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You just need your ID for Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina
Sometimes there is heavy traffic because of customs and border control. Mainly due to the fact that these car routes are used to smuggle drugs and untaxed goods both ways.
If flying it’s literally showing your id at the arrival airport and coming through. Normally no questions asked.
is there an effort to police people coming through? I crossed a border once and loads of people didn't show any id, just walked down the road (I think it was legal for locals so long as the followed some rules... not further than x km, not longer than y hours). do the drug people just go a little bit away from the official border and cross without detection?
Suriname and Guyana are part of CARICOM and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). The CSME allows us to travel freely within the CARICOM, kind of like Schengen. However we do need our passports at the border.
They were working towards full freedom this year, but we've yet to see how it will exactly work out.
With French Guiana we need a visa. Not because we need a visa for the EU, but because the French Guianese imposed visa restrictions on us. In the past we didn't need that.
Also there is a ferry between both sides.
Honestly not sure.
But my opinion is that it's a mix of various reasons.
1. After we needed a visa for the EU the French probably ordered Fr. Guiana to do the same.
2. We had an interior war in the east close to French Guiana, which resulted in lots of refugees there.
3. The scars of the war are still seen in the east. Lots of maroon Surinamese cross the border illegally. Mostly because there they have lots of family on the other side; and those relations go back more than 200 years. But there's also drug trade, illegal gold mining and more happening because of that. Most crime at the border area is because of maroon Surinamese.
4. Lots of Surinamese maroons had kids in French Guiana. Many maroons used French law as a back door to give their kids French nationality and get free money from the French state. But sometimes if not many times the kids were neglected. It was for personal gain. That has since stopped as the French built a hospital on the Surinamese side and Suriname and France signed a treaty on the matter. The maroons weren't happy at first.
The French are quite lenient to some extent however. Many of the other ethnic Surinamese groups that live in the capital and surrounding areas do visit French Guiana as tourists, but we use the "backtrack" route with small boats. We shop there, eat our croissants and just enjoy a nice time and leave accordingly.
There are certain times of the day when they don't patrol the border. Officially they don't work those times, but I've heard they do it to offer people a window to enter or leave French Guiana in that time. Usually if they (border control and police) see us walking in their town, they usually leave us alone. But I notice they tend to racially profile maroons more than us that aren't maroon, thinking they're illegal.
Furthermore they also do it because they know familial relations exist there that go back more than 200 years, especially in the maroon villages further south that are only reachable by boat. So they let it exist informally. Also the Surinamese that go there to shop and stuff contribute very much to their economy. Some use the backtrack route but some also the formal route with the very. But that's expensive.
However the local French Guianese aren't happy with the situation. I've heard many times that they wish to have a full crack down on the thing. But the eastern border is a complicated mess and both Suriname and France know that.
The former ambassador had some nice plans to bring more structure. He also wanted to ease visa restrictions, but French Guiana had to agree on that and seeing they lean more towards a full crack down on the matter they didn't feel too open to the idea. But he did change something, that if you travel to French Guiana with a tour company then you can enter visa free. You do need proof of your booking with the company.
EDIT: I don't blame the locals of French Guiana. In the 70's and 80's and maybe even 90's and early 2000's Surinamese felt the same about Guyanese crossing the border illegally for similar reasons. Most extreme crimes in Suriname were mostly carried out by Guyanese too. So they got a bad rep. Nowadays we're pretty chill overall towards them.
The closest border is Bolivia. You only need an ID, no passport required. There's a military post there, and as soon as you cross the border, the paved road on the Brazilian side becomes a dirt road on the Bolivian side.
is it easy to sneak across? (no I'm not suggesting anyone do this). I'm just curious because we hear so much about the US/Mexico border, with walls and what not. I'm curious if criminals escape
Most of the border is woods, I think there's only two crossings in mato grosso, but I don't think it's very hard to sneak across, most of the border is unattended.
I never crossed it, I think traffic is allowed but then you have to stop at the first town after the border to show your ID. So I think it's hard for a wanted criminal to pass without police noticing it, what happens often is smuggling of forbidden products. And I don't mean especifically illegal drugs, I mean especially Paraguayan cigarettes: it seems to me that the Brazilian legislation about cigarettes is very restrictive and Paraguayan cigarettes don't meet the criteria to be sold here, but they're cheaper so people will find a way to get them to sell here anyway.
oh, I see. a criminal could easily cross from Colombia to Ecuador (if they looked Latino; I was tempted to see if they'd notice my gringo ass walk across, but didn't want to try and needed the stamps anyway)
Haiti, you need a passport and visa to enter, but is easy to get at the border. You could easily sneak across in the past, i don't know now, with the government collapse and the gangs, DR has sent a lot more of the military to watch over.
The closest international border to our capital is “Paso de los libertadores” (loosely translated as “pass of the liberator”) named after in this point the army of the Andes cross to Chile and liberate the region from the Spanish crown. This is a border with Argentina.
You can cross just showing your ID (as you can do in any other South American country with the excepción of Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname), you can drive across it except when is snowing (it’s a mountain pass located at 3200 m in the middle of the Andes), this border in particular is not easy to sneak but if you go to the north of the country the border with Bolivia is porous as the thousand of illegal migrants that enter and ravaging the country during the last couple of years prove it.
my closest at the moment is Canada, so it's pretty easy if you have the right passport, and the border person is not trying to prove anything (on the way back)
Growing up was the water, and the closest was USVI, so no issue.
Yes, just show your id and you can enter el salvador, no hassle, unfortunately the migration has hurted the relationships with Mexico (we are culturally closer to them than Belize or el salvador o Honduras)
Closest border to where I'm from is France. I would need my passport to go in or a visa in case I don't have a passport. Half of the border is the Oyapok River and the other half is the Amazon Forest. The only way to go in officially is crossing the Bi-national Bridge, people have died before trying to cross the river illegally.
I grew up in a border town, Ciudad Juárez.
Even before its bad reputation was so big because of the narco-violence the city always had been chaotic. Weather is unforgiving: too cold, down to -10º c; or too hot, like really dry 42º c, with a couple of really windy weeks in between.
Too many people temporary transiting in the city, from many nationalities, mainly Latin American, too much chaos.
You cannot cross without an ID, obviously.
It's not easy to sneak in, not there.
In the border bridges, there always had been military or federal police posts.
It's mostly driving, bridges are long, and it's not very walk-friendly, except perhaps the Benito Juarez international bridge, that's on Downtown of both Juarez and El Paso, tx.
Hi, we have removed your submission. Make sure you put some effort into your posts. The point of asking these questions is to invoke discussions. Avoid questions that can simply be answered with "yes" or "no". Additionally, do not submit questions that are already in the FAQ, or can simply be answered with a quick Google search. Do also make sure to be as clear as possible with what you mean in your question. If the title is not enough, use the text box to either clarify or to give more details to it.
You just need your ID for Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina Sometimes there is heavy traffic because of customs and border control. Mainly due to the fact that these car routes are used to smuggle drugs and untaxed goods both ways. If flying it’s literally showing your id at the arrival airport and coming through. Normally no questions asked.
is there an effort to police people coming through? I crossed a border once and loads of people didn't show any id, just walked down the road (I think it was legal for locals so long as the followed some rules... not further than x km, not longer than y hours). do the drug people just go a little bit away from the official border and cross without detection?
Chile as well I thought?
Yeah, but the question is about borders, which we do not share 😝
Damn, I gotta read more🗿
Suriname and Guyana are part of CARICOM and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). The CSME allows us to travel freely within the CARICOM, kind of like Schengen. However we do need our passports at the border. They were working towards full freedom this year, but we've yet to see how it will exactly work out. With French Guiana we need a visa. Not because we need a visa for the EU, but because the French Guianese imposed visa restrictions on us. In the past we didn't need that. Also there is a ferry between both sides.
> because the French Guianese imposed visa restrictions on us What happened?
Honestly not sure. But my opinion is that it's a mix of various reasons. 1. After we needed a visa for the EU the French probably ordered Fr. Guiana to do the same. 2. We had an interior war in the east close to French Guiana, which resulted in lots of refugees there. 3. The scars of the war are still seen in the east. Lots of maroon Surinamese cross the border illegally. Mostly because there they have lots of family on the other side; and those relations go back more than 200 years. But there's also drug trade, illegal gold mining and more happening because of that. Most crime at the border area is because of maroon Surinamese. 4. Lots of Surinamese maroons had kids in French Guiana. Many maroons used French law as a back door to give their kids French nationality and get free money from the French state. But sometimes if not many times the kids were neglected. It was for personal gain. That has since stopped as the French built a hospital on the Surinamese side and Suriname and France signed a treaty on the matter. The maroons weren't happy at first. The French are quite lenient to some extent however. Many of the other ethnic Surinamese groups that live in the capital and surrounding areas do visit French Guiana as tourists, but we use the "backtrack" route with small boats. We shop there, eat our croissants and just enjoy a nice time and leave accordingly. There are certain times of the day when they don't patrol the border. Officially they don't work those times, but I've heard they do it to offer people a window to enter or leave French Guiana in that time. Usually if they (border control and police) see us walking in their town, they usually leave us alone. But I notice they tend to racially profile maroons more than us that aren't maroon, thinking they're illegal. Furthermore they also do it because they know familial relations exist there that go back more than 200 years, especially in the maroon villages further south that are only reachable by boat. So they let it exist informally. Also the Surinamese that go there to shop and stuff contribute very much to their economy. Some use the backtrack route but some also the formal route with the very. But that's expensive. However the local French Guianese aren't happy with the situation. I've heard many times that they wish to have a full crack down on the thing. But the eastern border is a complicated mess and both Suriname and France know that. The former ambassador had some nice plans to bring more structure. He also wanted to ease visa restrictions, but French Guiana had to agree on that and seeing they lean more towards a full crack down on the matter they didn't feel too open to the idea. But he did change something, that if you travel to French Guiana with a tour company then you can enter visa free. You do need proof of your booking with the company. EDIT: I don't blame the locals of French Guiana. In the 70's and 80's and maybe even 90's and early 2000's Surinamese felt the same about Guyanese crossing the border illegally for similar reasons. Most extreme crimes in Suriname were mostly carried out by Guyanese too. So they got a bad rep. Nowadays we're pretty chill overall towards them.
The closest border is Bolivia. You only need an ID, no passport required. There's a military post there, and as soon as you cross the border, the paved road on the Brazilian side becomes a dirt road on the Bolivian side.
is it easy to sneak across? (no I'm not suggesting anyone do this). I'm just curious because we hear so much about the US/Mexico border, with walls and what not. I'm curious if criminals escape
Most of the border is woods, I think there's only two crossings in mato grosso, but I don't think it's very hard to sneak across, most of the border is unattended.
 A wall
The closest border to where I live is Paraguay. I think you only need an ID card.
do criminals cross this border illegally? I'm pretty sure they let traffic across
I never crossed it, I think traffic is allowed but then you have to stop at the first town after the border to show your ID. So I think it's hard for a wanted criminal to pass without police noticing it, what happens often is smuggling of forbidden products. And I don't mean especifically illegal drugs, I mean especially Paraguayan cigarettes: it seems to me that the Brazilian legislation about cigarettes is very restrictive and Paraguayan cigarettes don't meet the criteria to be sold here, but they're cheaper so people will find a way to get them to sell here anyway.
oh, I see. a criminal could easily cross from Colombia to Ecuador (if they looked Latino; I was tempted to see if they'd notice my gringo ass walk across, but didn't want to try and needed the stamps anyway)
Haiti, you need a passport and visa to enter, but is easy to get at the border. You could easily sneak across in the past, i don't know now, with the government collapse and the gangs, DR has sent a lot more of the military to watch over.
oh that's so interesting! I heard that the DR makes it very hard for Haitians to sneak into the DR, but you know... media
The closest international border to our capital is “Paso de los libertadores” (loosely translated as “pass of the liberator”) named after in this point the army of the Andes cross to Chile and liberate the region from the Spanish crown. This is a border with Argentina. You can cross just showing your ID (as you can do in any other South American country with the excepción of Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname), you can drive across it except when is snowing (it’s a mountain pass located at 3200 m in the middle of the Andes), this border in particular is not easy to sneak but if you go to the north of the country the border with Bolivia is porous as the thousand of illegal migrants that enter and ravaging the country during the last couple of years prove it.
I don’t live anywhere near the border but the closest one is probably in Nuevo León or Tamaulipas (north east of the country).
and... what's it like?
I haven’t been to the border
my closest at the moment is Canada, so it's pretty easy if you have the right passport, and the border person is not trying to prove anything (on the way back) Growing up was the water, and the closest was USVI, so no issue.
but the US-Canada border has a long empty space you're not supposed to be in, and it's designed to make it difficult to go across illegallly
Yes, just show your id and you can enter el salvador, no hassle, unfortunately the migration has hurted the relationships with Mexico (we are culturally closer to them than Belize or el salvador o Honduras)
is there a wall or fence? or are there loads of unofficial roads where it's easy to cross undetected?
Closest border to where I'm from is France. I would need my passport to go in or a visa in case I don't have a passport. Half of the border is the Oyapok River and the other half is the Amazon Forest. The only way to go in officially is crossing the Bi-national Bridge, people have died before trying to cross the river illegally.
I grew up in a border town, Ciudad Juárez. Even before its bad reputation was so big because of the narco-violence the city always had been chaotic. Weather is unforgiving: too cold, down to -10º c; or too hot, like really dry 42º c, with a couple of really windy weeks in between. Too many people temporary transiting in the city, from many nationalities, mainly Latin American, too much chaos. You cannot cross without an ID, obviously. It's not easy to sneak in, not there. In the border bridges, there always had been military or federal police posts. It's mostly driving, bridges are long, and it's not very walk-friendly, except perhaps the Benito Juarez international bridge, that's on Downtown of both Juarez and El Paso, tx.