Are Electronics Hard To Bring Into The Country?

[Dmiller]

Hey guys,

I am coming back to Buenos Aires in about a month and i was wondering how strict they are about electronics. I am also wondering how do i get my dni there. what papers do i need to bring?

Thanks!

 

[DerAchtundzwanzig]

That depends - what electronics were you thinking of bringing exactly? If you're planning to bring 2 laptops and a phone, you're fine. If you're planning to bring 3 laptops and 4 iPhones, then you have a problem.

As for the DNI thing, the papers you'll need to bring depends on what category you will be applying for the DNI as (i.e. a student, a relative of an Argentine national, etc.).

 

[Dmiller]

Hey thanks for the reply. yeah i plan on bringing a couple of laptops, and an iphone. maybe a gameboy and psp too. As for the DNI i want to get temporary or permanent residency.

 

[EricLovesBA]

I think it's kind of luck of the draw. I have not had a bad experience so far, but I did have a good experience a few years back when I brought all of my instruments. I walked through aduana with a cart loaded chest-high, containing, among other things, my bass guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, a fairly high-end midi keyboard controller, a USB external analogue to digital converter, an external USB drive, a couple extra SATA drives, a good asus motherboard, my cell phone, various, cables, etc, you get the picture. Mind you this was all fairly obviously used stuff, much of which I've had for over a decade, and showing the corresponding signs of wear. The cool thing was, I started loading it onto the conveyor, and the guy asked me where I was from, I said the US, and handed him my passport, mentioning that I like to play music. He just waved me through saying, oh, go on, have a nice visit, only putting maybe one guitar though the scanner and everything else stayed on the cart. My impression is that there is likely a huge difference between electronics that convincingly appear to be for personal use as opposed to stuff that is obviously new, with the worst case scenario being new in the box.

 

[Crema Americana]

You should be fine as long as you are a tourist and are only bringing in your personal items. It's when you bring items in for resale that they take a closer look. I wouldn't bring in anything in its original box.

I was at the airport earlier this week and while standing in the Aerolineas line saw a lot of Argentines PACKED with goods... it was ridiculous. Some were carrying large LCD tvs. I'd like to know how they get those in.

 

[glasgowjohn]

You should be fine as long as you are a tourist and are only bringing in your personal items. It's when you bring items in for resale that they take a closer look. I wouldn't bring in anything in its original box.

I was at the airport earlier this week and while standing in the Aerolineas line saw a lot of Argentines PACKED with goods... it was ridiculous. Some were carrying large LCD tvs. I'd like to know how they get those in.

You pay the tax and its still cheaper !!!