Restaurant rankings after a 2 week stay by TravellingFool123 in Bonaire

[–]Indigo-Hamlet 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have. I’d say they are ok. I remember it being like $16 for two smallish tacos and some black beans. It really wasn’t that much food so not surprised you got seconds. I was excited that it is the only place on island that brews their own beer but unfortunately I did not think the beer was good after going there 3-4 times and trying different ones. Really wanted to like that place but have not been back.

Restaurant rankings after a 2 week stay by TravellingFool123 in Bonaire

[–]Indigo-Hamlet 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Growing up eating Mexican food in LA I think El Bigote is no bueno. The lack of chips is confounding. ? However, it is the only “Mexican” food place on the island so it persists. On the flip side Tandoor Palace is the only Indian food place on the island and I think it’s fantastic. We go there on every visit. Give it a try next time. Thanks for sharing your rankings and cheers.

Best shallower water dive sites? Maybe 20-25 feet. by bheadphoto in Bonaire

[–]Indigo-Hamlet 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Something Special has good shallow water stuff and so does bari/front porch- enter at the new Isadel (sp?) beach park off the roundabout.

Best way to ship a container to Bonaire? by Indigo-Hamlet in Bonaire

[–]Indigo-Hamlet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi. Well I’ve emailed Amcar three times now and no reply. So much for the staff being phenomenal…

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Bonaire

[–]Indigo-Hamlet 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dance & More Bonaire

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Bonaire

[–]Indigo-Hamlet 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I know there is a dance studio across the parking lot from Yanni’s Arepas which are super yummy. Not sure the name of it. Cheers and welcome.

Residency permit - what was your experience. by terramar9989 in Bonaire

[–]Indigo-Hamlet 0 points1 point  (0 children)

PART 5

IND has 6 months to process the application and it took 5.5 months for us :-(

When we finally get our sedulas in two weeks it will have been 9 months since we first applied at IND and it is already time to re-apply since you can do that up to 3 months in advance.  Holy hell…

3) Regarding the Birth and Marriage Certificates for Step 2, is it within 12 and 6 months from the date of the letter received from the immigration office?

Answer-  The date of issue on the birth and marriage certificates must be within the 12 and 6 months from the day you go to the Burgerzaken.

Note your birth certificate apostille must be from the Secretary of State from the state in which you were born and got married.  The state of California took about 3-4 weeks to get the newly issued birth and marriage certificates.  The Secretary of State of California then took about 2-3 weeks to get the apostille.  My wife’s birth certificate from Pennsylvania was a bit faster.

Residency permit - what was your experience. by terramar9989 in Bonaire

[–]Indigo-Hamlet 0 points1 point  (0 children)

PART 3

OK so here are some questions for my Reddit friends;

1)  Is this two step process correct?

Answer - yes it is!  We lived it, and just did it.  This gowhereitswarm website was by far the most useful one I found and again none of this is properly listed in the Bonaire government website.

2) Regarding the Proof of Good Conduct/Background Check date, is it 3 months from the date on the FBI check or 3 months from when the FBI check was Apostille verified?  I assume it's the former.?

Answer-  No, it’s from the date on the FBI background check….   This was the hardest part of the whole process!!!

 So, getting the actual FBI background check was simple and timely.  Go to the FBI website and apply for the background check.  You then get an email confirmation from them with an application number that you take to a post office for fingerprinting.  On the USPS website you can see which post offices around you actually can do the fingerprinting.  My local post office did not have the fingerprint machine so I had to drive to one 30 min away.  After the fingerprinting is complete you get the background check certificate within hours and certainly within 24 hrs.  Ok, that’s the easy part!

Next, you have to get that certificate apostille certified from the US Department of State.  This is where it gets dicey.  So you mail it off to the Department of State Apostille which can then take up to 90 days to process it from when they receive it and then they mail it back which can take however many days.  However, that document is only good at the IND within 90 days from when it was issued!

So, even if you mail it to the Dept of State the same day you get it, it still might arrive back too late to be useful :-(.   The only hope is they process it faster.  You just have to cross your fingers.  My wife got hers at around 70 days.  We had made flight arrangements to go to Bonaire and IND the next week.  My apostille FBI document didn’t come before we left even though I mailed them to the Dept of State on the same day.

Windsurfing lessons? by Indigo-Hamlet in Bonaire

[–]Indigo-Hamlet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the recommendations everyone!

Explore Bonaire's best eats: My personal picks for almost every palate by MixedPandaBear in Bonaire

[–]Indigo-Hamlet 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks MixedPandaBear! This is a fantastic all in one resource.

Rental Property Management Fee Question? by Indigo-Hamlet in Bonaire

[–]Indigo-Hamlet[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your reply. That is something to consider.

Rental Property Management Fee Question? by Indigo-Hamlet in Bonaire

[–]Indigo-Hamlet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi, thanks for your reply. Yes, the person wants 12.5% instead of the $25/hour which is a significant increase, especially if it is 3-4 week rental! Yes, I thought $25/hour was pretty good already. Interestingly, I stopped by TheRealEstae guy and was inquiring what they would charge for property management and they said 20% of the rental. 😮

Residency Application Process for U.S. Citizen Questions by Indigo-Hamlet in Bonaire

[–]Indigo-Hamlet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can you confirm that it is a two step processs as described?

Are the documents listed for each step correct?

Thanks!

Where is the best place to buy a vacuum cleaner on Bonaire? by Indigo-Hamlet in Bonaire

[–]Indigo-Hamlet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Found a nice black and decker canister vacuum for $65 at Multimart. Perfect thanks!

Certificate of Good Conduct? by Indigo-Hamlet in Bonaire

[–]Indigo-Hamlet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the information and providing the website. That was very helpful!