I'm planning to stay in Copan with a friend for 6 - 12 months, leaving UK end of September. I've been looking into travel options and think it's best to fly to Guatemla City, but not sure when to book return ticket for, or where from, in terms of Immigration questioning /visas. I'd like to teach English in Copan, friend said he'd sort me a job out when I got there. It seems you can stay for 90 days then have to leave the country to renew the visa, he said he'd spoken to the Immigration Officers there and to put down on visa that I'm doing voluntary work for a year doing social work for Habitat para la Humanidad. Anyone have experience of living / working in honduras for a few months or more that could share their experiences / offer advice? thanks.
I lived in Honduras form 2005 to 2009, though under different circumstances.
You can get a 90-day tourist visa, and you can renew it for another 90 days after that. The exact wording of the law isn't as important as the immigration officer's mood. If they don't like you, they'll tell you that you're SOL. If you make friends with them, they'll keep issuing new visas for years.
If you decide ot leave the country to ge a new visa, be aware that Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador are part of the CA-4 cooperative and respect each other's tourist visas. This means that if you cross over to Guatemala, they probably won't issue you a new visa.
Copan Ruinas is really gorgeous and calm. I've never spent more than 2 weeks there. I think it would get a little boring after 3 months. It's a bit more expensive than the rest of Honduras because of all the tourists, but there's a lot more to do compared to Honduran towns of the same size.
Please learn Spanish while you're there.
Thanks for the reply. What SOL?
So if I wanted to extend my visa after 180 days, could I go to Belize, for example, then come back to Honduras? Or would I have to fly back to the UK and do another trip? But I take your point about the IO's mood...
So if I fly into Guatmela, then I'm assuming I'll have to apply for a tourist visa there rather than Honduras, where I'll be heading.
I'm still undecided what date to come back to UK, I will need to come back sometime next Spring, if only for a short while. What I don't want to happen, is for them to look at my return ticket for say 8 months, then not let me in. Any ideas?
I'm hoping to teach, but will cross that bridge when I come to it. I know some Spanish, but know I need to learn more.
Thanks for the info, I really appreciate it. Single tickets are more expensive from London than a return, so I think I'll fly with an airline where it's possible to change the tickets. I spent a few weeks in Andalusia recently and understood very little because of their accent, so thanks for the warning.I think I'll have some lessons there, or set up inter-cambio
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