Entry Requirements & Customs

The websites listed provide downloadable passport applications, as well as the current fees for processing passport applications. For an up-to-date, country-by-country listing of passport requirements around the world, go to the "Foreign Entry Requirement" Web page of the U.S. State Department at http://travel.state.gov.

Entry Requirements

Citizens of the United States, Canada, Great Britain, all European Union nations, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand may visit Guatemala for a maximum of 90 days. No visa is necessary, but you must have a valid passport.

It's possible to extend your tourist visa, but the process is slightly tedious. To do so, you must go to the Immigration Office, 7a Av. 1-17, Zona 4, Guatemala City (tel. 502/2361-8476), which is in the INGUAT building in Zona 4. The process involves presenting several authenticated documents and photocopies. Moreover, these documents will need a lawyer's stamp or a notarization from your embassy. The whole process can take as long as a week, and cost between Q75 and Q375 ($10-$50/£5.25-£26). This hassle is meant to discourage "resident tourists." Your best bet, if you wish to visit Guatemala for longer than your original 90-day visa, is to leave the country for either Mexico or Belize for 72 hours, and return under a new visa.

If you need a visa or have other questions about Guatemala, you can contact any of the following Guatemalan embassies or consulates: in the United States, 2220 R St. NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel. 202/745-4952; www.guatemala-embassy.org); in Canada, 130 Albert St., Suite 1010, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4 (tel. 613/233-7188); and in Great Britain, 13 Fawcett St., London, England SW10 9HN (tel. 020/7351-3042). There are no Guatemalan embassies in Australia or New Zealand, but you could try contacting the embassy in Japan, 38 Kowa Building 9F, no. 905, 4-12-24 Nishi Azabu Minato-Ku, Tokyo 106-0031 (tel. 81/(03)3400-1830; www.embassy-avenue.jp).

Coming & Going -- In 2006, Guatemala entered into an immigration and border control treaty with El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. This agreement, which allows free travel between the countries to all nationals of these signatory nations, creates a single 90-day entry visa for foreign visitors. What this means is that if you travel between these four countries, your total stay cannot exceed 90 days without seeking an extension from the immigration authorities in the country you are visiting as the 90-day period expires. If you want to "renew" your Guatemalan visa by exiting the country for 72 hours and then returning on a new tourist visa, it must be to a country not covered in this agreement.

Customs

What You Can Bring into Guatemala -- Visitors to Guatemala may bring any and all reasonable goods and belongings for personal use during their stay. Cameras, computers, and electronic equipment, as well as fishing and diving gear for personal use, are permitted duty-free. Customs officials in Guatemala seldom check arriving tourists' luggage.

What You Can Take Home from Guatemala -- It's illegal to take any pre-Columbian artifact from Guatemala, whether you bought or discovered it, or whether it was given to you.

Returning U.S. citizens who've been away for at least 48 hours are allowed to bring back $800 worth of merchandise duty-free once every 30 days. You'll pay a flat rate of duty on the next $1,000 worth of purchases. Any dollar amount beyond that is subject to duties at whatever rates apply. On mailed gifts, the duty-free limit is $200. Be sure to keep your receipts or purchases accessible to expedite the declaration process. Note: If you owe duty, you are required to pay on your arrival to the U.S. -- either by cash, personal check, government or traveler's check, or money order (in some locations, Visa or MasterCard are accepted).

To avoid paying duty on foreign-made personal items you owned before your trip, bring along a bill of sale, insurance policy, jeweler's appraisal, or receipts of purchase. Or, you can register items that can be readily identified by permanently affixed serial number or marking -- laptop computers, cameras, CD players -- with Customs before you leave. Take the items to the nearest Customs office, or register them with Customs at the airport from which you're departing. You'll receive, at no cost, a Certificate of Registration, which allows duty-free entry for the life of the item.

With some exceptions, you cannot bring fresh fruits and vegetables into the United States. For specifics on what you can bring back, download the invaluable free pamphlet Know Before You Go, online at www.cbp.gov (click on "Travel," and then on "Know Before You Go! Online Brochure"). Or contact the U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP), 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20229 (tel. 877/287-8667), and request the pamphlet.

For a clear summary of Canadian rules, write for the booklet I Declare, issued by the Canada Border Services Agency (tel. 800/461-9999 in Canada, or 204/983-3500; www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca). Canada allows its citizens a C$750 exemption, and you're allowed to bring back duty-free one carton of cigarettes, 1 can of tobacco, 40 imperial ounces of liquor, and 50 cigars. In addition, you're allowed to mail gifts to Canada valued at less than C$60 a day, provided they're unsolicited and don't contain alcohol or tobacco. (Write on the package "Unsolicited gift, under $60 value.") All valuables should be declared on the Y-38 form before departure from Canada, including serial numbers of valuables you already own, such as expensive foreign cameras. Note: The $750 exemption can only be used once a year and only after an absence of 7 days.

U.K. citizens returning from a non-E.U. country have a Customs allowance of: 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, or 250 grams of smoking tobacco; 2 liters of still table wine; 1 liter of spirits or strong liqueurs (over 22% volume), or 2 liters of fortified wine, sparkling wine, or other liqueurs; 60cc (ml) perfume; 250cc (ml) of toilet water; and £145 worth of all other goods, including gifts and souvenirs. People under 17 cannot have the tobacco or alcohol allowance. For more information, contact HM Customs & Excise at tel. 0845/010-9000 (from outside the U.K., 020/8929-0152), or consult their website at www.hmce.gov.uk.

The duty-free allowance in Australia is A$400 or, for those under 18, A$200. Citizens can bring in 250 cigarettes or 250 grams of loose tobacco, and 1,125 milliliters of alcohol. If you're returning with valuables you already own, such as foreign-made cameras, you should file form B263. A helpful brochure available from Australian consulates or Customs offices is Know Before You Go. For more information, call the Australian Customs Service at tel. 1300/363-263, or log on to www.customs.gov.au.

The duty-free allowance for New Zealand is NZ$700. Citizens over 17 can bring in 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, or 250 grams of tobacco (or a mixture of all three if their combined weight doesn't exceed 250 grams); plus 4.5 liters of wine and beer or 1.125 liters of liquor. New Zealand currency does not carry import or export restrictions. Fill out a certificate of export, listing the valuables you are taking out of the country. That way, you can bring them back without paying duty. Most questions are answered in a free pamphlet available at New Zealand consulates and Customs offices, New Zealand Customs Guide for Travellers, Notice no. 4. For more information, contact New Zealand Customs, The Customhouse, 17-21 Whitmore St., Box 2218, Wellington (tel. 04/473-6099 or 0800/428-786; www.customs.govt.nz).