clamping down on perma-tourists

[malbec]

I wouldn't be afraid...I would not renovate my tourist visa at all, since I never heard someone was deported from Argentina (probably the first will be Diego if the national team keeps playing that bad).
In over 25 years of my life in Argentina I was only asked 2 by the police (or Gendarmería) to show an ID: once in Misiones, travelling along the border with Paraguay and another one on a bus in Lanús, as the police was trying to find a fugitive.
The point is: what do you gain by being a 'legal' tourist? you can't open a bank account, you can't work (well, legally). Even in the remote case one of you is caught after 5 years of living illegaly in Argentina...what is the state going to do? Send you home? Who is going to pay for that?
By not renewing the visa you would join a large club of people from Bolivia, Paraguay, Perú and other who live in Argentina illegally. Every now and then there is a 'blanqueo' and everyone who show up, stays in a queue 10 hours and survives it gets a residency.
Just imagine something like that in Europe or the US...queuing to admit you are there illegally

 

[ReemsterCARP]

Camouflage Passports exist and people use them, without a doubt. But that does not mean that they're valid traveling documents. In act they're worthless. On the website they mention you can get a passport from a well respected South-African country, part of the Commonwealth. Wouldn't that be (the now defunct) state of Rhodesia? Jajajaja... These guys really are taking the piss...Then again, some people don't seem to mind sending 55K USD to obtain a fake passport.

 

[steveinbsas]

Malbec is right.

The police never check to see if you're "legally" here, even when you are reporting a robbery (which eventually you will).

You will still have to pay the overstay fine at EZE when you leave.

If they do tell you you can't return for a specific period of time, just go somewhere else until then (of course if you "live" in Argentina you have a problem).

Meanwhile, stop going to Uruguay and supporting all of the businesses who prey on paranoid foreigners who are only trying to stay "legal" and just forget the whole "perma-tourist" thing.

BTW: Until we see at least a few more posts reporting similar experiences to LeavingBA's, there is still reason to doubt there has really been such a severe "crackdown" AKA: policy shift at migraciones.

 

[sesamosinsal]

Well, for the U.S. citizens out there, you can renounce your citizenship at the U.S. Embassy in Palermo. You'd be "stateless," have no passport at all, and essentially be deportation proof! Rock on!

Anyway, I don't love Argentina that much.

 

[marksoc]

even when you are reporting a robbery (which eventually you will).

I love how paranoid you are. Most people I know never have been robbed, and I was only once, in La Boca, so it is kind of my fault. ¿Maybe expats need to stop renting in the North area and go out to discover the real Argentina?

 

[steveinbsas]

I love how paranoid you are. Most people I know never have been robbed, and I was only once, in La Boca, so it is kind of my fault. ¿Maybe expats need to stop renting in the North area and go out to discover the real Argentina?

In case you hadn't noticed, this is the BAexpat forum and BA is where we live...along with the crime. It's also where you were robbed. Why do you think it was your fault? Were you drunk? Did you look or act like a tourist? Though it's off topic, here's your chance to help other expats avoid being a victim of crime.

 

[EliA]

Every now and then there is a 'blanqueo' and everyone who show up, stays in a queue 10 hours and survives it gets a residency.
Just imagine something like that in Europe or the US...queuing to admit you are there illegally

Actually Spain did this in 2004 and possibly again since then, and I've heard of similar things in other European nations, especially ones with a significant elderly population. If a country isn't producing enough babies to keep the young population in step with the old, immigration is necessary, and Europe is starting to figure that out.

However, every third woman I see here is pregnant or toting a baby or two so that's hardly a concern in Argentina. I wonder: what's their motivation for the blanqueo?

 

[Kirst]

I read that one way you can stay in Argentina is to show proof you have sufficient income from abroad to sustain a living. Can anyone tell me how much they require to see and what proof they would need in terms of documents?

thanks all!

 

[steveinbsas]

I read that one way you can stay in Argentina is to show proof you have sufficient income from abroad to sustain a living. Can anyone tell me how much they require to see and what proof they would need in terms of documents?

thanks all!

There is useful information in this thread:

Renters visa vs. Tourists visa

The monthly income requirement is now $2700 pesos.

 

[sesamosinsal]

Actually Spain did this in 2004 and possibly again since then, and I've heard of similar things in other European nations, especially ones with a significant elderly population. If a country isn't producing enough babies to keep the young population in step with the old, immigration is necessary, and Europe is starting to figure that out.

However, every third woman I see here is pregnant or toting a baby or two so that's hardly a concern in Argentina. I wonder: what's their motivation for the blanqueo?

Would they be losing income tax money? Could that be their concern with all of the non-MERCOSUR foreigners working here?

( Brazil recently gave amnesty to illegal immigrants. )