Hey all. Today I went to extend my tourist visa today. So I will go ahead and post my experience here to try and help anyone else that is doing this later on. I am trying to be detailed, so this will be a little long.
You will need to go to the migraciones office in Retiro and you will need to go early. The later you get there, the longer your wait will be. The address is listed below. I have no clue how to get there (my Argentine girlfriend and the remise driver found it).
Direccion Nacional de Migraciones
Av. Antártida Argentina 1355
Mondays to Fridays from 07:30 to 18:00 hs.
(011)4317-0234
You are looking for edificio 6 (building 6).
Where we were dropped off was in front of edificio 3 which is a smaller, yellow building. From there we were through a garage of sorts. It was a little street the runs along and then behind edificio 3 with a few cars parked along it and some dumpsters. There are plenty of secuirty guards around who you can ask where edificio 6 it is.
The street will make a turn to the right behind edificio 3 and then continue on and you will see a line. The first line is for people asking where to go. If you are confident in what I am telling you, you can go past this first line and get in line to get into edificio 6. Edificio 6 is a rather large stone building that is at the end of the little street. There will be signs telling you "Edificio 6." Again, if you are not sure, ask one of the people working there.
We tried to bypass the line to get into edificio 6 but the security guard turned us away, so we had to wait. Once you get in, there are a few booths in the front and you will go talk to one of them and say "prorraga de visa tourisma" and then they may point you to another booth that actually says prorraga de visa tourisma and then say the same thing. They will ask to see your passport and the copy of your passport that you have brought (black and white only). Then they will give you a number.
I was surprised to learn that this number is not just for tourist visa extensions. Of all the people directed to the extended stays areas, only a handful where there to extend their tourist visas. I was number 16 but saw a lot of people going in with number well into the 60s.
Once you get your number, you will be directed to to back right of the main room to another room and then you will go to the back right of that room and wait. There will be three boothes under a sign that says "stays extended." You will need to wait here until your number is called.
Once you number is called you will go up and the person will look at your passport and take the copy of your passport and give you a few papers to sign. Then you will need to go pay. To do this, go back out into the main room, and go to the left towards the windows to three booths after you walk through the door and pay here. You will get a receipt and give it to the person back in the room. The fee if 300 pesos, we were able to pay in cash, I don't know if they accept credit cards or not.
They will take your passport and a few people at some back desks and they will stamp them and come call your last name and you're done!
A few things, the office is near to villa so there will be a lot of poor people there, so it is a good idea to look after your things closely.
You will need to get there early, around 9, most people had number above 50 and they were up to number 13 to help people. You can get there at 7:30 to get a number and they start calling number around 8.
And this one is interesting. We talked to a few people that said we won't be able to do this again. If we go back again, they will ask a lot of questions about why I am trying to extend my visa again and it seems that likely, the only way I will be able to extend my visa is if there is an emergency and I have to stay.
So we will have to find another way to stay here, because they are clamping down on perma-tourists. You can always try but I don't know if there will be much luck extending our visas again.
You will need to go to the migraciones office in Retiro and you will need to go early. The later you get there, the longer your wait will be. The address is listed below. I have no clue how to get there (my Argentine girlfriend and the remise driver found it).
Direccion Nacional de Migraciones
Av. Antártida Argentina 1355
Mondays to Fridays from 07:30 to 18:00 hs.
(011)4317-0234
You are looking for edificio 6 (building 6).
Where we were dropped off was in front of edificio 3 which is a smaller, yellow building. From there we were through a garage of sorts. It was a little street the runs along and then behind edificio 3 with a few cars parked along it and some dumpsters. There are plenty of secuirty guards around who you can ask where edificio 6 it is.
The street will make a turn to the right behind edificio 3 and then continue on and you will see a line. The first line is for people asking where to go. If you are confident in what I am telling you, you can go past this first line and get in line to get into edificio 6. Edificio 6 is a rather large stone building that is at the end of the little street. There will be signs telling you "Edificio 6." Again, if you are not sure, ask one of the people working there.
We tried to bypass the line to get into edificio 6 but the security guard turned us away, so we had to wait. Once you get in, there are a few booths in the front and you will go talk to one of them and say "prorraga de visa tourisma" and then they may point you to another booth that actually says prorraga de visa tourisma and then say the same thing. They will ask to see your passport and the copy of your passport that you have brought (black and white only). Then they will give you a number.
I was surprised to learn that this number is not just for tourist visa extensions. Of all the people directed to the extended stays areas, only a handful where there to extend their tourist visas. I was number 16 but saw a lot of people going in with number well into the 60s.
Once you get your number, you will be directed to to back right of the main room to another room and then you will go to the back right of that room and wait. There will be three boothes under a sign that says "stays extended." You will need to wait here until your number is called.
Once you number is called you will go up and the person will look at your passport and take the copy of your passport and give you a few papers to sign. Then you will need to go pay. To do this, go back out into the main room, and go to the left towards the windows to three booths after you walk through the door and pay here. You will get a receipt and give it to the person back in the room. The fee if 300 pesos, we were able to pay in cash, I don't know if they accept credit cards or not.
They will take your passport and a few people at some back desks and they will stamp them and come call your last name and you're done!
A few things, the office is near to villa so there will be a lot of poor people there, so it is a good idea to look after your things closely.
You will need to get there early, around 9, most people had number above 50 and they were up to number 13 to help people. You can get there at 7:30 to get a number and they start calling number around 8.
And this one is interesting. We talked to a few people that said we won't be able to do this again. If we go back again, they will ask a lot of questions about why I am trying to extend my visa again and it seems that likely, the only way I will be able to extend my visa is if there is an emergency and I have to stay.
So we will have to find another way to stay here, because they are clamping down on perma-tourists. You can always try but I don't know if there will be much luck extending our visas again.
