It is possible to stay in Honduras longer than the 90 day tourist visa. A person needs to apply for a Permiso Especial de Permanencia (A special permission to remain longer than 90 days)

People who qualify for this are people volunteering humanitarian services of benefit to Honduras such as volunteering at Send Hope.

This special permission can be applied for after arrival in Honduras but you need to bring your documents with you.

Documents needed:

1. Current passport

2. 2 passport size photos

3. Certified copy of birth certificate

4. Certified copy of marriage certificate if married

All of the following need to be notarized.

5. A letter from personal physician, stating that you are in good health and have no evidence of communicable diseases, specifically AIDS or tuberculosis.

6. A letter from your local police department stating that you have lived at your current address for more than 6 months and that you do not have a police record.

Authentications:

All of the above documents numbers 3 to 6 need apostiles. These can be obtained from the secretary of state in the state where the document was issued or obtained. Each state has different methods of doing this. They can be looked up via internet. There is usually a cost for an apostile which may vary by state and how fast you need the document. There may be an extra charge for same day or walk in service.

Next step:

Bring all of these documents with you to Honduras.

Once you are here in Honduras with your 90 day tourist visa we can do a carta poder (power of attorney) for the lawyer that we work with to represent you in this matter. She will prepare the solicitud (written request) and present it to the government department in charge of immigration in Tegucigalpa.

For a married couple the husband can do the Power of Attorney for the family.

There will also be a charge for the documents that she has to do because they also need authentications here in Honduras.

This option is less expensive than paying fines for overstaying visas, traveling to Tegucigalpa to deal with this personally or traveling outside of Central America for the required period of time. Currently Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador have an agreement that you do not need a visa to enter one of these countries from another one. This means that if you come into one of these countries before coming to Honduras your 90 days on the tourist visa starts on the day you enter one of these countries.

Marianne Serkland
8 February 2010