Another Immigration Post-- Visa for Student for Syrian living in Istanbul

[Lulu-Kyoko]

My BFF's mother-in-law is Syrian and lives in Istanbul. She has "temporary protection status" there, which allows her to stay in Istanbul until it is possible to return to Syria (i.e., never). There is a lot of anti-Syrian sentiment in Turkey, however, and she is continuously discriminated against. Life is difficult.

My BFF has hatched a plan to bring her mother-in-law to Argentina. She thinks that she could come on a student visa and study Spanish at one of the schools that offers visas (ExSpanish). The mother-in-law could then stay in Argentina for two years and eventually apply for citizenship. My friend would be providing support (rent, expenses) but would be on the hook for $800 USD/month ($200 USD/week) for the school fees.

I'm not sure about the plan because it would require TWO YEARS of Spanish school, which is a lot of Spanish classes... It would also be really expensive.

Any ideas? I've been following the other posts and it seems like coming on a tourist visa and overstaying for two years might be "illegal" now. She could come on a tourist visa and do visa runs, but that would mean she wouldn't be in the country for 2 years continuously so wouldn't be able to apply for citizenship.

I don't think she would qualify for the rentista or the pensionada visa.

What does the BAexpat community think? Good idea, bad idea? The main goals are (1) to get out of Istanbul and (2) get citizenship elsewhere.

Thanks!

 

[elhombresinnombre]

Perhaps I'm missing something but that sounds awfully convoluted and fraught with difficulties when Argentina has, I believe, a refugee programme for Syrians. I don't know whether now being in a "safe" country (however at risk she might feel there) would hamper her acceptance by Argentina but if she hasn't yet done so I would have thought that contacting the Argentine consulate in Istanbul should be the first logical step.

 

[Lulu-Kyoko]

Thanks for the response. No, you are not missing anything. This is my friend's plan. I think she's getting desperate and it would be relatively easy to just buy a plane ticket and have the MIL register for school. We could do that tomorrow. My objection was that two years of Spanish would be too much.

I'll pass on your response!

 

[MarshallE]

There are several issues with this plan.

First off Spanish schools generally do not grant you temporary residency with DNI, only transitory residency which is basically an extended tourist visa. Temp residence with DNI is granted for courses lasting more than 1 year (such as a normal 4 year university program). Under the new executive order from Milei, time spent in the country under any status other than Temporary/Permanent residency with DNI does not accrue time for naturalization.

The other problem is that Syrians are not a visa free nationality. Non visa free countries, even if they get a tourist visa to come to Argentina, are no longer allowed to adjust their status and apply for residency inside the country. They must apply for the appropriate visa (student, rentista etc) at the appropriate Argentine embassy in their country

 

[nikad]

I am not 100% positive but I believe there was a special program for refugees. You may want to check out with the ministery of Foreign Affairs or Immigrations.

 

[nikad]

Programa Siria - ACNUR Argentina

A través de la Disposición N°1752/2024 la Dirección Nacional de Migraciones derogó la Disposición DNM N°3915, a través de la cual creó el Programa Especial de Visado Humanitario para Extranjeros afectados por el Conflicto de la República Árabe Siria. Si fuiste beneficiaria/o o llamante del...

help.unhcr.org

Patrocinio Comunitario | Programa Siria

www.patrociniocomunitario.org

BOLETIN OFICIAL REPUBLICA ARGENTINA - DIRECCIÓN NACIONAL DE MIGRACIONES - Disposición 1752/2024

BOLETIN OFICIAL REPUBLICA ARGENTINA - DIRECCIÓN NACIONAL DE MIGRACIONES - Disposición 1752/2024 - DI-2024-1752-APN-DNM#MI

www.boletinoficial.gob.ar

Try to get in touch with any of these places as well.

 

[Lulu-Kyoko]

There are several issues with this plan.

First off Spanish schools generally do not grant you temporary residency with DNI, only transitory residency which is basically an extended tourist visa. Temp residence with DNI is granted for courses lasting more than 1 year (such as a normal 4 year university program). Under the new executive order from Milei, time spent in the country under any status other than Temporary/Permanent residency with DNI does not accrue time for naturalization.

The other problem is that Syrians are not a visa free nationality. Non visa free countries, even if they get a tourist visa to come to Argentina, are no longer allowed to adjust their status and apply for residency inside the country. They must apply for the appropriate visa (student, rentista etc) at the appropriate Argentine embassy in their country

Thank you for clarifying. I looked at Nikad's posts from this past weekend, and I already figured that a "student visa" was basically a tourist visa.

And I'll let my friend know that the first stop should be the Argentine embassy in Istanbul.

 

[Johngwyn]

My BFF's mother-in-law is Syrian and lives in Istanbul. She has "temporary protection status" there, which allows her to stay in Istanbul until it is possible to return to Syria (i.e., never). There is a lot of anti-Syrian sentiment in Turkey, however, and she is continuously discriminated against. Life is difficult.

My BFF has hatched a plan to bring her mother-in-law to Argentina. She thinks that she could come on a student visa and study Spanish at one of the schools that offers visas (ExSpanish). The mother-in-law could then stay in Argentina for two years and eventually apply for citizenship. My friend would be providing support (rent, expenses) but would be on the hook for $800 USD/month ($200 USD/week) for the school fees.

I'm not sure about the plan because it would require TWO YEARS of Spanish school, which is a lot of Spanish classes... It would also be really expensive.

Any ideas? I've been following the other posts and it seems like coming on a tourist visa and overstaying for two years might be "illegal" now. She could come on a tourist visa and do visa runs, but that would mean she wouldn't be in the country for 2 years continuously so wouldn't be able to apply for citizenship.

I don't think she would qualify for the rentista or the pensionada visa.

What does the BAexpat community think? Good idea, bad idea? The main goals are (1) to get out of Istanbul and (2) get citizenship elsewhere.

Thanks!

Have you considered transitory status with one year course? You can renew it annually. And the cost is around $2000-3000 dollar.
Once arrived in Argentina everything should be just fine, Argentina is unlike everyother countries where you have to stick your visa's day to day validity.