A nasty Honduran surprise

[wydeangle 60]

We went diving at CocoView the last week in March, 2017. The resort and the diving were great. The boats were a bit crowded and would benefit from another divemaster in the water with sometimes more than a dozen divers. Food - good, rooms - good, staff - good. I’d return to the resort.

I won’t go back to Roatan or Honduras. Here’s why:

Entry into Roatan was painfully slow, taking more than 1-1/2 hours. Exit was worse, taking over 2 hours. All the time was spent standing in line waiting for the most egregious violations of privacy I’ve experienced: Full ten-finger fingerprinting, scan of passport and an extra photograph taken with glasses, hats etc removed. Exiting the island was the same process.

So for a total of 3-1/2 hours standing in line for this unnecessary abuse and violation of privacy we get into and out of the country.

If you refuse, the officious fingerprint/picture-taker told me, my options were only one: immediate deportation.

Some things to consider:

1) If Yahoo, other large companies, and yes, even governments cannot protect data, how can Honduras protect it? When it is stolen, could there be a better or more thorough identity theft opportunity for the bad guys? Probably not.

2) If Honduras is cheeky enough to require more data than we needed to give for a Global Entry pass into the US, what will stop them from asking for a DNA swab next time, or even a blood sample? I don’t think I’ll go back to find out. Example: four fingers and the passport photo are sufficient for US citizens to obtain Global Entry permits, compared with all ten fingers, the passport and an added photo for Honduras. Why? Because they can?

3) Roatan has thousands of cruise ship passengers every day. Are they demanding this kind of intrusive violation of privacy for each one of them? I doubt it.

 

It looks like divers are being discriminated against in a big way.

See ya, Roatan. Our fourth trip there is our last…

[Fofo 9]

Well, you got a taste of what a foreigner goes through when visiting the United States.

[guyharrisonphoto 21]

I guess it varies depending on where you go. We went to Indonesia about six years ago with no problems, no photos needed, no fingerprints, nothing but a valid passport and a return ticket. Very easy. Yes, a wait in line, but so what?

 

Seems odd that Roatan would be so burdensome. But nothing about your experience would deter me from great diving in a foreign country. Just buck up and get on with it.

[troporobo 251]

Violation of privacy? No. You're applying to enter another sovereign territory as a foreigner. Their country, their rules. And those rules are also quite common among countries that require applications for visas in advance by the way.

[wydeangle 60]

Curious as to why no one addressed the two salient points:

 

a:) Why do divers have to be subjected to this scrutiny but not the cruise ship passengers? Internal political/cruise ship company payoffs?

b:) Why are these scrutineers requiring more than the US does? If foreigners come to the US are they required to give up as much personal data as the Hondurans require? Or is it just "because they can" intimidate foreigners?

 

What other countries require this level of data?

 

Been lots of places; never had this kind of scrutiny and abuse (3-1/2 hours in line etc). Not going back to experience that again - you certainly may feel it's OK.

 

Not trying to tell anyone what to do. Just trying to warn those who go to Roatan what to expect - unless you are going on a cruise ship. I did say this was our 4th trip there; this time it was a nasty surprise...

 

Tom

[troporobo 251]

Was it only "divers" or all air passengers? If only divers, that would be most unusual. My guess is cruisers only stay a day and are less of a concern for some reason, and perhaps the cruise companies worked out a deal. Not defending it, just not all that surprised.

 

I've been fingerprinted in a few out of the way places, but never those that depend on mass tourism. Former Soviet republics, PRC in the old days, some tiny island countries, but usually for multiple entry business visas.

[rgilkes 11]

Long customs lines, fingerprints, photo and passport scans are all things I've come to expect on international trips. Usually don't get hit with all of them at once, but I certainly wouldn't be surprised or upset if I ran into a few or all of them on a trip. Definitely not enough to make me not want to re-visit a country, especially if everything about my trip was good, as you indicated.

 

#FirstWorldProblems

Edited April 6, 2017 by rgilkes

[errbrr 73]

The US is not the gold standard in border crossings, it's a nightmare. Three and a half hours in line is less than I spent in the line at LAX and the only reason I was there was to immediately leave the country on a connecting flight. At least you hadn't come off a 14 hour flight and were in approximately the same time zone you'd (presumably) just left. The USA is the only country that forces passengers in transit to pass through immigration. I avoid it whenever possible and have done very little diving in the Caribbean as a result.

 

I'm sure un-aware travelers feel the same way about Australia's quarantine inspections when they get hauled out over the apple they picked up on the plane, or the wooden souvenirs that get confiscated, or the way gear used overseas in freshwater gets gently boiled for an hour before being returned.

 

Each country can do what they want to you and your stuff including refusing entry and deporting you. It's a hazard of international travel and the only available defenses are a positive attitude and comfortable shoes for standing in lines.

[Aquapaul 26]

Part of the problem in Roatan Honduras is 5 large airplanes land there and they are not equipped for that. Three of those 5 land with in 45 minutes, it just overwhelming. Just a few years ago there were only three a week. As for us, we will keep going back. We have been to CocoView 16 times and love the people there. But I do hope they get long lines figured out, seams to me if they could just space the planes out over a few more hours the problem would be fixed. The way they finger print you and stuff the camera in your face was mandated by USA customs, they furnished the equipment. Or so Im told..

[troporobo 251]

Paul's comment made me curious, so I did a quick search. Indeed the US is concerned about immigration through Honduras toward the US. I did not research carefully, but this quote from a self-identified "immigration think tank" in the US is telling:

 

"The National Institute for Migration (INM), created in 2014, is the agency responsible for controlling and regulating migration into and out of Honduras. Menjívar, an attorney, was appointed as director to elevate the status of the INM, given the corruption scandals that plagued the previous immigration agency. That prior agency, the General Migration Directorate, was abolished and its entire staff fired because it was actually facilitating alien smuggling."

 

So they probably have to be more careful about arrivals who could really just be transients. The described experience is still a pain, no doubt, but it doesn't seem like discrimination.

[Akulamd 3]

I believe that the border is sacred. Whatever the country thinks helps to protect/secure its borders is valid. Certainly, long lines are annoying, but they would not deter me from going to a country, if I really want to go.

[Nicool 30]

Well, you got a taste of what a foreigner goes through when visiting the United States.

So true!

I find the Chinese border agents much more friendly by the way...

 

Not trying to troll ;-)