Hi,No. A simple overstay is not a criminal act. When you pay the fine in advance you are indicating your intention to leave the country and migraciones is "giving" you ten days to do so.
If I understand correctly, if you pay the fine in advance and don't leave the country within the ten day period (even if it's because your flight was cancelled), you will have to pay a second time At some point after that, migrcones might issue a deportation order, but I have a "hunch" it won't be instantaneous. .
I never had an overstay, but if I did, I would only pay at the airport on the day of departure.
And I would only pay in cash (ARS) as opposed to a foreign credt card for obvious reason (unless I didn't have the cash on hand).
If I understand corectly, most "arrests" (aka detentions) and "deportations" by Argentine immigrations actually take place at the airport, but they involve arriving passengers who are denied entry.
thanks for your answers.
However, if my flight is at 6am and the office to pay the overstay only opens at 7am, I guess I would lose the flight?!