Another residency after marriage question

[amcarey]

Hello all,

I asked this question on a previous thread, but received no answers. So, here it is again! Thanks!

I have a quick question regarding residency after marriage. I recently got married to an Argentine here, and I'm now beginning all of the paper work in order to get my permanent residency. However, my tourist visa will expire long before my apostilled FBI background check and birth certificate arrive in the mail, and I really don't want to waste the time and money going to colonia just to renew it. So, my question is: Will having an expired tourist visa prevent me from gaining permanent residency even if I was married while the tourist visa was still valid? I can prove, of course, that my tourist visa was valid at the time of my marriage by presenting the marriage papers, but will that be enough?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!

 

[BSS]

No, you don't. When you marry an Argentine citizen you can change your category to reflect your new status. If you went down to Migraciones with your marriage certificate and papers, they should have given you a document stating that your permant residency is in process. If they didn't give you that to you, I would go back and ask to speak with someone about it.

 

[ben]

I am in a very similar situation. I can't tell you definitively, as I am also awaiting the same papers, but what I've understood is that if you apply after the 90 days, you need to pay the same 300 peso fine as when leaving the country, then you can proceed.

On the other hand, if you plan on staying long term, perhaps the best option is by forcing citizenship by litigation - an attorney who seems quite knowledgeable on the subject has weighed in on another thread. You will have to pay for a lawyer, and it is more expensive than DIY, but you do not need to wait for all the documentation, translation, etc - a passport may suffice.

 

[syngirl]

I am in a very similar situation. I can't tell you definitively, as I am also awaiting the same papers, but what I've understood is that if you apply after the 90 days, you need to pay the same 300 peso fine as when leaving the country, then you can proceed.

Unless things have changed since September, when I finally got around to getting my DNI after having been married for over a year, this is not true. My tourist visa was definitely expired by the time I applied for the DNI, it was no problem at all.

I got married June 2009 in Canada, entered Argentina again in July, didn't leave again until April 2010 -- had to pay the fine simply because I hadn't applied for the DNI yet (I was waiting for some papers still) -- entered again in May 2010 and applied for the DNI September 2010 with an expired tourist visa. No 300 pesos fine paid.

 

[amcarey]

Thanks to all for your helpful responses,

I guess I won't worry about making the colonia trip again, even though my tourist visa is set to expire this Sunday, since I am already married and will be applying for permanent residency before I have to leave the country again this coming September (if ALL of my papers are here by then!). I guess I don't even really mind if I have to pay a 300 peso fine at some point, I just didn't want to show up at migraciones, try to start my permanent residency paperwork, and be denied since my tourist visa was expired. I'll just let it expire, wait for my papers, and go to migraciones when I have everything in order.

Thanks again for your help!