register the IMEI not sure about Movistar.

[Yuvaraj]

Thanks for this info. Do you know if we can get delay sprays like Promecent? Even if it is same price as US not having to bring will be easier.

One exception to that is Dapoxetine, marketed as Priligy, a medication used for the treatment of premature ejaculation. For some reason it is not approved in Colombia and thus not available in country. If someone needs it, best they bring their own prescription. I discovered this helping someone at the Mansion who was trying to find it, and we discovered that you can't get it in Colombia.

[DiscoverFL]

You don't have to bring Viagra to Columbia if you need it. You can buy it at a reasonable price at any pharmacy. Viagra and Cialis The generic versions are available. The price may vary at least for Viagra it's about a dollar a pill. The prices do vary depending on the pharmacy so like anything else, you should shop around if you have time.

If you forgot to bring your prescription drugs, like I did, you can buy it at the pharmacy and it's going to be cheaper but not as cheap as your copay with health insurance. I had miscounted the number of prescription pills that I needed and I was short four pills. They only sold it in a 10 pack and it was $2.20 each pill.

One exception to that is Dapoxetine, marketed as Priligy, a medication used for the treatment of premature ejaculation. For some reason it is not approved in Colombia and thus not available in country. If someone needs it, best they bring their own prescription. I discovered this helping someone at the Mansion who was trying to find it, and we discovered that you can't get it in Colombia.

[MoonShot]

You don't have to bring Viagra to Columbia if you need it. You can buy it at a reasonable price at any pharmacy. Viagra and Cialis The generic versions are available. The price may vary at least for Viagra it's about a dollar a pill. The prices do vary depending on the pharmacy so like anything else, you should shop around if you have time.

If you forgot to bring your prescription drugs, like I did, you can buy it at the pharmacy and it's going to be cheaper but not as cheap as your copay with health insurance. I had miscounted the number of prescription pills that I needed and I was short four pills. They only sold it in a 10 pack and it was $2.20 each pill.

[Knowledge]

Shit happens.

Colombia is getting very dangerous.

[Gabacho]

Why not bring your own stuff if you have to have something specific, or eat before you get in the plane? No need to test your luck that something you do not want may be on offer.

Exactly. Like for example I always use Wingo from Cancun to Medellin or Bogota and wingo sucks as far as food goes, but they have this really good burger place right there in the airport called Johnny Rockets. So I always get a big ass bbq bacon cheese burger and onion rings to bring on the plane with me and eat on the way to Colombia. Problem solved.

[Turgid]

https://youtu.be/PKlpb5-FdPE?si=uZPqFafZTiNxec4m

A Panamanian American was stabbed to death by 4 dudes Dec 9th in the Pueblo of Santa Barbara, Antioquia (roughly 2 hours drive from Medellin). They also stole his moto and his dog. The deceased had been living there for only 3 months.

Colombia is getting very dangerous.

[Mr Enternational]

It's more than the seats for me. You have to bring your own food and drinks on Avianca because all you'll get it is chicken and rice and a can of soda if you're lucky. JetBlue keeps their drinks and snacks out so people can get what they want.

Why not bring your own stuff if you have to have something specific, or eat before you get in the plane? No need to test your luck that something you do not want may be on offer.

[Gabacho]

Thank you for replying. I am trying to find the info about getting a Colombia tourist visa but can't find any information.

Can you please elaborate a bit how and where can one get it from, specially if applying from Canada? Thanks again.

There isn't a "tourist visa" there is a "tourist stamp" this stamp gives you 90 days each time you visit with a maximum of 180 days per calendar year. There is an option to extend the 90 days to 180 days without having to leave and come back. That is called a "permiso temporal para prorrogar permanencia" and requieres a few hoops to jump through and a $30 usd fee but it isn't rocket science and it can be done all online thru the migracion Colombia website.

Now if you want a visa that will alow you to stay for a year or longer then there are several different categories of visas you can apply for (most are 2 years and some may be up to 4 years).

From what I understand the easiest one to get is the student visa. It is good for up to 2 years. What you need to do is pay for 2 years of Spanish classes and an accredited school such as EAFIT. I believe I read there is some other school that has locations inside of the malls and is alot cheaper and they actually help you with the visa paperwork too.

Anyways after you have receipts and paperwork showing that you have enrolled in Spanish classes for the period of time you want to stay (up to 2 years). Then you can apply for the student visa with migracion Colombia and submit the proof that you are enrolled as a student at EAFIT (or the other cheaper school) and pay the associated fee and they will grant you a visa that is good for 2 years (or the length of time for which you are enrolled but the maximum is 2 years).

During this 2 years you can stay or you can come and go using the student visa as your entry key instead of the 90 day stamp and you won't have to pay the Canadian entry fee each time you enter.

As far as actually going to the classes I read that the school doesn't really give a damn if you show up or not, once you have paid the tuition and enrolled and received your student visa you are good for the length of the visa whether you attend class or not. The school isn't going to call migracion Colombia and snitch on you that you aren't showing up for your classes LOL. However I would recommend going to class since you paid for it and it's a good learning experience.

I think EAFIT is more expensive but the one in the malls is about $600 usd for each year of classes or something like that.

You may be able to request the same visa every 2 years or use a mixture of several different visas back to back (when each one expires, getting a new one) and be able to stay in Colombia perpetually for the length of your passport validity, however this would take alot of money.

There are also other visas which may be more affordable such as the digital nomad visa if you work remotely or there is a pensioners visa if you are on social security. There may also be business visas if you own or are involved in some kind of business venture here.

You just need to look on the migracion Colombia website to see what different visas they offer and which one is best for your needs.

Now if you are just a weekend warrior visiting for a week or two at a time you probably just will have to cough up the extra $90 bucks and use the 90 day stamp thing.

[Gabacho]

I knew a bit about the phones requiring registration so made sure to buy the SIM from shopping mall and official movistar shop. They asked for my original passport and entered something in computer plus made a copy of my passport so I thought all requirements have been carried out. I left after a week and returned a few months later to find that sim 1 was not working. Well that is why I have SIm2 so I bought a second sim from movistar shop again. A few months later when I returned once again, the phone just won't work so I decided to use the second phone and foolishly bought yet another sim from Movistar.

Obviously none of the sim / imei were registered. Both phones are now blocked.

I went to main office of claro in Los Molinos. They said they can't unblock a phone blocked by movistar. Does anyone know if this true?

I.

Then went to main office of Movistar in same mall. Well, I was told that in order to have the phone unblocked, I need to bring in a Colombia citizen who would tetify on my behalf. What the bloody hell? I told him that I have the same passport that the SIM were registered to but he said no chance.

Is the above true or did I talk to someone who had no clue?

I am really having hard time and don't know if there is any other way of getting the phones unblocked.

Any suggestions, anyone?

Why does this seem to be so difficult for you guys? Seems like every couple months someone posts about this.

Everytime you buy a new phone or bring in a phone from out of country you have to register the IMEI of said phone. Not sure about Movistar but with Tigo and Claro you can do this yourself within the miTigo or mi Claro app.

It is a relatively simple process that asks for your cedula number if you are a citizen or passport number if you are a foreigner. There is no need to have someone from the cell phone store do it for you and there is no need to keep buying a new sim card every few months. I have had the same Tigo sim card now since early 2022 and I have used it in various different phones.

I believe there is a grace period of like 25 days from the date that you first use the phone (whether as a newly purchased phone or as a phone you brought into Colombia from el extrajero) to register the phone before it is IMEI blocked for not registering it.

Atleast with Tigo and Claro they will send you warning messages during these 25 days telling you to register the IMEI not sure about Movistar.