I have an excellent Abogada, they guarantee results or 100% money back. Ask for Lorena, she goes above and beyond.
http://www.argentinaresidency.com/
In all fairness (and in light of BC2's comment), I don' think ARCA guarantees the results. They guarantee that the payment will be refunded if the visa is not granted.
ARCA may indeed go "above and beyond" in service to their clients. Some may consider this desirable and if they wish to pay for it they are free to do so.
This was posted in 2010 in the thread
Shocking new income requirement for visa rentista? after the monthly income requirement for the visa rentista increased to $8,000 pesos (which is still the required amount):
Sunday Oct. 17, 2010
Lorena at ARCA just informed me that the minimum monthly requirement for a pensioner is soon going to USD 2,200.00. I saw a post on this forum where it is thought that the minimum only applies to rentistas and not pensioners, and would "only" be USD 2,000.00.
I've been planning my retirement to Argentina for many moons and now that I'm in possession of all these apostilled docs and packing my suitcases... Lorena says that as of today I still qualify for the initial first year visa (for which ARCA charges me USD 3,200.00) but that the renewal will send me packing again. Expensive but honest. Ooops! Maybe I should be a despised perma tourist?
Has anyone got recent news form other sources?
If ARCA was charging $3200 USD for a visa in 2010, I wonder how much they charge now...as well as how much they charge for the renewals.
I was rather surprised to see the heading "Visas We Offer" in their website:
http://www.argentina...entina-visa.htm as they actually offer a service. and don't sell visas. While it
is admirable that they do have a full refund policy if the visa is not granted, I wonder how many of their high paying clients actually know how easy it is to get temporary residency if you qualify for it and how enjoyable it can be to go to migraciones with someone who knows the ropes, speaks fluent Spanish, is very personable, and charges less than $200 USD (even if it takes two trips).
Regarding Argentine citizenship for foreigners (from their website):
"ARCA has special fees for assisting previous residency clients with the citizenship process. While we cannot teach you Spanish, we can file all citizenship paperwork, assist you with all documents preparation and represent you at many steps of the Citizenship application."
The information on the ARCA website indicates that it is necessary to have temporary residency for three years and permanent residency for two years before a foreigner can obtain citizenship
If the copy in the photo is difficult to read, here it is:
"For Permanent Residents
Unlike many other nations, obtaining citizenship in Argentina is relatively straightforward. The first step is to obtain your visa, which will allow you to live in the country for one year on a temporary residence permit. When the year has expired, the visa can be extended for an additional year. At the end of the second year, the visa can be extended again for another year. At the end of the third year, you can extend the visa again and receive permanent residency. At this point you will be legally entitled to reside in the Argentina permanently. Two years after receiving your permanent residency, you may apply for citizenship.
What is necessary?
You should speak fluent Spanish, know some general Argentine culture and politics to discuss in an interview, have been living in Argentina most of the time during those previous 2 years as a permanent resident, and have produced income / worked in Argentina and paid taxes in Argentina.
Citizenship Timeline
http://www.argentina...p-passports.htm
Just over four years ago I "quoted" the info regarding the requirements for citizenship from the Just Landed website:
http://www.justlande...its/Citizenship
"Argentinean citizenship can only be applied for after a number of years. To become an Argentinean citizen, you generally have to be resident in Argentina for 2 years and fulfil certain conditions.
In most cases, you have to fulfil most or all of the following conditions:
Be older than 18 years of age
Uninterrupted residence of at least 2 years in Argentina, documented at the Dirección de Migraciones
Birth certificate legalised by the Argentinean consulate in your country of origin
Copy of your DNI and passport
Certificate of domicile
Proof of sufficient funds and/or an employment contract
If you have Argentinean children, a copy of the birth certificate and a certificate of the Immigration office
Here is a link to my post and the discussion that followed in the thread:
Argentine citizenship for foreigners?
http://baexpats.org/...s/page__st__180
Just Landed's list of requirements still includes the birth certificate and I was told I needed to provide one at the court in Bahia Blanca in February of 2011.
Dr Rubliar noted that (as of 2011) only one of the 12 federal courts in CF require the birth certificate. Recently, I believe he (or someone who is going through the process) also indicated the ability to speak Spanish iss no longer required. He made it crystal clear that the information about citizenship I copied from the Just Landed website was not correct. Although he has not comment on the information (still) provided by ARCA, it has even more information that now appears to be "obslolete" (to use a polite term), including having permanent residency (which implies having a DNI) and having paid (income) taxes in Argentina. $15,000 pesos per month is the threshold for paying "income" taxes and citizenship has been and will continue to be granted to those making far less.
I have been an entrepreneur all my adult life and I'm all for anyone who sells a product or service at a reasonable price in order to make a profit, provide their claims are truthful. I am not in favor of anyone misleading a client in order to "string them along" so they can charge exorbitant fees for something they can do on their own. I believe that one member recently posted that his "lawyer" charges $1800 for the initial visa and $1200 for renewals. In my opinion those fees are still exorbitant and paying them doesn't make sense unless there is a legal "hitch" to overcome (such as a "blemish" on a foreign criminal report) that "only a lawyer" can deal with.
If someone is willing to pay high fees to a lawyer or an agency to help them obtain Argentine residency that should be their choice, but I believe they should also know that there are alternatives which cost much less. Many can do it on their own but if that makes them uncomfortable, I suggest they contact Patricia who will go to migraciones with them, acting as an
unofficial translator and not as a lawyer. She helped me get my visa pensionado in 2006 and also helped me with the first two renewals.
If anyone who has DNI and has already lived in Argentina for at least one year wants to start the citizenship process they can (and in my opinion
should) do so without using a lawyer or an agency.
