Passport has a stamp that might be a problem
 

I travelled to Colombia in late September (first time). I'm now going to Brazil in two days. I just found out that Brazil requires proof of a Yellow Fever vaccination, if the traveller has been to certain countries, including Colombia, in the the last 90 days.

That would be me. There's no way I can get the vaccination (or innoculation ?) tomorrow. My flight is the next day, so what do I do? :confused:

Either I scrap my trip, with major repercussions for myself and others - financial, social etc. Or I try to get into Brazil. I don't like being in this position, but I don't have an ethical issue. I never saw, felt or heard a mosquito during my stay in a high altitude, upscale neighborhood of Medellin, Colombia.

Does anybody have experience with entry into Brazil in this situation?

More generally, if immigration decides to prevent entry to their country, what happens? Does the traveller have to hang out in the airport until he can arrange a return flight? Or gets the shot (not likely to happen).

My US passport has 24 original pages, full of stamps. And another 24 added pages with 7 of them full of stamps. The Brazil visa is not near the Colombia exit stamp (The exit stamp is very clear. The entry stamp is hard to read-not worried about it). Would immigration try to read every stamp?

What if that passport has one page cut out? Can Brazil deny entry? Seems unlikely. But might it cause problems during the next 6 years of travel? I could probably get another passport for the future. I'll be running out of pages again, I hope. :D

What if the exit stamp were covered over by another stamp?

I know some will tell me about the penalties for defacing a passport, and that I shouldn't talk about it here. But I doubt that I'll deface it, I'm just asking. I'll probably take a chance at immigration. I just want to know if anyone has any advice to help me.

I would not try to put anything over the stamp. Since you're coming from the US, you'll probably be safe, as you're not coming from a Yellow Fever country. I was faced with the same problem being in Ecuador a couple of months ago. I was not going to get the vaccination. However, since I was obtaining my Brazil visa there, I had to get it, so it wasn't so bad.

I have a systematic problem at US immigration because my passport has a stamp in arabic writing from 6 years ago -- although it is from a country that the US is not planning to declare war on (they ain't got oil, you see....) that doesn't stand in the way for any immigration officer to harass me......

Passport stamps themselves are just a visual arent they? Surely all of your travel is recorded electronically on your profile and readable when immigration scan your passport? So, even if you removed the page they could still see that you entered and exited Colombia? (Thats my understanding of it anyway?)

No, US immigration can not see which country you have traveled to. They can only see when you have left and entered the US but not where you have been abroad. For this they need to see the stamps in the passport.

No avoid having the problem the OP has it might be worthwhile to get two passports. Many governments allow you to carry more than one for many reasons (avoiding vaccination is not one of them).

I would strongly caution you against making any alteration to your passport. Even though the altreation may not get picked up at your next destination (wich is unlikely) a more vigilant immigration official in another country will. When this happens, and in today's security environment you can look forward to a small stay in a small cramped cell.

You may also have your passport withdrawn by the issuing country or find yourself denied entry to other countries.

If you like to travel last thing you want is a record as a passport forger.

Chandi

seems to be one of those things where what is written right in front of the front line person checking your documents is all that really has weight. What I mean by this is that the person flipping thru your passport glancing up at you as he/she does so is going to pretty much go by what is seen on the pages. The stamps, the Arabic writing... all things that unfortunately get "caught" by these types, and these "types" are not always the most intellegent people on the planet. They send a signal that something could be up, and that alone starts the wheels spinning. Now, once that happens, you are marked even if it's not a big deal and so you have to explain it, get delayed, fill out forms, pay fees or monies for shots, etc... whatever. I find, therefore, it's best to simply avoid all this and make yourself be one of the types of people who can whisk by those immigration officers without issue. In other words, claim you lost your passport and pay THAT fee to get a new one ASAP. Keep the old one as a souvinir and consider it an extra cost to visit Columbia, noting to inform your friends that they too should be aware.

You could say, "my entire trip to columbia cost $X plus $100 (for a new passport)"

it's kinda like getting an apartment in a city like Boston. They are notorius up here for issuing parking tickets for everything. Lots of streets with signs that are not consistent, and lots of mistakes that end up generating a lot of city revenue. We just pay and pay. Surely other cities have this too, but when someone asks you what you pay for rent in Boston, I jokingly add on an extra $100 a month or so. So the rent isnt $2,000 per month, it's $2,100. Knowing that going in makes you better able to deal with those pending tickets you WILL invariably get. It stinks but until we change things here, it is a fact of life. At least you can get used to it a bit...

Back to subject: getting a new passport right now will cost you say $100. (I don't really know the particulars of expidited passports and such but surely it can be done pretty quickly and there will be a cost for this) but in the end, you will rest easier knowing in advance that your planned costs are now settled. Until we change things, this is my best solution for avoiding all future travel problems. Now, if some jerk immigration officer goes and stamps your new one, all you can do is roll your eyes and mumble something about how that will cost you another $100, and then go spend the money.

:)MM

(again I just put $100 out there but I do not knwo the cost for a new one that needs to be issued immediately)

Even if the OP could get a new passport in 24 hours(!!), that option is out of the question because he'll still need the Brazilian visa from the old passport. (You did get that, right, DBoy?)

I don't understand why getting the yellow fever shot today is absolutely not possible. Find a clinic. They're out there. Miss a couple hours of work, or whatever. (But even this is still an issue, because the yellow fever shot takes ten days to become effective. So even if you do get a shot today, they could still deny you entry. Can't hurt though, and could help if you get a border control agent in a forgiving mood.)

i've travelled to numerous countries that required yellow fever immunization, including Brazil and have plenty of stamps from dodgy "yelllow fever" places, including many sub-saharan countries. over all these years, NOT ONCE have I ever been asked about my immunizations. I have it and always carry with me, but no one has ever asked me. That includes land crossings where they tend to be more strict (or at least have more time on their hands). I have US passport. In your position, I would take my chances.
YMMV

For the record, I was asked for proof of yellow fever vaccination when entering Brazil from Bolivia.

I've also flown directly into Brazil from the US, but I can't remember how much scrutiny they gave my passport...

There are a lot of places in Chicago that provide yellow fever vaccinations. Can't you just be safe and get to one today?

Try checking with your county health department. They were a lifesaver for my mother when she went to Africa.

May I ask what nationality your passport is in general ?

I have a tunisian work-visa due to an occupation in the tourism industry 2 years ago. The only situation an officer asked for it was when I went to the US Consulate in Frankfurt to get my Visa. One sentence explanation and that was it... It is a german passport so not a big issue.

I can imagine that if you have a non-western passport plus arabic stamps there are officers in whose eyes this is not a good combination :rolleyes:

OK first of all, it is rather unlikely that you will be checked for the yellow fever vaccination at a major entry point. What the rules say and what happen in practice are often very different.

That said if the fact is picked up that you have not been vaccinated, it is more likely that they will force you to recieve the vaccination at the airport rather than deny you entry and ship you straight back home.

The other point to consider is that the restriction is there for a reason, evading the legal issue is one thing, but it is surely very prudent to get yourself vaccinated if at all possible. Yellow Fever is all over the place and so it is definitly a top 5 disease to get a vaccination against if you are travelling anywhere it remotely exists.

To deal directly with the original posters circumstances. There is no problem. Brazil requires vaccination if you have been in a Yellow Fever area within the last 6 days or 10 days or 2 weeks or something (cant recall exactly but I'm quite certain it IS NOT 90 days). A trip in September is definitely not an issue to Brazil as far as Yellow fever vaccinations are concerned.

All suggestions to get a new passport or modify a passport to evade a vaccination requirement are just plain silly. If it were an issue (which it isn't) I'd still be highly confident they probably would not catch it. I have never been ask to prove vaccination anywhere except Cambodia, which doesn't even have any vaccination requirement, and that was only in an attempted shakedown for a "tip".