Passort Flagged? - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

KaseyCaye · 08-17-2009, 10:33 AM

Hey guys it's been a long time. I got back from my backpacking trip in Europe, gosh about three years ago now. Man time sure does fly.

I have a quick question:

While I was in Cadiz, Spain I had to go to the hospital because I had an infection. I don't speak Spanish and long story short I was seen and given medicine but was sent home without paying anything (I did try to ask if I needed to pay anything but no one there spoke english either so I was kinda stuck). Later (after I got home) I received a letter (in spanish of course) that I got translated which basically amounted to them needing my permission to bill my insurance company. I had a letter written back to them (in spanish) which I e-mailed them more than a dozen times and recieved no response. I waited a few months than thought about it again and e-mailed the same letter another dozen times and still got no response. My question here is do you think my passport has been flagged because of this non-payment?

**MeTurk** · 08-18-2009, 07:06 AM

It takes time to get stuff done in Spain so I wouldn't panic to much. The type of hospitals we have in Europe make things take even longer so you have to take that into account too.

Would whoever issues passports in the US know if it was flagged or not?

KaseyCaye · 08-18-2009, 08:01 AM

Well it took about four months to get the letter originally but it's been three years now since I got back. I don't know, I'm just worried about it since I'm trying to plan my next trip.

**epicballa** · 08-18-2009, 11:35 AM

National Passport Information Center

They should be able to answer your questions better than anyone here.

**space virgin** · 08-18-2009, 11:49 AM

I have serious doubts that this would happen. Your drivers' license doesn't get flagged for non-payment of medical bills in your own country; how could a hospital in a foreign country somehow report you to customs/immigration and gain access to your passport number?

I suppose it's not impossible, but it seems HIGHLY unlikely.

KaseyCaye · 08-18-2009, 04:59 PM

Ya I tried the national passport information center and got the run around - I was given a phone number that pretty much led me to nowhere - oh well, that's the government for you. I think I'm just going to assume that it's ok - I don't think that that is a reason for them to flag a passport - I'm not a fugitive so I'm not going to be worried about it. Time to plan my next trip I think - any thoughts on Puerto Rico???

**Dig** · 08-18-2009, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KaseyCaye

- any thoughts on Puerto Rico???

Yes! Sounds like a blast!

xanthuos · 08-20-2009, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KaseyCaye

I'm not a fugitive so I'm not going to be worried about it. Time to plan my next trip I think - any thoughts on Puerto Rico???

Yeah...the first thought is that you don't need a passport. :D So while the likelihood of your passport being flagged by Spain is around 0.0001%, you wouldn't even need it to visit PR!

**Canadian Bacon** · 08-20-2009, 01:16 PM

the answer is NO.

Passport control is a federal/national function, whereas health care is usually a provincial/regional function. I'm not sure how the Spanish system is, but its like this everywhere.

National level departments hardly talk to one another, much less between different levels of government - so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

In government I have found that its not just the case that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing - but the left hand rarely knows the right hand exists!

**MeTurk** · 08-21-2009, 05:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canadian Bacon

In government I have found that its not just the case that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing - but the left hand rarely knows the right hand exists!

That's pretty much the bottom line right there.