An Ontario woman says she was detained for 24 hours and refused entry to Costa Rica because her passport was damaged.
“I think we caught someone who had (a) bad day and wanted to prove something,” says Andie Field, of Georgetown, Ont.
Field and her fiancé Jayson Tate flew to Costa Rica on Nov. 13 to celebrate an anniversary. When they arrived at the Liberia Guanacaste Airport, Field says staff deemed her passport too damaged to enter the country.
Her puppy had chewed on a corner of her passport, Field said, adding she had used that very passport for the last five years and travelled to seven other countries without issue.
“It’s basically like a little tear on the bottom corner, and I tried to take it to Service Canada and they said it wasn’t damaged enough to be replaced,” said Field.
Field says she was held in detention for 24 hours and told she would have to fly back home.
“They separated us. He (Tate) was allowed to be in the country, and I was not. He was escorted to the exit and told to figure it out, and I was taken to a detention cell,” said Field.
Tate said they tried to stay positive, but the situation escalated quickly.
“They brick-walled us every time we tried to talk to them,” said Tate.
When the couple bought return tickets to Toronto, they said they were told it was too late to get on the plane and had to buy two more tickets for the following day.
“They processed me like a criminal. They took all my information, they took my saliva. They processed me like I had done something wrong,” said Field.
Travel expert Loren Christie says it is better to be safe than sorry and replace a damaged passport.
“Rips, tears, water damage, those are all typical things that technically you’re not supposed to have done to your passport. You might get lucky and someone won’t question you, but you could get unlucky,” Christie said.
“Check your passport carefully and don’t check it on the day you’re leaving it. Do it a couple of weeks before so you can rectify it if you need to.”
Field and Tate planned to spend around $2,000 on their trip, but instead paid roughly $8,000 for last-minute flights and other expenses.
Field says she plans to get a new passport, but will not return to Costa Rica.
“I feel like I’ve been stripped of my security and confidence to travel. Now, I have zero confidence in travelling anywhere,” said Field.
